Book: The Heart of Christianity
Author: Marcus Borg
If you want a challenging, progressive book that describes the heart of Christianity then this book is for you. Although Borg is often a little dry and analytical he is also thorough and does not rely on the whimsical yet sloppy writing style of many authors of this genre.
Borg begins with an in-depth description and discussion of the traditional and emerging paradigms of Christianity. This is very helpful to a newcomer to progressive christian writing. This approach outlines the great possibilities of the emerging paradigm and shows how God, the Bible and Jesus can all be opened up to us when we take a less literal more allegorical approach.
Borg takes common "Chritian" language and concepts such us faith, belief, salvation and being "born again" and literally turns them upside down. We are able to see how the changes in the historical meanings of these words have dramatically changed the way we practice and what it means to believe. This could be challenging to some readers who are used to the more traditional paradigm.
The one criticism I would make about this text is that it is too short. Borg has tried to pack in a little too much information in a short book. Even in the final chapter Borg begins to introduce new concepts rather than surmising his previous points.
All together a fascinating and in-depth discussion.
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