Minor Liberation

Brother Joe--the retired Lutheran minister and missionary-- recently sent me a book: "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time", by Marcus J. Borg.


Mr. Borg is a professor and historian of the Christian tradition. Brother Joe calls him "a really outstanding Bible scholar".


Borg makes a very good case for some de-mythification of Christianity.


From his historic and linguistic research it  is clear that many of the iconic details of the old Jesus story may be simply borrowings from other mythologies current in the first century Mediterranean locale of the story.


There were really no wise men following stars, no angelic choirs, no virgin birth-- in fact not much of anything that many people think of as God's Word Truth. It was all made up by well-intentioned writers  to make the Gospel story more interesting.

Borg suggests that Jesus was probably a "spirit person" similar to native American sages like Black Elk and Crazy Horse or maybe Edgar Casey. Jesus was a human person concerned with spirit, compassion and sincerity and breaking down some of the class barriers of his day.   Jesus probably did not see himself as a Son of God born of a virgin, etc.


I know there are a LOT of knee-jerk "Christians" who will be totally appalled and furious about the ideas  so coolly laid out in this little book since it strikes at the roots of the Santa Clausy Jesus mythology so beloved by the merchants of Christmastime and the  churchianity and the bibilotry so prevalent in the One Way protestant groups--not to mention the bone-conservative Catholic and Orthodox folks.


No fear though. I have a strong hunch that the Christianity Juggernaut will keep on a-rolling for some time to come--the Borgs and so forth will not cause even a miniscule  bumpitty-bump of it's mindlessly squashing  wheels.

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