Space For God

Marcus Borg Rundown: 28th June, 2009

The introductory pages of Borg's Heart of Christianity deal with what he refers to as the earlier and emerging paradigms of Christianity. Amongst other things, the earlier paradigm was concerned with faith as intellectual assent to propositional dogma. It was (and is) also concerned also with the literal-factual interpretation of the Bible, which is God's Divine product. By contrast, the emerging paradigm emphasizes faith as a way of seeing, not a checklist of propositions. The Bible is therefore treated as a lens through which we glimpse the Divine, not a prescriptive moral and salvific document. 

As appealing and helpful as Borg's emerging paradigm is, concern was raised by several at the way in which it so indiscriminately identifies our current cultural context with the 'way things really are'. Like all paradigms, the emerging view of Christianity has it's limitations, shaped as it often is by a white, middle-class mentality. The discussion around this point was lively and insightful and formed a healthy basis on which to begin our discussions about Borg's theology.

Next week we discuss the role of faith in Christianity- what is it? what are the different understandings of it? how should we best understand it within our context?