Below is a quote from a theologian and philosopher of the past. His dates 1804-1872. Before you assume he has nothing au current to say to us… read this: (I have changed the male pronoun man to human being or humanity.)
We must replace the love of God by the love of humanity as the only true religion,… the belief in God by the belief in the human being, i.e., that the fate of humankind depends not on a being outside it and above it but on humankind itself… My wish is to transform friends of God into friends of humanity, believers into thinkers, devotees of prayer into devotees of work, candidates for the hereafter into students of this world, Christians who, by their profession and admission are half-animal, half-angel… into whole human beings.
These are the words of Ludwig Feuerbach. Written when he was 37. His focus was on the central Christian doctrine of incarnation. But apparently his critics thought he had gone too far. Feuerbach was dismissed from the university, excommunicated by the church, bitterly condemned for these thoughts.
What do you make of Feuerbach’s claim that Jesus of Nazareth, God enfleshed in the human condition, affirms that the way forward for us can be found in our capacity to embody our highest values, as Jesus did.
I will continue this conversation on our website.
I welcome your comments on the Feuerbach quote. He was certainly considered radical in the 19th century. What about today?
Marcus is being talked about
Dr. Brene Brown, a sociologist who talks about courage and vulnerability (and more) and has one of the most viewed TED Talks, mentioned Marcus in a sermon she gave at the National Cathedral on Sunday, January 21. (Interestingly enough the anniversary of Marc’s death.) She called herself a “Borg Again Christian.” Without Marcus’ work she would not have found a way back to the church. Check out her sermon.
I also learned from my friend Pastor Jenny Warner (Portola Valley Presbyterian Church) that Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world also referenced Marcus in a talk he gave in Portola Valley in late January. Father Boyle said we are all called to hold up a mirror for others to see the beauty God has created in them and dismantle, as Marcus Borg says, the “shame and disgrace” the world puts on us.
And Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr, founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, widely read author and influential teacher of Christian wisdom and practice, referred to Marcus several times in his January daily posting.
Please let us know when and where you have a citing or sighting of Marcus and we will bring people’s attention to it.
Resurrection is communal
The January 31, 2018 cover story of The Christian Century is entitled “Resurrection is communal.” It features a newly released book by Dom and Sarah Crossan who share their discoveries and insights of the 14th century icon The Harrowing of Hell or the Anastasis that we encountered again and again throughout our years on pilgrimage. Dom and Sarah joined me and Marc co-leading pilgrimages over a ten year period. I preached on the significance of that very icon February 4 (I include my sermon on our website marcusjborg.org) not knowing Dom and Sarah had completed their book. Having become familiar with the icon myself, I too suggest that we (the Western Church) consider again that “resurrection is communal” based on that icon and an early non-canonical gospel. Anyone who has made pilgrimage with us to Turkey and seen the icon and variations will be delighted to see this “news” taking the front cover of Christian Century. Dom and Sara’s book has commentary and wonderful pictures.
