Was Jesus Who We Think He Was?
April 25, 2010
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son…” (John 3:16, NIV). Was Jesus God’s
son incarnate, or was he just a human being like
us? This is an interesting question which was
raised in book that I just read, Meeting Jesus
Again for the First Time by Marcus J. Borg.
Borg has a radical view in the realm of
Christianity. He makes the claim that while Jesus
was a spirit person, he was not the Son of God as
we understand him to be. As he stated, Jesus did
not speak of himself, but turned attention towards
God. And according to Borg, he never uttered the
words from John 3:16. His position is that Jesus
did not know he was the Messiah, and never
claimed to be. He also believes that Jesus
"probably believed in the afterlife", but did not
counsel on what to do to get there.
Borg proposes that Jesus’ foray into a spiritual life
was when he became a follower of John the
Baptizer. He most likely underwent a “conversion
experience” and stepped on to carry John’s work
when he was arrested.
He makes a distinction between what he calls the
“pre-Easter” (the historical) Jesus and the “post-
Easter” Jesus (as the living spirit). We cannot
know much about the historical Jesus in his
viewpoint. The “post-Easter” Jesus was
experienced as a spiritual reality, instead of flesh
and blood. John’s gospel claims that Jesus said “I
am the light of the world.” Borg indicates that this
was not said by Jesus, but that it was symbolic in
that he led them out of the darkness. So, he feels
that John’s gospel is “true”, just not historically
accurate.
In Borg's view, Jesus was:
- A spirit person. He had an experiential
relationship with God but was not the only one who
did. (Borg claims that this adds, rather than
detracts, from the credibility of Jesus and the
Christian tradition.)
- A teacher of wisdom (how to live life in
accordance with God’s will). He often used
parables and aphorisms to get his points across.
- Very intelligent.
- A left- and right- brained thinker.
- An excellent speaker.
- A social prophet who was often in conflict
with authorities and attracted enemies. Socially
conscious. He used dramatic public actions such as
staging demonstrations and eating with
“untouchables”.
- A remarkable healer.
- A conduit for the power or wisdom of God to
enter the world.
- Experienced reality in a much different way
than we do.
- Someone who lived in imitation of God, with
his compassion and spirit.
- Someone who rebelled against Christianity
as being represented by requirements and rewards.
The claim with the most impact is that Borg
believes that the Christian belief that Jesus came
to Earth to die for our sins, and God could not
forgive us without that having happened, and that
we are saved by believing this story, is
“incredible”. He believes it is powerful in a
metaphorical sense, but should not be taken on a
literal level.
Borg has even more radical ideas as far as
Christianity is concerned regarding the
Resurrection. He writes, “I see the truth of Easter
as grounded in the Christian experience of Jesus as
a living spiritual reality of the present.” In other
words, he does not believe that Jesus’ body was
risen from the tomb; in fact, he said that he would
not be surprised to find evidence that the body had
not been removed but that this belief did not
detract from his being a Christian. This is a little
hard to swallow. He does claim that Jesus is the
Son of God, but indicates, it seems, that he is such
after he leaves the physical realm and joins God on
a spiritual plane. He believes that focusing on one
notion of Jesus narrows the scope of Christology.
So, what do I think about all of this?
Borg’s claims are interesting, to say the least, and
some of them make sense. Of course Jesus was
all of the things he described. And our knowledge
of Jesus’ teachings only cover a period of one to
four years. It is evident that he had a special
relationship with God, but does that mean that he
was present with God when the universe was
created? That I can’t answer, nor will I try to.
Borg’s beliefs bring about the question: could the
fact that someone does or does not accept the
belief that Jesus was the Son of God who died for
our sins make them still a Christian? If not, is all
the grandeur of His teaching and of His doctrine to
be forbidden to them? It is possible that
knowledge of Jesus implies a spiritual birth. An
interpretation, in other words, is that Jesus' own
life is the key to His nearness to God; that He
expressed, as no other could, the spirit and will of
God. It is in this sense, in essence, that one can
see Him and recognize Him as the Son of God.
Borg’s ultimate stance can be relayed by his quote,
“Believing in Jesus does not mean believing
doctrines about him. Rather, it means to give
one’s heart, one’s self at its deepest level, to the
post-Easter Jesus who is the living Lord, the side
of God turned toward us, the face of God, the Lord
who is also the Spirit.” I find many of his notions
credible, and find comfort in the fact that in order
to be a Christian, all I need to do is accept Jesus
as my Lord and Savior, and what I personally
choose to believe - or not to believe - in the way of
doctrine is my personal decision.
