Week 14

Chapter Seven, "Life Together in Christ" begins by saying how Paul didn't just convert individuals. I found this very interesting. He did more than just convert individuals, he created communities. The reason I found this interesting is because he believes that life with Christ was always something that was communal and not just all on your own. I also found it very interesting to hear what was known about the early communal Christian communities. I never really thought about how this might of actually happened. I also never thought about the fact that life with Christ was communal. I mean I know it is never just you, because Christ is always with you, but I never thought about other people being there as well. I also liked; "The social form of love for Paul was distributive justice and non-violence, bread and peace.” This to me was a good way to look at the social aspect of love.

The next aspect of the chapter that I found interesting was how the earlier authors contrasted retributive justice (punishment) with ‘distributive justice’ or divinely mandated economic justice and more. It seems that the authors feel that for Paul the theme of "love and justice"go together. Justice without love can be brutal, and love without justice can be banal. Love is the heart of justice, and justice is the social form of love.” I find this very interesting that they think like this. I never would have really put these two together or thought about them in this way. But then again it makes sense. Justice with out love, would be brutal and like they say love with out justice would be dull.

As I moved on into the Epilogue (The Death of an Apostle) it seemed to be very brief, or short to me. One thing I found interesting, however, is the beginning. It began with almost a disclaimer, saying “In this Epilogue we move into the higher echelons of scholarship known as conjecture. We ask about Paul’s death. How, where, and when did he die? All we can offer in reply is educated guesswork.” I thought it was interesting and different how this epilogue was started. The authors never really state how Paul died, they only offer possibilities. I would have thought that this would have been something more people would of wanted to discover. The main thing they seemed interested about was which letter they thought was Paul's very last one. I guess the ending of Paul's letter and how he died are not really known, however it seems that they have some fairly good ideas. Overall I thought the last finally bit of "The First Paul" was interesting. The main point that I liked the most was how Paul didn't just convert individuals, instead he created communities. This is something I never would have really thought about.

Week 12

As I began the second chapter of Paul it caught my interest. It gave us tools, in a way, which helps us to read a letter written in the first century. The interesting thing was that it wasn’t just any letter; specifically it is a Pauline letter. The main point that he tells us to remember is that many of our issues reading these letters did not exist back when they were written. I also find this very interesting because it shows how much our writing has changed and now we have problems reading the ancient writings.

Back when the letters were written those people did not view them as almost Shakespearean type writing, it was simple normal to them. Now we have to decipher it with the help of scholarly thinkers. I find this difference very interesting. Back when the letters were written even a common man could understand them. I find this almost funny how much things have changed and evolved so that we can’t even completely understand them.

Another interesting fact that he mentions is that we not only need to translate these letters in our minds, but also change them to stories. Each of these stories then has to have a message to us. The next main thing I think Borg focuses on is what the context of words mean in his letters. The biggest example that sticks out to me is his use of daughter. Back then a daughter was nothing to happy about; they needed to be cast out, or left. The next aspect I found interesting is the three different types of Paul; "radical" Paul is found in Philemon, the "conservative" Paul is founds in Colossians and the “reactionary". In this chapter Borg compares and contrasts the attitudes towards slavery. He also compares and contrasts the Radical, Conservative, and Reactionary texts. The Radical text, Philemon is read as a carefully structured rebuke to Philemon to free Onesimus voluntarily. In contrasts the Conservative text emphasize the duty of slaves to temper somewhat by pleas to the master to be nice. The reactionary text on the other hand concerns the duties of the slaves without many duties of them also without any attention to duties of the masters.

Overall I found this chapter very interesting. It was interesting to hear how we should read letters. However I really did enjoy the tools he gave us to interpret them. One of my favorite aspects of this chapter was the fact that we now have to learn how to read these letters. I find this somewhat entertaining because we have to get scholars to interpret what they are trying to say. Sometimes the norms of our generations completely evolve into something different. Like the way we write. At that time it was appropriate and understood, now the righting norm has changed. These chapters were very interesting and helpful.

