The Heart of Christianity

There is not often such unanimity as there was at our best-attended meeting so far, in our response to this book of theology that covers most of the key aspects of Christianity.

Some quotes from members:

"It was refreshing to read something I almost totally agreed with"
"beautifully-written and easy-to-understand"
"it brought Christian traditions home to me and parts were very relevant"
"key bits were eye-opening"

Borg sets out the two paradigms he sees as equally- weighted expressions of Christian thought. The first he calls the earlier paradigm, which expresses the traditional interpretations of such themes as: faith; the Bible and the nature of God and Jesus .The second paradigm, which he sees as his own, looks at all the same themes, but interprets them in a more metaphorical way. Borg does not claim that one interpretation is superior to the other, indeed he preaches acceptance of differing views in the cooperation of all Christians in following in the way of Jesus.

In the second part of the book, Borg examines the Christian life, giving his own understanding of the need to be daily born again. He stresses the vital importance of the passion for justice, seeing the Bible as political as well as personal vision. Members of the group particularly mentioned his chapter on "thin places" a concept from the Celtic church which sees God as "the encompassing spirit, in which everything is." Thin places, then, are places where we behold God all around us and within us, experiences that enable us to open our hearts to him. Borg's discussion and definition of sin also attracted and interested people.

This proved to be a very successful and stimulating book choice, which led us all into a wider discussion of differing views in the Church and our relationship with other faiths.

Frankie Fisher – March 2014