The Last Week by Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan is not your granny's version of Holy Week.In place of the sacrificial lamb making good on the debts of every rotten sinner who ever walked, we have a daring, courageous rebel passionately committed to growing God's kingdom in the here and now of his world. This rebel maintains that commitment to, through, and beyond his public execution on the cross. (more)
4 Comments
Your article is both timely and intriguing. I must read more, and you have outlined a great place to start in Borg and Crossan.
ReplyDeleteI usually think of Mark as a literalist, almost as a reporter, more than the other Evangelists. He wrote for Roman Christians - sophisticated, educated folks strongly influenced by Roman traditions. Give 'em miracles, stories, evidence; cut down on the poetry and dream sequences. He was also a disciple, a student of St. Peter; and his gospel is mostly Peter's own teachings, written after Peter's death. That's why the absence of expiation in Mark's gospel (except for the one passage about "ransom" on the cross) is hard to understand, when we read Peter's own writings: (1 Peter 2:24) - "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness," and (1 Peter 3:18) - "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God".
Thanks, Sandy. Good thought provoking!
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI like Mark for the immediacy you identify. The text has a pace that suggests a need to get it all down as straight and clear as possible. I would love to experience that time somehow, to be there and to be so filled with the wonder of the story that I had to tell as much as I could as quickly as possible.
A wonderful thing about Borg's prose style is that it reflects the depth of his passion for his subject. That's always a wonderful experience.
i was looking for something more personal to read this week and this may find its way to my bookshelf... thanks for the great work and have a good holiday!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback. It is a great book that is compassionately and intelligently written. It has the power to put you on the scene.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.