On Biblical Theology

 

One of the vital challenges facing thoughtful people today is how to read the Bible faithfully without abandoning our sense of truth and history. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg provides a much needed solution for Christians facing the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet contemporary understanding of the scriptures.

Many people in the modern day believe that there are no choices other than fundamentalism or simply rejecting the Bible as something that can bring no meaning to our lives. Borg shows that there is another alternative -- a very satisfying alternative.

In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg introduces us to how to read the Bible through an approadh he calls "historical-metaphorical." This is indeed a must book for those who desire to "take the Bible seriously, but not literally."

It is this "historical-metaphorical" understanding of scripture, along with the understanding that the central issue of the Bible is Economic Justice, that I use in my preaching and teaching duties as a pastor of Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church.

I highly commend to you the following books as "theological primers." I believe that they are all quite readable for the laity and will provide a solid foundation for increased biblical understanding within a progressive theology framework.

Books by Marcus Borg:

     Reading the Bible Again for the First Time

     The God We Never Knew

     Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

     Speaking Christian

 Books by John Shelby Spong:

     This Hebrew Lord

     Liberating the Gospels

     Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism

     The Sins of Scripture

     Eternal Life: A New Vision

Books by Walter Brueggemann

     Journey to the Common Good

     Disruptive Grace

Books by John Dominic Crossan

     God & Empire

     The Greatest Prayer

Books by Borg and Crossan

     The First Christmas

     The Last Week

     The First Paul

While this list of books is far from exhaustive, they will provide an approach for reading and interpreting scripture that I believe you will find invaluable. Reading them will also help you to understand what I am saying with regard to God and life, and it will help us to converse with one another.