Marcus Borg's "The Heart of Christianity"
Summer 2004 Bible Study

Chapter 3

"St. Joan of Arc Bible Study is an open and growing group that meets for fellowship and to discuss the Bible and other faith-centered literature. Our informal study group draws from biblical scholarship, historical perspectives, current events and personal reflections. We welcome honor and respect the personal ideas and spiritual journeys of all who join us."

Greetings

While not able to attend tonight I can venture a guess that a splendid time was had by all. I bet the treats were mouth-watering and the conversation savory.

Bruce, Bob, David B. and I will be visiting the BWCA this long weekend. If you think of it, send us a little love. We appreciate it and will also think of you all and no doubt ponder how lucky we are to be part of something so wonderful.

Here is the overview from chapter 3

ST. JOAN OF ARC
SCRIPTURE STUDY
May 18, 2004
Borg, The Heart of Christianity

Chapter 3, The Bible, the Heart of the Tradition

For us "cradle Catholics", Borg's assertion that Christianity is centered in the Bible is a shocker. We always thought Christianity was centered in the Mass, or in the priest, or in the Pope (or First Friday, the rosary, or the Legion of Decency, depending on which nun or priest was in charge). So we need to be educated by those raised in the other Christian traditions who grew up revering the Bible.

But the Bible has become a stumbling block for many Christians who are turned off by literalism, with claims of biblical infallibility, historical factuality, and moral and doctrinal absolutes. Borg lists 11 claims which most of us cannot take literally, including the 6 day creation and the Flood. People have left the church and stopped worshipping a god who in the bible insists on violence, who in the bible inflicts injustice on the weak and poor, and who is quoted from the bible as justifying the hatred of gays and the domination of women. They seem to be saying "If this is the inerrant word of god, I don't want anything to do with that god."

But Borg's new paradigm provides an alternative to biblical literalism, described as a historical, metaphorical, and sacramental understanding of the Bible.

The Bible as a Historical Product

The Bible is the product of two historical communities, ancient Israel and the early Christian movement.

The Bible is the human product of these communities, their response to God, their witness to God.

The Bible is "culturally conditioned" by these two communities. It's how our ancestors saw things, not how God sees things.

"Inspired by God" does not mean dictated word for word by God, but it refers to the movement of the Spirit in the lives of the two communities.

The Bible as Sacred Scripture

The books of the Bible were not sacred when they were written, but they were canonized over a period of centuries after the communities had a chance to appreciate their importance and wisdom (and to not canonize those writings not meeting these criteria). The Bible is our foundation document, its is our identity document, it is our wisdom tradition. "To be Christian means to be in a primary continuing conversation with the Bible as foundational for our identity and vision. If this conversation ceases or becomes haphazard, then we cease to be Christian, for the Bible is at the heart of Christianity".

p. 47 Question: In the RC church, aren't we pretty haphazard about our treatment of the Bible?

Historical-Metaphorical Interpretation as the New Paradigm

In contrast to the literal-factual approach, an historical approach recognizes that the Bible was not written to us or for us, but for the people of the ancient communities. We need to know the historical context, the literary context, and the canonical context.

Metaphor means both non-literal and more-than-literal. 21st century western culture enshrines factuality as the premier condition for truth, while the Biblical cultures treasured symbolism as the measure of truth. It's hard to appreciate that, so ingrained is our notion of "reality". Thomas Mann defines a myth as "a story about the way things never were, but always are". Borg says "stories can be true, can be revelatory, can be epiphanies, even if they are not factual reports."

Question: Borg says that although over the past two centuries some Christians have strongly defended the literal factuality of the creation story, their numbers are decreasing. Is that so? What about the moves in the state legislatures to mandate teaching "intelligent creation"?

Read on page 52 the summary of the truths within the creation story.

Read on page 53 the major meanings of the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.

The truths within the resurrection stories are that Jesus is a figure of the present and continues to be experienced to this day, and that he is one with God, he is the Lord; there are no other lords.

Metaphor as Bridge between the Two Paradigms.

Noting the frequent use of metaphor in the preaching of conservative Christians, Borg proposes that we use our common belief in metaphor to bridge the gap between the two paradigms. We need to stop arguing about whether something in the Bible "really" happened, and to start asking each other what does it mean.

Metaphorical language is a way of seeing. The bible contains metaphorical language, metaphorical narratives, and itself is a giant metaphor. It is a way of seeing God, ourselves, the divine-human relationship. "The point is not to believe in the Bible - but to see our lives with God through it."

The Bible as Sacrament

A sacrament is an outward sign of invisible grace. It is a means by which the sacred becomes present to us. For instance, the Eucharist, in which bread and wine are changed into Christ's body and blood. (Borg endnotes the three understandings of how this happens as transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and anamnesis or remembering).

The Bible is a sacrament in private devotional use, where it is read meditatively as a means for the Spirit to speak to us as individuals. It is also a sacrament in its public reading as a part of worship services. The reading of humanly written words by a human speaker brings us the Word of the Lord, or "what the Spirit is saying to the church."

Read the last section p 59, The Bible and the Christian Life, to understand the new paradigm as "a relational and transformative vision of the Christian life."

Thanks Bob

Not sure if we'll be back next week or not but I know that the privileges include...

Heart of Christianity - Chapter 4

Salome
Rik Murray
(612) 872-8694
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