Hi Dr. Zukeran,
I am writing to ask you if you are familiar with Marcus Borg and his beliefs and teachings. My sister and her family have recently started attending a church and Borg’s book Reading the Bible Again For the First Time has been chosen by the pastoral leadership as the text for a class that is “highly recommended” for new and old members.
After looking up information on Borg online, I am disturbed by some of the things I am reading, and I’m not sure if Borg’s ideas are in line with biblical teaching. This is especially disturbing as this is the first time my sister and her family have decided to attend a church.
I would appreciate any information you could provide. I really enjoy listening to your radio program “Evidence and Answers” and am planning to purchase your books for my family to read this summer. My children are teens now and I feel that they would really benefit from having the evidence and answers to support their own faith.
Thank you for your time,
Erin
Greetings Erin,
Marcus Borg is a liberal New Testament historian and one of the leaders of the liberal Jesus Seminar. He believes the Jesus of the New Testament is a Jesus of myth. He rejects most of the Gospels as unhistorical and views most accounts as legendary based on sources such as Greek mythology. He believes the historical Jesus was simply a teacher. Borg rejects the possibility of miracles and views the miracles of Jesus as legend. Therefore, he rejects the resurrection of Christ. This results in him rejecting the deity of Christ. Marcus Borg rejects key doctrines of the Christian faith.
Borg’s foundation is built on a naturalistic worldview that rejects miracle accounts a priori. Instead of examining the evidence, he rejects miracles from the start because of his worldview. If one reads Borg without knowing the facts, one’s Christian faith would be destroyed. A good Bible teaching pastor should never recommend a liberal like Borg.
I studied under liberals like Borg. A young Christian will become confused and quickly disillusioned if they are not equipped.
I hope this helps. Thanks so much for writing and listening to the show.
Aloha ke Akua,
Patrick Zukeran