The Heart of Christianity

Marcus Borg, in his recent book The Heart of Christianity, thoughtfully discusses how many people have felt alienated or marginalized by religion that emphasizes literalism, intolerance, and exclusivity. He regards this previous approach as the earlier paradigm, and asserts that it is outmoded and must be replaced by a more inclusive, affirming, metaphorical, and diverse approach. He points to a new, or emerging vision of faith- "...a new way of seeing Christianity," as he puts it.

He writes that "... there is no single right way of understanding Christianity and no single right way of being Christian."

Borg outlines four meanings of faith that are different lenses through which people have interpreted the faith over the years- for better or worse:

assensus- or assent- a matter of the head- Borg believes the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counterreformation adopted and informed this perspective; also he believes they were informed by Enlightenment ideals and quest for factual verification of Christian belief. He writes that

:…for many modern people, faith as assensus has become primary precisely because the central claims of Christianity have become questionable...faith as belief is relatively impotent, relatively powerless. (30)

fiducia- or “trust”- radical trust in God. Borg cites Kierkegaard’s metaphor of faith as trust being like “floating in an ocean.” (citing a passage from Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling) Faith as “trusting in the buoyancy of God.” In this perspective, the opposite of faith is anxiety or worry.

fidelitas- faithfulness to God in a covenant relationship- “radical centering in God.” Opposites of this meaning are covenant-breaking and idolatry. The ten commandments and the Great Commandment prime examples of faith as fidelitas.

visio- vision- “…seeing the whole; seeing what is.” Cites H. Richard Neibuhr’s The Responsible Self. The responding self more aptly describes this concept according to Borg. “...seeing reality as gracious.”

Faith as believing- Borg asserts that “the pre-modern meanings of English words believe and believing and Latin word credo very different from what believing has come to mean in our time.” Credo “does not mean ‘I hereby agree to the literal-factual truth of the following statements.’ Rather its Latin roots combine to mean ‘I give my heart to.” The word itself is possibly related to French term cri de couer (cry of my heart)- meaning "a passionate belief that comes from the heart...Given the pre-modern meaning of ‘believe,’ to believe in God is to belove God.” (39-41)

I read that and it really resonated with me. We often get so cerebral when talking about belief, that it is important to get back to experiencing faith as a matter of the heart.

I also appreciated what Borg writes about "thin places," where we encounter the divine in our lives at key times, and are encouraged on our spiritual journey by gaining a renewed sense of vision.

Marcus Borg outlines five key traits of Jesus, one of them being a "Jewish mystic," as well as several others acknowledging his spiritual awareness and leadership.

Missing from Borg's list of Jesus' roles are two prominent ones- "Son of God" and "Savior" or "Messiah." That would be one of my primary critiques of the book and of Borg's writings in general is that he seems to deliberately refrain from acknowledging Jesus by any of these terms. Instead, Borg refers to him as Jesus of Nazareth, or as a Jewish mystic.

Borg also has some pretty interesting views on Christian doctrines such as original sin, the atonement- which Borg rejects; Jesus' resurrection- which he -only acknowledges as happening or being important in a metaphorical sense, as well as alluding to questioning the divinity of Jesus.

Marcus Borg also articulates what I believe to be a pretty cynical view on prayer. He holds to the theological notion that God is "not an interventionist." I agree in part if by interventionist you mean God as a sort of divine Santa Claus doling out reward or punishment. I believe that God is active in in the lives of all humanity and not just as some sort of metaphorical divine placebo either- but in a very real, present way.

I was very skeptical of these claims, and of the Jesus Seminars in general, which he participated in along with Robert Funk, John Dominic Crossan, John Cobb, and other liberal theologians and scholars.

In the remainder of the book, Borg further unpacks this new vision, for a more progressive, inclusive faith. He speaks of the richness of metaphor in texts of faith, and how literalists have misinterpreted and misused scripture over the course of history to further their own agendas. All the while, certain aspects of scripture are conveniently overlooked by such literalists (such as the fullness of meaning in loving one's neighbor).

I have found renewed spiritual vitality through reading this excellent, timely, and thought-provoking book by Marcus Borg.

His emphasis on faith as a journey of questions rather than an arrival at false certitude, spoke powerfully to me on my journey, as I have struggled with these same questions and been mostly unsatisfied by the simplistic, prescriptive "answers" that are so often formulaicly put forth by literalist and fundamentalist Christians and many people who consider themselves religious.

I look forward to continuing the journey!

Peace in the Lord,

John