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Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith [Hardcover]

Marcus J. Borg (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 20, 2010

In Putting Away Childish Things, Marcus Borg weaves his insightful teachings on Christianity into a new form—fiction. In this compelling tale, we meet Kate—a popular religion professor at a liberal arts college in a small midwestern town who thinks her life is right on track. She loves her job, is happy with her personal and spiritual life, and her guilty pleasure consists of passing her afternoons at the local pub with a pint of Guinness and a cigarette. Life is good.

Kate is up for tenure when it all starts to go wrong. A colleague warns her that her books are too Christian and too popular. She is offered a visiting professor job at a prestigious seminary, which sounds like the perfect solution except for one complication—it is the same seminary that employs the professor she had an affair with years ago. Kate now has to face her past and watch as the ramifications unfold in ways she never imagined. In the classroom, students ask for her views on Jesus, the Bible, and homosexuality, controversial topics that Kate candidly addresses until outraged parents start campaigning for the school to get rid of her. Through it all, Kate faces the toughest challenge yet—a crisis of faith that leaves her questioning what she believed so strongly before.

Putting Away Childish Things is an engaging way for readers to learn about the important issues dividing Christians today. Along the way, we join with the characters to ask the hard questions such as what does the Bible really teach? Who is Jesus? What is the nature of faith today?

This is a story that promises to leave us different in the end than when we started, as we learn how even in the twenty-first century, God works in mysterious ways.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The form is different with Marcus Borg’s insightful new novel, but the reader’s experience and payoff are the same as with his many excellent non-fiction books: this is a great read that leads to a deeper, more hopeful understanding of the meaning and possibilities of Christian faith today.” (Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today Board of Contributors, author of Onward Christian Athletes )

“Professor Borg spins a fine yarn and teaches much in the process, yielding a whole cloth of integrated and inquiring Christianity. Let’s hope there is a second tapestry to come!” (The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church )

“Borg takes advantage of [main character] Kate’s syllabus to teach readers what she teaches her students… The reader audits Prof. Riley’s class and, thereby, drinks from Marcus Borg’s font of knowledge about the Enlightenment, theology and religion…. [Borg] writes plainly, warmly, and with truth.” (Beatitudes Review )

“In Putting Away Childish Things, Borg has chosen fiction as the best vehicle for exploringChristianity, important questions of career and vocation, and thorny issues within the churchsuch as fundamentalism and homosexuality. This imaginative excursion is handled with aplomb…A thought-provoking novel.” (Spirituality & Practice )

“The story provokes ample opportunity for dialog on a personal and a group level. A wonderful novel.... You look forward to returning to digest more of this splendidly crafted tale.... Powerful, memorable and one that you can confidently recommend to others….as I now recommend it to you.” (Bill Dahl )

“Borg writes fiction with passion. While the book raises many questions about faith, religion, and relationships, it also functions by itself as [a] truly moving story. I highly recommend this book for skeptics and people of faith alike.” (Treehouse Monastic )

“Borg offers up a didactic novel that explores some of the thorniest theological issues facing the Christian community. ... he is to be commended for taking up a new form of literature to share his theological perspective—a perspective that many have found to be generous, open and hopeful.” (Christian Century )

“Putting Away Childish Things is a page-turning tale grappling with issues of faith confronting today’s church. An inspiring and compelling story that will be treasured and revisited, Borg’s illuminating insights and all-too-human characters make theology accessible to all.” (Julia Spencer-Fleming, award-winning author of One Was A Soldier )

“Can a world renowned biblical scholar really write an entertaining work of fiction? The answer is absolutely YES! I was hooked by the end of the first chapter.” (Progression of Faith )

“I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wholeheartedly recommend it…. Many a book group will enjoy discussing Putting Away Childish Things, and many a questioning Christian’s faith will be sustained by the story.” (A Wee Blether )

“In the end, it’s the kind of novel where you underline teaching points that have been madeespecially well and dog-ear the pages in which the author has included poetry that speaks to urgent human questions.” (Beliefnet )

“I see this novel as an ingenious way to open up dialogue between Christians of differing points of view, and as a window into Borg’s understanding of what it means to be truly Christian in a world that has become rather inhospitable to Christianity and its claims.” (Presbymergent-Musings )

About the Author

Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. Borg is the author of nineteen books, including the bestselling The Heart of Christianity, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, and the novel Putting Away Childish Things. 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.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: HarperOne (April 20, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061888141
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061888144
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,294 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

38 Reviews
5 star:
 (21)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story with Characters I Came to Care About, April 28, 2010
By 
Phil Price (Twin Falls, ID) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith (Hardcover)
Having read almost everything that Marcus Borg has ever written I didn't know what to think about his foray into fiction. I have really enjoyed Borg's writing style and have it to be very understandable for a wide audience, so I wondered if I would really care about the story or if I would simply want to glean the theological nuggets and not much else.

It didn't take long for me to not only appreciate the theology, but also to look forward to seeing what happened next in the lives of his main characters who grapple with issues facing how to live as a Christian in twenty-first century North America as well as how to understand where we are through a theological lense. Borg did a nice job of developing the characters while balancing non-theological plot development along the way.

I only gave this four stars, even though I could hardly put it down over the last few days, because I would have loved to see some sort of epilogue so that I could know what happened to the main characters of the story. Granted, Borg may have done that on purpose, in order to make us wonder if there will be a sequel. Then again, he may have ended it the way he chose to so that upon reading it again with a group readers might remember that the purpose of this book is to both engage the reader with a well told story while at the same time introducing some important theological concepts.

One of my favorite quotes from the book was one of Borg's characters quoting Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." I you are someone who has an open or curious theology or are wrestling with what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century then consider this book.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably engaging and thought-provoking., May 9, 2010
By 
This review is from: Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith (Hardcover)
I have read a good half-dozen books by Marcus Borg, and have found them all intellectually challenging and theologically stimulating. And all with an ease of understanding that is evident in all good writing. The same holds true for this first foray into fiction. The author was able to draw me into the lives of the characters by making me care about the problems they faced and the issues they grapple with. And the theological issues and philosophical ideas were presented in such a natural format (classroom discussions, primarily) that I never found them intrusive, stilted, or forced. They became a natural and driving force for the story.

As to the fact that the story is a bit open-ended, I can only hope that this signals a sequel. By the end of the book, I had grown so fond of the characters that I would really like to see how they get on with their lives.

If you are able to think about religions issues without dropping immediately into a defensive posture, then I would recommend this book.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Clever presentation of some profound ideas., May 27, 2010
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This review is from: Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith (Hardcover)
I have read at least a half dozen of Murcus Borg's nonfiction books. In particular I was impressed by "Meeting Jesus for the First Time" and "Reading the Bible for the First Time". He comes closest to my theological perspective. I was pleased to see that he has attempted to describe his understanding of Jesus and the Bible in fiction form. I'm not sure that some one who is not a Borg enthusiast will respond to the lectures by Professor Kate Riley in this novel. As a college professor,

I found her approach very clever and effective.

If you you are convinced that the Bible should be read as literally true. Save yourself a lot of grief. Do not bother reading this novel. If you are looking for a way to read the Bible in such a way that the message may not be factually true but that the underlying concept is true, by all means read it.

I was let down that the novel ended when it did. I can only hope that this means there will be a sequel.

On a negative side, I found the Kindle price inappropriate. It certainly is based on Borg's popularity. It seems to violate Amazon's Kindle committment. I can only assume that Borg's publishers are responsible. This is not the way to get this important book to the largest possible audience. It may be the way to maximize profit.

In spite of my disapproval of the marketing campaign, I highly recommend this book.
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