marcus borg and christian think ..

marcus borg died

he had many lovers, many haters .. i am neither, really
i've read a few encouraging articles about borg by people i respect, and i'm encouraged by his apparent Jesusness - his kindness, graciousness, humility, and refusal to diss his opponents

he's one of those people who 'get my goat' on things biblical. he and john dominic crossan and those other ' progressive ' christians and Jesus Seminar folk .. they upset my coffee cup, spilling stuff everywhere, making a mess

but ..
be it known that i honour such people, for this reason: they are confronting christianity and the bible, challenging the creeds and the doctrines of men, asking lots of very pertinent questions on things we're supposed to simply swallow and chase-down with a latte because the preacher said so, or the theologian, or the Joel Os or John Hagees ..
and they do it with righteous motivation, looking to understand the God that is God


i laud that. i applaud it, relish it and wait expectantly for more of the same

our issue, and a critical and urgent issue it is, is the malaise christianity soaks in, refusing to engage either scripture or the god that engaged us, while we decorate our automobiles and our necks with crosses and fish
truly, half the time we are quite ignorant about what either means and far removed from their call on our lives
jesus remains a sunday aquaintance who hardly shadows our doorway; we wouldn't know him if he walked up and tapped us on the shoulder
.. or whispered our name

so .. for that reason i join wholeheartedly in honouring the work and teaching of MB
may there be many many more who refuse to tow the line, looking for some other path, some other stream to fish in

that sort of christian gives me hope, for christianity is in a fine mess, and much of the fish we eat are slowly poisoning our spirits ..
and the spirits of those we serve them to

may God help us to wake up from our stupor ..
this world is a dark place .. it needs our light

don't just lie there
be a light
get involved ..
        from the inside out

peace