Days of Awe and Wonder

Starred review from January 23, 2017
Borg (1942–2015), a leader in the Jesus Seminar, spent his life teaching, preaching, researching, and writing. He left a legacy of good works and good words, and his provocative messages resonate in this capstone anthology of sermons and essays from 1984 to 2014. Among Borg’s repeated themes are “The passion of God is revealed in Jesus” and “Christianity affirms that Jesus trumps the Bible.” Borg addresses Christian faith and other faiths, awe and wonder, compassion, the voice of God, lived passion, and healing. His words bear the weight of study as they forge—not without humor—through theology, history, and practice. His language also carries the light of his own sagacity, spirit, and mysticism, transcending his work as a historical critic. Through quotations, Borg honors his companions on the way, including American theologian Frederick Buechner, liberation theologian Dorothee S
elle, religious studies scholar Huston Smith, and New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan. The foreword by his widow, Rev. Marianne Borg, and the afterword, Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor’s funeral homily, embrace Borg’s profound words, which will inspire much rereading.

April 1, 2017

Borg (religion & culture, Oregon State Univ.; Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time) may be best known for his association with the Jesus Seminar. However, this collection of sermons, book chapters, articles, interviews, and blog posts is only tangentially connected with that endeavor. Instead, it addresses questions that informed Borg's scholarship and practical convictions. Borg's focus is on wonder, that deep-seated conviction and experience that there is more to life than we can know or hope to know, and though beyond our grasp, this knowledge is available to us. Borg, who died in 2015, was a mystic, and his experiences with the numinous animate his writings. His kind of mysticism embraces reason, as evidenced by discussions over the divinity of Jesus, religious pluralism, the new atheists, and issues of social justice. Although Borg starts to repeat himself, the volume manages to portray a Christianity that is reasonable, full, expansive, and life affirming. VERDICT For those interested in Borg's scholarship, this work provides a hand-held guide for understanding him and his critics. It is also valuable for those wishing to engage their own spiritual aspirations.--JW

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017
Chapters from earlier books and previously uncollected articles, addresses, and sermons make up this fine memorial collection by the late progressive Christian theologian and scholar. Borg's characteristic themes are stated here once more: the importance of the historical Jesus, who he was as well as what he said and did; the focus on the world of spirit; panentheism, or the conception that God contains (not, as with pantheism, is) everything and more; faith as a way of proceeding on a journey instead of as a system of belief; ways to think about Jesus as God, as the model for centering oneself in God, and as a prophet of social concern. Such corollary topics as the New Atheism, the essence of Christianity, the wisdom in other religions, and how to hear the voice of God fill out this gracious gift to all religion collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)