The Meaning Of Jesus Analysis

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In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
The Meaning of Jesus begins with Borg speaking about how we know about Jesus. Borg explains that the gospels have two natures. First, they are a developing tradition and second, the gospels are a mixture of history “remembered” and history “metaphorized”. Borg believes that some of the material is from Jesus and some is from the Christian community. The material from the Christian community should be considered metaphors, so this material is history metaphorized. Borg also states that there are two ways to refer to Jesus: pre and post-Easter Jesus; human and divine. The importance of pre-Easter Jesus is that, according …show more content…

First, Borg clarifies that Jesus was a Jewish mystic and Christian messiah. So, Jesus may not have thought he was the messiah. Borg believes Jesus was a Jewish mystic and Spirit person. So, Jesus performed many healings, but they should not be considered miracles. Borg refers to them as paranormal healings. Thus, Borg concludes that Jesus was a “prophet of the Kingdom of God”.
In the next chapter, Borg talks about Jesus death. Borg’s main argument is that he is skeptical about whether or not Jesus believed his death was “salvific.” Borg does understand, however, that there is evidence in the Bible that goes against his belief. So, Borg presents evidence that he believes argues that Jesus did not see his death as leading to salvation.
The next section of the book examines Easter and Jesus. Borg writes that he agrees with Wright about Easter being central to Christianity, however, he disagrees with Wright concerning the importance of Jesus’ body and the tomb. Borg argues that the tomb and Jesus’ corpse are irrelevant to

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