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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with G
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The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authenthic Contemporary Faith |
Author: Marcus J. Borg
Published: 1998-06-01 |
List price: $14.95
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Customer comments on this selection.
 The God We Already Knew
I have heard Marcus Borg speak a number of times. I have always come away from his presentations feeling like I was being challenged to believe what I already believe. It feels like he is trying to stir controversy where there is none. I felt much the same through much of my reading of The God We Never Knew. Maybe his arguments may persuade some readers of the immanence of God and God's power to transform our lives in the day to day business of living. If it does, then his mission is accomplished. But I have already felt this and am well aware of it. The most interesting part of The God We Never Knew is the discussion of how the domination system influenced and influences the understanding of God's Kingdom. This discussion did open my eyes to a new understanding of the interface of politics and religion. But there was not much else new in this book.
 A Theological Cop-out of Biblical Proportion
Borg expands the literal understanding of biblical verse into what he calls Panentheism. He concludes the personal experience of epiphany as evidence of divine transcendence. A profound error!
But in this fashion, he seeks to leap over the apparent contradictions of biblical verse by offering a new way of reinterpreting "what it says" vs. "what it means."
Though how he got to the transcendent interpretation was a poorly conceived metaphor, (a Jewish theologian that defined glory), if I nevertheless take it at face value and simply "start" with his conclusion, I still cannot reconcile how the bible, even if taken as transcendent, can support the conclusion.
We can think about God as transcendent, but not the content or meaning of the literal text. We cannot, in other words, reconcile a literal falsehood, (i.e., the earth was made on Day 1, while the stars were made on Day 4), as a transcendent truth.
Unless one cherry picks with the fine comb of discrimination, the bible consistently contradicts Borg's conclusion of transcendence. For example, how does Jesus "the image of the invisible God" epitomize kindness on the one hand while as "God the Spirit" order wholesale killing and brutality on the other?
Is the god in the Old Testament a different god than in the New?
We become forced to subordinate our own honesty to a "transcendent" dilemma.
Do we ignore what we feel is morally wrong or factually false, to embrace a metaphor that upholds our want to believe? Or do we maintain our personal integrity and interpret the words of the Bible according to what it actually says?
"The God We Never Knew" is an apology for the first choice. And that's why I consider it a cop-out.
 From Supernatural Theism to Panentheism
Since I have become convinced of the authenticity of the cosmo-centric world view that has clearly made the geo-centric and helio-centric perspectives only understandings of a limited and fragmented view of reality, I am not as certain about God as Borg's "The God We Never Knew." With exuberance, if not exaggeration, he claims a vision of that "unknownable" reality.
Having written that, I put my cynicism aside so that I could read this book with a perspective that, at minimum, leaves the options about the sacred open. Against the background of his own journey, Borg seeks to describe a vision of God that a modern human being can embrace.
Before filling in the contours of his image of God he rejects the concept of the God of supernatural theism. He goes to some detail to "package" the God of this perspective. The elements he sees in this view are: (1) God is one who intervenes in the world; (2) the Bible is a divine and authoritative product; (3) though created in the image of God, humans are sinful and guilty and God provides a solution for us in Jesus; (4) Jesus is God's only son and is the one who makes the forgiveness of our sins possible; (5) faith in Jesus is the only way of salvation; (6) faith is correct belief; (7) salvation means going to heaven but some go to hell.
Then this book moves on envision God -- "and the image of Christian faith that goes with it" -- in detail. If you, therefore, are struggling with what Gordon Kaufman of Harvard Divinity School calls "the God problem," then here is help. He will insist that you abandon the authoritative God of "supernatural theism." I, for one, agree that you must if you seek an "authentic view of God that is...compatible with good science, critical thinking and religious pluralism." If I wasn't already convinced of the power of such a perspective as his, this book would challenge me to give consideration to panentheism. Examine it carefully and you will profit from his discussion!
The God we Never Knew by Marcus Borg
I found this book enlightenting and recommend it to people who are interested in seeing God in a different light.
getting to know God
i loved this book and have sent it to a friend in prison.i think it helps you see that God loves you and is with you through everything. its not written as a high brow book but something anyone could read and understand. i love how Borg presents God. i would recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing God in a more real way.
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