New Testament scholar, Jesus Seminar fellow, and liberal theologian Marcus Borg passed away this last month. He authored many books[ref]For example, see his Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (New York: HarperOne, 2006); The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem (New York: HarperCollins, 2006) w/ John Dominic Crossan; The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth (New York: HarperOne, 2007) w/ John Dominic Crossan; The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (New York: HarperCollins, 1999) w/ N.T. Wright.[/ref] and studies. A number of thoughtful, admiring posts have been written in his memory. While I don’t always share Borg’s interpretations,[ref]I think his preferred anti-imperial, even post-colonial view of the New Testament ignores the explanatory power of its Second Temple Jewish theological context, including its apocalyptic literature. For criticisms of this fairly new imperial approach, see Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not: Evaluating Empire in New Testament Studies, ed. Scot McKnight, Joseph B. Modica (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2013).[/ref] his strong emphasis on the political nature of Jesus’ ministry can be a much-needed breath of fresh air in the midst of today’s hyper-individualized, over-spiritualized Christianity.[ref]I’ve quoted him in a sacrament talk before to make this point.[/ref] For example, he explains that the cross in the first century “represented execution by the empire; only the empire crucified, and then for only one crime: denial of imperial authority…It meant risking imperial retribution.” By the time Mark’s gospel was written, first-century Christians saw the cross as “the ‘way’…the path of personal transformation.”[ref]Borg, Crossan, The Last Week, 28.[/ref] Though talk of redemption and the Atonement often start at Gethsemane and end (sometimes) after the Resurrection, we cannot and should not separate these things from the life of Jesus.
I’m thankful to Borg for helping Christians remember this.