If I would have to choose only one concept that describes what I think Marcus is writing about, it would be Images of God. Marcus is writing about the many different images of God that exists in Christianity and in the Bible, and their impact on our lives and beliefs. During the many years that I have been reading and re-reading his books, the impact of his views on God, Jesus and Christian beliefs, has become ever more deep and profound in my own life.
Even though, already my first encounter with his thoughts resulted in amaze and admiration, I had in the beginning difficulties with some of his views on Christian beliefs. Now, when I have published The Heart of Christianity into Swedish and Finnish translations, I have recognized similar reactions among almost all first-time readers of his books. A mix of admiration, fascination and disbelief. Some of Marcus thoughts are okay but some are not. What is okay or not-okays, seems to vary a lot, depending on whom the reader is.
My own history with Marcus books has been an off and on encounter. But slowly my own views has become more and more in line with his. When I was younger, my Christian beliefs was all about being spiritual and believing. I had difficulties with accepting that Jesus message in his time also had strong political implications. I also had difficulties understanding Marcus view that God is something more than a person, and not a person in the sense we humans are. And I stumbled over his concept of a panentheistic God.
I think these are difficult issues for many of us. During the years these personal challenges has melted away, and I don’t know exactly how that has happened. I have lived out my spiritual seeking by changing both my religion and my worldview several times. I have even been an active atheist for a period of time, though I was enough self-conscious to label myself as a “religious atheist.” I understood that even my atheism was a kind of spiritual seeking and stumbling over images of God that no more felt believable.
My seeking for a meaningful life and a theory of everything, has gotten me bumping back and forth between a somewhat literalistic Christian belief, and a more non-literalistic and metaphorical believe. Here, Marcus clarifying views on how our worldview affects our religious views has been of great help to me. Reading the Bible a lot don’t necessary give us a better understanding of its message(s). A lot of bible reading makes us blind to its antic worldview. We might read and think in a literalistic way, being totally unaware that we actually and unconsciously apprehend the biblical message in a completely metaphorical way.
Marcus writings are a rare and utterly unique blend of his deep love for God, combined with a historical, metaphorical and sacramental view of the Bible, to use his own concepts. I am convinced that Marcus “gospel” is the one for future generations of seekers of truth and meaning, inside a Christian context. He also has done a lot for revitalizing and contextualizing central Christian concepts for believers and would-be believers of our time.
What I ask myself at times, is if the Christian language, a cultural-linguistic world of its own; if it will survive the ever widening gap between its ancient roots, and a modern worldview?
When the biblical stories will become incomprehensible to ever larger populations of people, who haven’t had the benefits of growing up with the biblical world of stories. Where and how will they look for a compelling spiritual worldview?