Week 11

This week we started the book “The First Paul”. As I began to read I realized that I was one of the people who hardly knew a thing about him. There were two other categories, appalling and appealing. I found it interesting that there are these two different groups and that some people either think he is appalling or very appealing to them. I know that for most people that are known publically there are going to be people that have these two different views of him or her. However I never thought of it this way. I also was very unaware that Paul was responsible for the creation of Christianity, at that time a new religion. It seems somewhat funny to me that he wasn’t even aware of this creation either.

It is interesting that Paul wrote many letters and that his life work eventually led to a new denomination. Along with that I think it is interesting that even though many are unaware of it, hundreds of Protestants have Paul as their theological ancestor. All of these facts that I have discussed, I was unaware of. I had no idea that he had such a huge influence in many people’s lives. I know there was many that didn’t like him, but that had to affect them in some way too. When Borg says, “but how he matters and how much he matters vary greatly among Christians”, shows my point of how he influenced people in different ways (4).

It is so true that many people in life can have different understandings about everything. It is very rare in life to have someone see something the exact same way as you. If you as the three people walking next to you to write down and describe the sunset, you will get a different description from everyone. This is because we all see life differently and Borg makes a good point about that. As Borg says, “ there are very diverse understandings of Paul’s importance,” (4). The one sentence that Borg wrote that stood out to me the most is, “But all Christians agree that Jesus was admirable, attractive, and appealing. Not so with Paul”(4).

This sentence stands out to me the most because I have never heard such a thing said. I mean how does he even know that everyone agreed on that? Where in the Bible or in life does it say that everyone agrees on those aspects of Jesus? I mean I could understand how he might think not everyone that Paul was appealing, but I feel that there are many people that might not think Jesus was admirable, attractive, or appealing. There is always so much controversy with peoples opinions I just don’t see how everyone agrees on those three aspects of him.

Week 10

The final part of Borg’s book is a look on his own personal views and feelings towards religion and Christianity. I think how he wrote his book tells a lot about himself. It seems that for the majority, he’s the type of guy that would just like to hear himself talk. The way he wrote his Epilogue only further proves this point. I also found it interesting how he says that none of this book is totally objective. I mean it seems as if he just thinks that this is the best opinion about everything and that no one will have anything different from it. However I remember reading a chapter where he discussed how everyone has a different interpretation of the bible. Cant this be the same for his book and peoples outlook on Christianity? Borg believes that the main divisions lie between the “conservative” and the “progressive” types of Christians. It surprised me to hear that 80% of the populations of Christians in America are Evangelicals, or conservatives. I feel that I do not know any Evangelicals, or very few at least so it makes me wonder why? Is it because of where I live? Or is this just not part of the world that they tend to live in? I think it was interesting how Borg started talking about the rights and wrongs of Evangelicals and then moving on to discussing church. He said that long ago going to church was more accepted among individuals. It seems like now days, there is a higher and higher decline of people attending church. The few that do stay is because they are truly passionate about church and want to stay. It makes me wonder why there is such a decline in going to church. Are people just too busy these days, trying to support their families? Or is it another reason like not being accepted for the church you are going to? Whatever reason it is I think it is sad. If there are people out there who want to go to church, but don’t, simply because they are looked at differently, that is not right. If people thought of church as something you must attend in order to be closer to God, would there be more people actually going? I feel that everyone interprets the Bible and the issue of going to church or not differently. When Borg states that he thinks America’s views of Jesus were causing a division in Christianity, I do not agree with that. He says the three phrases; “WWJD, Jesus Loves Me This I Know, and For God So Loved the World” are controversial. I personally don’t think they are. There might be a different interpretation through the viewpoint of others eyes, but I don’t think it would be entirely that much. In conclusion I think that Borg has a good idea of how Christianity should be like. He also has a feeling of what the proper way to practice it is and he shows it in the best form he knows how, writing. This book was a very interesting book to read. It not only gave me a perspective from someone else, but it made me look back upon my own view. There were things I agreed with in here and things I didn’t, however both were still interesting to read about.

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.