The Meaning of Jesus

The book, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright is a conversation of sorts between, “The Leading Liberal and Conservative Jesus Scholars” as they “Present the Heart of the Historical Jesus Debate.” In the introduction, the scholars note that the inspiration and writing of the book grew out of friendship. The book is evidence of the public and private conversations between these scholars and friends, sharing in Christian faith and practice as they work through these complex issues in hopes of understanding each other better. Both, “…acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, and [we] regard the no-holds-barred study of his actual history as a vital part of what we mean by that” (viii).

Under those circumstances, identified in the book are a few purposes of the writing: the desire to shift log-jammed debates into more fruitful possibilities by suggesting other ways issues might be lined up, as well as opening up a crucial question, how do different visions of Jesus relate to different visions of the Christian life? Agreeing that discussions and conversations about Jesus should be open and in the public sphere, Borg and Wright act on this shared aspiration, and reveal a conversation that is both interesting and refreshing, for the underlying purpose of igniting dialogue between others, Christian and non-Christian alike (ix-x).

In this situation, the content of the writing is broken down into eight parts with each scholar authoring one short chapter on each of the topics, alternating the position of the chapters in a point-counterpoint manner. Rarely stating an explicit disagreement with the other, the intimate manner of presentation does an excellent job in exposing the inherent tensions between the two...

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... of the Christian faith front and center by uniting two camps of believers in one reading; a starting point. As illustrated by the authors, “Though we have not, of course, reached agreement, we are satisfied that we have eliminated misunderstandings, that is, that neither of us has misrepresented the other. We offer the result to the reader as a celebration of shared friendship, faith, and scholarship” (xi).

In conclusion, I found the book incredibly thought-provoking and worthwhile for this course. Its strength came from the open and honest but respectful nature of the dialogue between these scholars. Each chapter offered by Borg and Wright seemed more like teasers for reading their other publications which was unsatisfying in a way but very enticing for those interested readers of the book to continue their own quests for understanding the historical Jesus.