The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith [Hardcover]

Marcus J. Borg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

The God We Never Knew challenges readers to reclaim a stronger sense of God's presence and nearness by embracing an authentic contemporary faith that reconciles God with science, critical thinking, and religious pluralism.

How to Have Faith (How to Even Think About God) without having to stifle modern rationality is one of the most vital challenges facing many of us today. Marcus Borg, author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, traces his spiritual journey to the discovery of an authentic yet fully contemporary understanding of God. In a compelling, readable way, he leads us from the distant, authoritative God of our childhood to an equally powerful, dynamic adult understanding of God.

Arguing that the modern crisis of faith is rooted in the misinterpretation of biblical texts and God's true nature, Borg offers a fresh, yet deeply grounded understanding of God that is more intellectually and spiritually satisfying.

"Writing clearly, summarizing some of the best of contemporary theology in non-technical language, Borg continues to speak to, and to challenge, the widest possible audiences". -- Publishers Weekly

"A breath of fresh air, a liberating book for Jews and Christians alike". -- Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Under three headings?thinking about God, imaging God, and living with God?Borg (religion and culture, Oregon State Univ.; Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, LJ 1/94) examines what belief entails today. Borg holds that traditional Christianity emphasizes God's transcendence too much; he makes a case for pantheism, that is, God as spirit present in the world. Borg argues that how we think about God matters, and that the Christian tradition makes sense if understood at a deeper level. He seems not to believe in the divinity of Jesus, nor even necessarily in a transcendent God, but comes across as an honest seeker after meaning. While not all readers will agree with him, Borg offers a compelling reflection on what it means to believe today, and his discussion of the politics of compassion and of images of salvation are noteworthy. For both general readers and scholars.?Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the companion to Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1994), Borg argues for panentheism the conception of God as being both transcendent (God is more than everything) and immanent (God is in everything). The ancient Jews and the early Christians, he says, understood God in this way, as being "right here," at the same time that God was also thought to be supernatural and transcendent, the all-knowing king-judge "out there." Panentheism entails imaging God, not as a monarch to whom we owe fealty, but as a lover with whom we have a relationship. Borg ultimately maintains that living in relationship with God enjoins an open heart; a politics based in compassion and, especially for Christians, just communalism rather than a system of individualistic competition; and the understanding that salvation is an ideal for this world, not any afterlife. The many enthusiastic readers of Borg's Jesus book will be further cheered by his God book. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco; 1st edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060610344
• ISBN-13: 978-0060610340
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marcus J. Borg is professor emeritus in the philosophy department at Oregon State University, where he held the Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture, and author of the New York Times bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, The Last Week, and Jesus. He was an active member of the Jesus Seminar when it focused on the historical Jesus and he has been chair of the historical Jesus section of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

149 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Educational, inspirational - a wonderful book, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authenthic Contemporary Faith (Paperback)

Marcus Borg, a distinguished scholar who has devoted himself to studies of the "historical Jesus," has written from his own experiences as a Christian, informed by a lifetime of scholarship, about our need to develop a personal relationship to God. In clear, precise, down-to-earth language, he manages to explain difficult concepts while outlining a reasoned, convincing approach to Christian faith. Every page conveys a sense of deep respect for, and faith in, a continuing and vital relationship to God. His theology can liberate us from magical thinking and narrow-minded literalism, and points the way to a continuing, ever-deepening relationship to God.

In a thoughtful, non-defensive manner, he describes a basis for deep religious faith fully consistent with our contemporary world view. I have never found a book on religious faith so helpful, so clear, and so inspiring for a modern reader. By liberating us from a "requirement-based" faith in a "monarchical" God, he has shown the way to a meaningful, day-to-day relationship to God as the foundation of our lives, the "ground of being" described by Paul Tillich.

His book is a gift to us that I am glad to have found, and I will follow the advice of William Wink, who wrote about another book of Borg's that we should read everything he writes. I wish everyone could read and reflect on the message of this book.

381 of 415 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, September 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authenthic Contemporary Faith (Paperback)

This book confims so much I first learned from An Encounter With A Prophet Spirituality is the answer.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the religiously disenchanted, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authenthic Contemporary Faith (Paperback)

This is possibly the best book on spirituality I have ever read. A must for anyone who has dismissed as "bunk" the beliefs they were taught as a child and found him or herself with nothing to replace the "bunk." Borg calls on his own experiences to suggest ways of viewing God and religion in general that make sense. Even if one doesn't agree with Borg's thoughts, at least he gives the reader something to consider. Marcus Borg has a unique ability to write about complex, scholarly issues in a simple, straightforward style that is easy to understand.