In other words, Borg is a heretic. His “scholarship related
to the historical Jesus” describes his participation in the Jesus Seminar. The
Jesus Seminar is a group of self-described scholars who attempt to discover the
“historical Jesus.” According to apologist Greg Koukl, “they have rejected as
myth the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the virgin birth, all Gospel miracles,
and a full 82% of the teachings normally attributed to Jesus--all dismissed as
legendary accretions with no historical foundation. For example, only two words
of the Lord's Prayer survive as authentic: ‘Our Father.’”
Consider some of the words of Borg himself (emphases mine): “I let go of the notion that the Bible is a divine product. I
learned that it is a human cultural product . . . As such, it contained their
understandings and affirmations, not statements coming directly or somewhat
directly from God.”
"Seminary also introduced me to the historical study of Jesus and Christian origins. I learned from my professors and the readings they assigned that Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin, did not think of himself as the Son of God, and did not see his purpose as dying for the sins of the world.”
"Seminary also introduced me to the historical study of Jesus and Christian origins. I learned from my professors and the readings they assigned that Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin, did not think of himself as the Son of God, and did not see his purpose as dying for the sins of the world.”
“As such, myths can be both true and
powerful, even though they are symbolic narratives and not straightforward
historical reports. Though not literally true, they can be really true; though
not factually true, they can be actually true. The stories of Jesus' birth are myths in this sense. Along with most
mainline scholars, I do not think these stories report what happened. The
virginal conception, the star, the wise men, the birth in Bethlehem
“Religious pluralism is a fact of
life in North America , and in the world. To
absolutize one's own religion as the only way means that one sees all of the
other religious traditions of the world as wrong, and dialogue, genuine
dialogue, becomes impossible. Conversion can be the only goal.
“I affirm, along with many others, that the major enduring religions of
the world are all valid and legitimate. I see them as the responses to the
experience of God in the various cultures in which each originated. To be
Christian means to find the decisive revelation of God in Jesus. To be Muslim
means to find the decisive revelation of God in the Koran. To be Jewish means
to find the decisive revelation of God in the Torah, and so forth. I don't
think that one of these is better than the other. You could even say they are
all divinely given paths to the sacred. To be Christian in this kind of context
means to be deeply committed to one's own tradition, even as one recognizes the
validity of other traditions.”
When debating William Lane Craig (see here), on the
Resurrection of Jesus, Borg declares “…for me, whether or not the tomb was empty
doesn’t matter. Whether something happened to the corpse of Jesus doesn’t
matter. For as I understand things, Easter is not primarily about something
spectacular happening to Jesus on a particular day in the past, it is about the
continuing experience of Jesus after his death. This, in my judgment, is the
historical ground of Easter.”
Borg believes that the accounts (or “stories”) of the
Resurrection in the Gospels are “metaphorical narratives.” He speaks and writes
of a “pre-Easter Jesus” and a “post-Easter Jesus.” The “pre-Easter Jesus” was
merely a human who lived and died. The “post-Easter Jesus” lives on (though not
in any literal sense) in “the experience and tradition of the church.” According
to Dr. Craig, “What Dr. Borg means by the ‘post-Easter Jesus’ is what Jesus
became in the thinking and imagination of the Christian church.”
In other words, in Dr. Borg’s thinking, Jesus only exists as
a symbolic figure. To use Dr. Craig’s analogy (see his retorts here and here), the relationship
between Dr. Borg’s “pre-Easter Jesus” and “post-Easter Jesus” is much like that
between the fourth-century bishop Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus. Though not
real, the fictional character that is today’s Santa Claus embodies much that is
good: giving, kindness, family, love, etc. and is based on a real historical
figure. Thus, Santa Claus is worth celebrating. For Borg, Jesus is little
different.
The Times reports that Dr. Borg's two-day appearance is
presented by “the university [Brenau], First Baptist Church of Gainesville,
Grace Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville, St. Paul United Methodist
Church
The Times also reports Bill Coates, senior pastor of
DON'T BELIEVE THE BASIC DOCTRINES?! Have ANY of these so-called "PASTORS" actually heard or read of what Borg teaches?! BORG HIMSELF rejects the
“basic doctrines!” What is it exactly that makes Dr. Borg a Christian?! People
don’t believe because of the heresy spread by men like Borg! What a sad
indictment on the local Christian community that Marcus Borg would be put forth
as a teacher of Christianity.
Copyright 2013, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
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