I did not like the late Marcus Borg at first. Borg, who died in January, was a leading Jesus scholar. His leadership in the controversial “Jesus Seminar” in the 1990s put me off. That collection of about 150 scholars notoriously used red, pink and black beads to vote on the historicity of Jesus’ sayings. Doubtful sayings got “black balled.” Pretty shabby, I thought.
Borg’s books and lectures, as well as his leadership on the Jesus Seminar, engendered a broad range of responses. Because he emphasized the human side of Jesus, many Christians accused him of being a “purveyor of false and heretical teachings.” But for people who yearned to meet a less doctrinal Jesus, Borg brought to light a more accesssible Jesus for them. In fact, there are untold thousands who became Christians or re-entered Christianity because of him. My Christian faith has been enriched and enlarged by Borg.
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