[contact
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by Susan Polege
BOOK REVIEW [site map] [contact
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This book was a tough read. It was sort of interesting to get two different views from chapter to chapter, but Borg and Wright were usually not exactly point-counterpoint in their writing. I was expecting a sort of written debate, and I came away with a stronger realization that there are many ways for a person to approach an issue, and it is naive to believe that there are only two sides to an issue, much less one.
Another insight from the book is that there are no solutions to an issue like this. There will never really be a conclusion, but striving to understand others' positions and the subject is the ultimate goal.
Since I was already familiar with Borg's views from reading The Meaning of Jesus, Wright was my main interest. He's a conservative scholar compared to Borg. His view that integrating faith and life like it was for people when Jesus lived is a very intriguing one to me. Wright says that history helps faith from becoming fantasy and faith keeps history alive. Wright also does not separate the Jesus of history and Christ of faith like Borg does. He thinks that if there is something unclear about Christianity, going back to the historical root of the faith will help clear it up, and if there is something puzzling about the history, faith will help in understanding.
All in all, I really had a tough time getting even as far as I did into this book. With a little more concentration and time in reading, perhaps the meaty ideas could be better digested. Three stars :-) ***