Modern Christians are steeped in a language so
distorted that it has become a stumbling block
to the religion, says internationally renowned
Bible scholar Marcus J. Borg. Borg argues
that Christianity's important words, and the
sacred texts and stories in which those words are
embedded, have been narrowed by a modern
framework for the faith that emphasizes sin,
forgiveness, Jesus dying for our sins, and the
afterlife. Here, Borg employs the "historical-metaphorical"
method for understanding
Christian language that can restore for us these
words of power and transformation. For example,
Redemption: now narrowly understood as Jesus
saving us from sins so we can go to heaven, but in
the Bible it refers to being set free from slavery.
Savior: now refers to Jesus as the one who saves
us from our sins, but in the Bible it has a rich and
wonderful variety of meanings having nothing to
do with the afterlife.
Sacrifice: now refers to Jesus's death on the cross
as payment for our sins, but in the Bible it is never
about substitutionary payment for sin.
In Speaking Christian, Borg delivers a language
for twenty-first-century Christians that grounds
the faith in its deep and rich original roots and
allows it once again to transform our lives.