Awe and Wonder, Here and Now Issue 1 – New Website

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Marcus J. Borg Foundation monthly newsletter Awe and Wonder, Here and Now. We will provide news about events and a reflection related to the work of this Foundation: to explore and articulate a faithful and meaningful Christianity for the 21st Century.

News! We have a new website. Go to www.marcusjborg.org read our mission statement, values, initial goals, meet our new Board members and more…

Reflection: Awe and Wonder, Here and Now
Marianne Borg, Founding Chair

Days pass, and the years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles. Fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing. Let there be moments when your Presence, like lightning, illumines the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness and exclaim in wonder, “How filled with awe is this place…”

I included this Jewish Sabbath prayer in my forward to Days of Awe and Wonder: How to be a Christian in the 21st Century, a collection of Marcus’ writings over his lifetime. This Sabbath prayer captures much of what the Marcus J. Borg Foundation is about: Seeing. Seeing again. And for the purposes of our work, Seeing Christianity Again. It is time for a new vision and understanding of our tradition.

Corrective Lenses

Marcus provided a set of “corrective lenses” to explore Christianity: the riches of scholarship, the importance of context and history, the imperative of metaphorical thinking, all part of seeing the world in which Christianity arose and developed. We will continue to use those lenses in our conversations, educational resources, and event offerings. We will also make use of the “lenses” of science, cosmology and quantum physics. This does not require we become physicists! Others are doing that work. But their discoveries about our world, how it works and the nature of Reality informs and expands our contemporary worldview, the one in which we live. The worldview of today is very different from the ancient worldview of early Christianity. Christianity, to be relevant and trustworthy in the 21st century, needs a new aggiornamento or “bringing up to date.” This “bringing up to date” will require reexamining our understanding of “God,” the language we use, our faith claims, our purpose and contribution.

Marcus cleared the way for us. We will follow in his way and continue to forge our own.

The Marcus J. Borg Foundation is committed to exploring and articulating a faithful and meaningful Christianity for the 21st century, one tradition among many, that can partner with others to assure the survival of humanity and the sustainability of our planet. The stakes are that high.

May we all see with awe and wonder how remarkable is this place and our part in it here and now.

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