Week 9

As Borg pointed out, the Bible is both personal and political. This was something that I was not aware of. I most definitely agree that the personal aspect of the Bible guide the way of many different people lives. It is about our relationship to God as individual and as a whole. I also agree that this relationship can be helpful as a personal transformation. This according to Borg is the “way to a new beginning”. If you really think about it, to someone with no guidance at all, it is. As a person with no personal influence or guidance the Bible could be your way for a new beginning. This person can answer their questions by the word of God and follow his righteous ways. The Bible can be used by many, as a guideline to their lives. One key sentence Borg says is “Beloving God makes all the difference in our lives as a person.” I agree with this sentence greatly. I feel that if you are passionate about what you believe in the Bible, and you have strong faith, it will lead to a good life. Many people can interpret the Bible differently but no horrible crimes have been committed due to the Bible interpretations, at least any that I know of. Borg says the Bible is guidance for many people, this I agree with. I know as a child I was always told stories from the Bible and all the righteous things that have been done. These stories have become a factor in the way I was raised. They taught me good deeds and many actions that are the right actions in life.

Borg also says that the Bible is very political. As I mentioned above this is not something I would have personally thought of. He says that the Bible is about ”Gods passion for a different kind of world.” Now that he pointed this aspect out, it makes total sense to me. I don’t know if it my college education is helping me to see these aspects, or if it just took reading Borg’s book to open my eyes. The passion of God was for a different world that was not of the norm of that specific civilization. This also points out the fact to me on how much of a rebel Jesus was. He was the one who was promoting God’s word. It was him who was trying to change the way many people see life. It may be slightly off topic, but for some reason when Borg brings up these facts I previously mention it revealed to me the rebel Jesus was. He didn’t care what others thought or did; he simply did what he wanted to. Even when others thought it was wrong to help someone who was different, or someone on Sabbath day, he would still do what he thought was right. I think that in today’s society he would be simply disregarded as someone who was weird or different. Very few people would actually open their ears, eyes and heart to what he was preaching. This makes me worry about some people who don’t have an open mind to other things. This also brings me back to the point of the Bible being a personal guideline. Those who live by it will be righteous and walking on the right path in life. These people will also understand when someone like Jesus, if not Jesus, comes back into our lives her on Earth. Just because everyone doesn’t use the Bible in the same personal ways that everyone else does, doesn’t make them wrong or right. Everyone has their own personal views and interpretations of what they learn and read. What is yours?

Week 7

Ever since I was a child I just saw Jesus as a teacher, not a teacher of wisdom, but just a teacher. I never thought it really made a difference, however, it does. As a teacher your primary target is to “communicate information about their subject matter” (pg 165). In Chapter 7 I think it is very interesting how Borg talks about Jesus being the Teacher of Wisdom. This seems a lot more realistic than him simply being a teacher. When he is a teacher of wisdom he is not simply teaching about the subject. He is teaching with a genre of teaching by different stories and short sayings. Its “content” or “subject matter” focuses on the more central questions of life. I find all of this very interesting because before reading this, I never even thought about it. Simply calling Jesus a teacher does not come close at all to what he actually does. Calling him just a teacher is not specific enough. A teacher of wisdom, on the other hand is. I feel that as a younger child I should have been introduced to the title of Jesus the Teacher of Wisdom and not just Jesus a teacher. It might not seem like that big of a difference to a young child, or to many other people, but it truly is. If you just see Jesus as a teacher you might thing of him more like your high school teacher or something. A teacher of wisdom brings him into a different light.

I also think it is interesting how Borg says there is two different categories for wisdom teachers. It is interesting to see his first category, which is conventional wisdom. Borg says that this is more of a cultural and directional “guidance grounded in the experience of generations” (pg 166). Conventional wisdom seems to cover a lot, according to Borg. It covers etiquette to family roles, and to general values. One of the main messages it portrays is “Follow this way-the wise way, the right way- and your life will go well” (pg 166). I think that this is the central theme that the conventional wisdom portrays. I also feel that conventional wisdom is a very important factor in every day life. It determines the way we would all live together in a culture. With out a consensus of group behavior, we could all not live together. The second wisdom of teaching Borg said was one “that challenges the taken-for-granted cultural consensus of conventional wisdom. I believe that this is important as well. This was more of counter wisdom and it made it unique. When Jesus taught this counter wisdom he made sure what he taught about God was grounded. When he did this it was not grounded in convention or not in socialized convention. This wisdom and teachings were grounded in his experiences of God. All of these experiences made Jesus able to see differently. Both of these types of wisdom I think are equally important. Reading about this also makes me take another look at how I see Jesus. There is no way that he is just a teacher. Jesus is more than a teacher, he is a teacher of wisdom.

Week 6

As I think back to Borg’s book, I remember how he said everyone has a different interpretation of the bible. This week as I am reading the Gospel of Mark, I can understand why. There is a long time in history that this was the least popular of the Gospels. This was because many people thought it was too dull for their taste. However once people realized it was quite possibly one of the first Gospels to be written, they appreciated it much more. I find it fascinating that the Gospel According to Mark has no story of Jesus’ birth. It is interesting that it actually starts from when he was an adult. The reason I find this interesting is explained with a simple question, did the author not think it was important? Personally I think the birth of Jesus is very important, but maybe that is because I look further back on this even in history. The author most likely just overlooked his birth because personally he didn’t think it was anything special.

When you begin to read Mark’s Gospel, it begins with John preaching. Here he says to all that is listening “one stronger than I am is coming after me” (61). By this he means Jesus. I found this a very interesting way to begin the Gospel. As I mentioned above, we do not get to hear about the birth of Jesus, but John’s preaching foreshadows the fact that he is still coming. Later, the Gospel of Mark moves on to describe Jesus’ message. When few believe him Jesus must round of disciples. Once he has done so he begins to perform different miracles. This is what he does to show everyone that he is divine. As we continue reading through Mark’s Gospel it continues on with more and more accounts of miracles that had been done. I find it interesting that no one was a little freaked out by the fact he could do these things. When Jesus continued with his actions, he gathered more and more followers. The more followers he had, the more people started to believe he is the Son of God. I feel that this Gospel shows readers the beginning of Jesus’ life. It shows that the many lessons and actions preformed by him are really proof he is the Savior. Even though it was hard for some people to follow him at first. The more he preformed miracles, the more real the fact that he is the Son of God. I can understand how it would be a challenge for many to follow him, but if you open your mind, more things are possible. Reading this for me, reassured me in the role of Jesus. This Gospel helps show his will to forgive, with his actions he does. This reminds me of who Jesus is and the fact that he is supposed to be there for you to guide you in the right direction. At the beginning of the Gospel we get reminded of what it is to be Christian, to forgive, to love, to have faith and to help others. This is what is the most important thing to know. To love others is to love yourself.