Enter your mobile number below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Getting the download link through email is temporarily not available. Please check back later.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader

The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions 1st Edition

by
Marcus J. Borg (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Marcus J. Borg Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Marcus J. Borg (Author), N. T. Wright (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 108 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0060608750
ISBN-10: 0060608757
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Buy used
$7.75
Condition: Used - Good
In Stock. Sold by Your Online Bookstore, Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Unbeatable customer service, and we usually ship the same or next day. Over one million satisfied customers!

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
62 Used from $0.01
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
More Buying Choices
12 New from $11.19 62 Used from $0.01 1 Collectible from $16.52
75 used & new from $0.01
See All Buying Options
Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Prime Student Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Book Awards
2016 Book Awards
Browse award-winning titles. See all 2016 winners
click to open popover
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (December 30, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060608757
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060608750
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe way Jesus studies should be done
By A Customer on January 5, 2000
Format: Hardcover
This book brought a lump to my throat. What rare respect. I have read many "Jesus books" and I am tired of all the biting criticism of opposing vews. Here we have a book that presents two very different views without rancor. It is so handy to have these views presented in a single volume. I am surprised and extremely pleased to see that two Christians with such different views of Jesus are good friends and respect the other's views. Borg and Wright have had many personal discussions with one another, so each is very familiar with the other's arguments. Bravo to both of them. I especially liked the following two quotations: By Wright: "And the way to solve all such questions, whether to do with Jesus or to do with the sources, is once more the scientific method of hypothesis and verification." By Borg: "My point is not to deny an afterlife. But it wasn't central to Jesus' teaching. The vision of the Christian life that flows out of taking him seriously is about a relationship with the Spirit of God that transforms our lives in the present, not about a reward that only comes later." THIS IS THE IDEAL WAY TO DEBATE SUCH ISSUES. Why can't other scholars show similar respect for opposing views?
2 Comments 154 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent discussion.
By Kerry Sullivan on March 6, 2002
Format: Paperback
I enjoyed the book tremendously. I am a Christian who also wants to be intellectually honest in my beliefs. To me, it was refreshing to see two devoted Christians with significantly different views of the historical Jesus engaged in respectful dialogue in which neither acuses the other of heresy.
This book presents competing views of the historical Jesus by two writers the editors label as "the leading liberal and sonservative Jesus scholars." That might be a bit overbilled, since other scholars such as Meier, Sanders and Crossan come at least as readily to mind. But Wright and Borg are excellent.
The "Liberal" and "Conservative" labels are also a bit overdone. Both scholars accept the discipline of rigorous critical scholarship and, again, both are committed Christians-- so they are not so far apart as these labels might imply. It's not as if a Fundamentalist and an Agnostic are going at each other. But these complaints are with the billing for the book and not for the book itself, which I found excellent.
Wright, the conservative, sees Jesus as a prophet inaugurating the Kingdom of God who indicated at least in a cryptic way that he was the Messiah of God. He sees the bodily ressurection and the empty tomb as historical events that are foundational for the Christian faith.
Borg, the liberal, views Jesus as a social prophet and a healer, a man who called people to a new way of seeing and a new way of living. For him, whether the tomb was empty or not is irrelevent. He believes the Messianic claims contained in the New Testament come from the early Church rather than the historical Jesus. Nevertheless, he sees Jesus as the image of the invisible God.
I recommend this book for anyone sympathetic to Christianity who is sincerely interested in the Historical Jesus debate.
Comment 53 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsA Wonderful, New Approach to Presenting Jesus Scholarship
By Tron Honto on September 18, 2000
Format: Hardcover
Let's face it, there are loads of Jesus books out there. For one who wants to begin with taking a look at real scholarship and not metaphysical fairy tales about Jesus, it's hard to find a good place to start. Before this book was published, the best introduction was The Jesus Quest by Ben Witherington III, which looked @ the many modern scholars of Jesus scholarship. Its weakness was that it summarized views in Witherington's words which were often harshly critical because of his evangelical bias. Borg is the 'liberal' and is a powerful representative for the camp. Wright is the most exciting scholar right now who powerfully supports and challenges orthodoxy simultaneously. Wright is the superior scholar here in my opinion, but the great thing about the book is that you can decide for yourselves looking at the authors' own writings.
Comment 72 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsan interesting new approach
By A Customer on October 5, 1999
Format: Hardcover
'The Meaning of Jesus' has seemed to take a new approach in its genre. This is most likely a result of the two mens friendship. It can be read by anyone without too much knowledge of the historical Jesus. NT Wright does use some intellectual language which might be frightening to some, but his point is not missed. Marcus Borg writes in plain old english which makes for easy reading without sacrificing to much meaningful content. This book is definitly an introduction and nothing written in it is new. It does cover many issues on several different topics. I'd reccomend this book to anyone who is casually interested in the case for the historical Jesus. I think you'll find it a very rewarding read.
Comment 30 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsAn adequate introduction to the historical Jesus debate
By Timotheos Josephus on July 11, 2001
Format: Paperback
This book is not geared toward those who are already familiar with the issues involved in the debate over who Jesus of Nazareth really was. Instead, it was written to introduce people to the discussion and give a general representation of the two opposing perspectives.
N.T. Wright presents the conservative view, which means that he believes the gospels give us generally reliable history, that Jesus made outrageous claims to divinity, performed miracles, rose from the dead, and is indeed divine as taught by traditional Christianity. Marcus Borg gives the liberal side. He believes the gospels contain far more myth than history, that Jesus did not claim anything out of the ordinary in regards to a unique relationship to God, and that he did not physically rise from the dead.
Neither writer is really able to give detailed arguments for their views because of the large amount of ground they attempt to cover in this book. I did like the book's format. Each section addressed a specific topic (reliability of gospels, divinity claims, etc.), with each writer devoting a chapter to the subject at hand. They then rotated which writer was first for each topic. This prevented one person from always getting the last word.
If you're already familiar with the historical Jesus debate, then I'd give it two stars (and recommend passing on this one). However, if you're new to the issue I'd say its worthy of four stars and suggest it as a good introduction to a fascinating debate.
1 Comment 85 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starspreist

Marcus Borg is a Catholic priest and N.T. Wright is an Episcopal priest. These 2 churches have a common history (as do all Christian churches) for a long time. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

No

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

As expected.

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsI was really looking forward to reading this book, and I wasn’t...

N.T. Wright and the late Marcus J. Borg are two of the most influential Jesus scholars of the past 20 years. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Tristan Sherwin
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

I'm more in agreement with Borg than with Wright, but appreciate what the book offers.

Published 4 months ago by Glenn T. Webb
5.0 out of 5 starsOutstanding read

This book was for a college course. Wow. Everyone needs to read it no matter if they are christian or not. Written by two of the greatest authors. Its perfect.

Published 5 months ago by anon
5.0 out of 5 starsOver all a very good debate of the issues

I found Borgs explanations far more clearly expressed than Wrights. Over all a very good debate of the issues. Altogether worth a pastor's time. Also a good bible study source

Published 10 months ago by Popvan
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A very helpful exposition of different approaches by two brilliant scholars

Published 10 months ago by Peter J Sanders
4.0 out of 5 starsGet your head around Jesus and change!

Like the energy of the book.It's the kind of alternative energy that I felt in the gospels describing Jesus and his attitude to life. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Freda Morgan
5.0 out of 5 starsAre there more views?

Reading it with a book study-church group.
Half way through and already causing deep reflection...
Real enjoyment.

Published 12 months ago by Mark Miller

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: church history, christology, christianity