Re Borg Cannot Be Ignored, Letters, September
After attending a weekend lecture series conducted by Marcus Borg, and after reading some of his works, I must admit his approach to Christianity and Christ in particular is refreshing to say the least.
I am a 62-year-old man who attended Sunday school from a very early age and was subjected to lessons which reflected a God who was to be feared, or else. He was portrayed as a person (they called “Him” God) who knew everything I did or did not do, and even what I was thinking. This had a profound influence on my comprehension of God and the Bible. I thank God that after many years, I am past that view of God, who was introduced as a terrorist to be feared. I learned from Prof. Borg how to consider different ways of hearing “the message;” a message from a distant past and a completely different culture. From his teaching, I learned that the real message was not fearsome, but spoke to me today. Not once during his lecture did I ever hear him say “you must believe this or think that,” but he asked only that we keep our minds open to Christ (not interpretation).
I still see myself as a valuable member of a congregation, but Borg’s thoughts have helped me explore my view of the church without compromise. It is no secret that many have given up, or they are on the edge of doing so. To such as those who find the literal interpretation of our Lord’s words a burden not worth the effort, I commend Borg and others who at least want to offer an alternative to the “do this, think that theology” as perpetuated by even those in high offices.
