The Meaning of Jesus
Two Visions
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4.5 • 16 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Was Jesus born of a virgin? Did he know he was the messiah? Was he bodily resurrected from the dead? Was Jesus God? In The Meaning of Jesus, two leading Jesus scholars with widely divergent views go right to the heart of these questions and others, presenting the opposing visions of Jesus that shape our faith today.
In alternating chapters, Marcus Borg, the most popular revisionist voice on Jesus, and N.T. Wright, the most prominent standard-bearer for traditionalism, present their views of who Jesus was, what he taught, and what he did. Candid, spirited, and thoughtfully debated, this compelling discourse will stimulate fresh ideas and intense dialogue among anyone concerned with what it means to be a Christian today.
Marcus J. Borg, author of bestseller Heart of Christianity, is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, The God We Never Knew, and coauthor of Jesus: A New Vision with N. T. Wright.
N. T. Wright is Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He has taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford universities. Wright is the award-winning author of Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Last Word, The Challenge of Jesus, and The Meaning of Jesus (coauthored with Marcus Borg).
“A fascinating, highly civilized conversation on the central issues about Jesus under debate today. Bravo to this intelligent spirit of searching for common ground!” - Elizabeth Johnson, author of She Who Is
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this valuable book, historical Jesus scholars Bog (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time) and Wright (Jesus and the Victory of God) engage in a lively debate on the significance of historical Jesus research for the Christian faith. Each of the seven sections of the book contains alternating chapters by the two authors. For example, in a section called "How Do We Know About Jesus?" Borg argues that the ways people "see" Jesus are determined by the critical lenses and methods they use to look at the sources, while Wright claims that we "know" Jesus as a result of a dialogue between faith and history. In similar fashion, Borg and Wright exchange remarks on topics ranging from the Virgin Birth and "Was Jesus God?" to the crucifixion, the resurrection and the Second Coming. Borg's conclusions about the historical Jesus arise out of his conviction that the Gospels are not historical reports that can be factually verified but documents in which history is "metaphorized" to reveal symbolic meanings about Jesus' life. Wright, on the other hand, argues that a historical reading of the Gospels supports a Christian's "faith-knowledge" of Jesus. This is a splendid introduction to contemporary conversations about the historical Jesus as well as an excellent primer on New Testament Christology for general readers.
Customer Reviews
A great Introduction to each author/approach
By the end of the book, I understood Wright and Borg's different approaches to the historical Jesus and to faith. One of the best aspects of the book is how respectful Wright and Borg are to each other as they disagree.