April 25, 2010
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son…” (John 3:16, NIV). Was Jesus God’s
son incarnate, or was he just a human being like
us? This is an interesting question which was
raised in book that I just read, Meeting Jesus
Again for the First Time by Marcus J. Borg.
Borg has a radical view in the realm of
Christianity. He makes the claim that while Jesus
was a spirit person, he was not the Son of God as
we understand him to be. As he stated, Jesus did
not speak of himself, but turned attention towards
God. And according to Borg, he never uttered the
words from John 3:16. His position is that Jesus
did not know he was the Messiah, and never
claimed to be. He also believes that Jesus
"probably believed in the afterlife", but did not
counsel on what to do to get there.
Borg proposes that Jesus’ foray into a spiritual life
was when he became a follower of John the
Baptizer. He most likely underwent a “conversion
experience” and stepped on to carry John’s work
when he was arrested.
He makes a distinction between what he calls the
“pre-Easter” (the historical) Jesus and the “post-
Easter” Jesus (as the living spirit). We cannot
know much about the historical Jesus in his
viewpoint. The “post-Easter” Jesus was
experienced as a spiritual reality, instead of flesh
and blood. John’s gospel claims that Jesus said “I
am the light of the world.” Borg indicates that this
was not said by Jesus, but that it was symbolic in
that he led them out of the darkness. So, he feels
that John’s gospel is “true”, just not historically
accurate.
In Borg's view, Jesus was:
- A spirit person. He had an experiential
relationship with God but was not the only one who
did. (Borg claims that this adds, rather than
detracts, from the credibility of Jesus and the
Christian tradition.)
- A teacher of wisdom (how to live life in
accordance with God’s will). He often used
parables and aphorisms to get his points across.
- Very intelligent.
- A left- and right- brained thinker.
- An excellent speaker.
- A social prophet who was often in conflict
with authorities and attracted enemies. Socially
conscious. He used dramatic public actions such as
staging demonstrations and eating with
“untouchables”.
- A remarkable healer.
- A conduit for the power or wisdom of God to
enter the world.
- Experienced reality in a much different way
than we do.
- Someone who lived in imitation of God, with
his compassion and spirit.
- Someone who rebelled against Christianity
as being represented by requirements and rewards.
The claim with the most impact is that Borg
believes that the Christian belief that Jesus came
to Earth to die for our sins, and God could not
forgive us without that having happened, and that
we are saved by believing this story, is
“incredible”. He believes it is powerful in a
metaphorical sense, but should not be taken on a
literal level.
Borg has even more radical ideas as far as
Christianity is concerned regarding the
Resurrection. He writes, “I see the truth of Easter
as grounded in the Christian experience of Jesus as
a living spiritual reality of the present.” In other
words, he does not believe that Jesus’ body was
risen from the tomb; in fact, he said that he would
not be surprised to find evidence that the body had
not been removed but that this belief did not
detract from his being a Christian. This is a little
hard to swallow. He does claim that Jesus is the
Son of God, but indicates, it seems, that he is such
after he leaves the physical realm and joins God on
a spiritual plane. He believes that focusing on one
notion of Jesus narrows the scope of Christology.
So, what do I think about all of this?
Borg’s claims are interesting, to say the least, and
some of them make sense. Of course Jesus was
all of the things he described. And our knowledge
of Jesus’ teachings only cover a period of one to
four years. It is evident that he had a special
relationship with God, but does that mean that he
was present with God when the universe was
created? That I can’t answer, nor will I try to.
Borg’s beliefs bring about the question: could the
fact that someone does or does not accept the
belief that Jesus was the Son of God who died for
our sins make them still a Christian? If not, is all
the grandeur of His teaching and of His doctrine to
be forbidden to them? It is possible that
knowledge of Jesus implies a spiritual birth. An
interpretation, in other words, is that Jesus' own
life is the key to His nearness to God; that He
expressed, as no other could, the spirit and will of
God. It is in this sense, in essence, that one can
see Him and recognize Him as the Son of God.
Borg’s ultimate stance can be relayed by his quote,
“Believing in Jesus does not mean believing
doctrines about him. Rather, it means to give
one’s heart, one’s self at its deepest level, to the
post-Easter Jesus who is the living Lord, the side
of God turned toward us, the face of God, the Lord
who is also the Spirit.” I find many of his notions
credible, and find comfort in the fact that in order
to be a Christian, all I need to do is accept Jesus
as my Lord and Savior, and what I personally
choose to believe - or not to believe - in the way of
doctrine is my personal decision.
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