The God we never knew : beyond dogmatic religion to a more authentic contemporary faith / Marcus J. Borg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Borg, Marcus J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity--Miscellanea.

Christianity.

Christianity--Controversial literature.

Jesus Christ--Miscellanea.

Jesus Christ.

Liberalism (Religion).

Borg, Marcus J.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

ix, 182 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

[San Francisco, CA] : HarperSanFrancisco, [1997]

Summary:

Answering the many "spiritual" questions left unaddressed by such popular historical bestsellers as "A History of God" and "God: A Biography," renowned author Marcus Borg reveals how to embrace 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 contemporary religion. In providing a much-needed solution to the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet fully contemporary understanding of God, Borg-- author of the bestselling "Meeting Jesus Again for the first Time" --traces his personal journey. He leads readers from the all-powerful and authoritarian God of his (and their) childhood and traditional faith to an equally powerful but dynamic image of God that is relevant to contemporary seekers and more biblical and spiritually authentic. Borg shows how the modern crisis of faith is itself rooted in delusion-- misinterpretation of biblical texts and of God's true nature-- and challenges readers to a new way of thinking about God. He opens a practical discussion about how to base a relationship with the divine both immanent and transcendant, here and now, always and everywhere.

Arguing that the authentic Judeo-Christian tradition is that God's being includes the whole world, Borg persuasively shows how this understanding accounts for the whole variety of human religious experience. Ultimately, he introduces readers to a way of thinking about God who is "right here" all around them, rather than distant and remote. This understanding is more intellectually and spiritually satisfying andallows readers to reclaim a stronger sense of God's presence.

Contents:

Meeting God Again for the First Time

Part I Thinking About God

1 Thinking About God: The God I Met the First Time 11

2 Thinking About God: Why Panentheism? 32

Part II Imaging God

3 Imaging God: Why and How It Matters 57

4 Imaging God: Jesus and God 84

Part III Living with God

5 Opening to God: The Heart of Spirituality 111

6 The Dream of God: A Politics of Compassion 132

7 Salvation: What on Earth Do We Mean? 156.

Notes:

"A Tree Clause book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0060610344

0060610352

OCLC:

36112177