![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/227\/2013\/01\/meaningofjesus-198x300.jpg\" "\\"meaningofjesus\\"")
<\/a>\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions<\/i><\/b>, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998.<\/p>\nFour years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright for this newspaper when they met for a dialogue \u2014 no one wanted to call it a debate \u2014 at Regent College. Both men are members of the Anglican church and historians who specialize in \u2018the historical Jesus,\u2019 but they have very different understandings of who and what Jesus was, and they spent the better part of six hours fleshing out their many disagreements.<\/p>\n
But I was particularly struck by what took place after the seminar was over. Bidding farewell in the atrium, the two men hugged, and Wright said to Borg, \u201cWe\u2019ll have to do this again sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so they have. In The Meaning of Jesus<\/i>, Borg and Wright take turns, writing alternate chapters explaining their positions on such issues as the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the second coming, the divinity of Jesus, and how faith in the historical Jesus affects Christian living today.<\/p>\n
Borg, a member of the Jesus Seminar, comes across as the more scientific, which is both a strength and a weakness. For instance, he is quite clear, in a way Wright is not, that he believes the synoptic gospels offer a better look at the historical Jesus than the gospel of John. But Borg\u2019s method of defining Jesus according to cross-cultural categories prevents him from giving full weight to those aspects of Jesus which were, shall we say, more unique.<\/p>\n
Wright, a former tutor at Oxford, plunges himself into first century Judaism and enables us to see what words like \u2018messiah,\u2019 \u2018son of God\u2019 and \u2018resurrection\u2019 would have meant in that context. Israel\u2019s story, he argues, was one of exile and being abandoned by God; when Jesus told stories of people awaiting a bridegroom or an employer, he was not pointing forward to some sort of second coming, but underscoring the significance of his own first-century mission: in him and in his movement, Israel\u2019s God was returning.<\/p>\n
Despite their differences, Borg and Wright have much in common. Both authors reject the modernist belief, shared by some Christians, that the universe ticks along on its own and that God, who is \u2018out there\u2019 somewhere, intervenes once in a while. Instead, both speak of God as transcendent yet immanent, and decisively present in Jesus.<\/p>\n
Borg and Wright began this project by worshipping together at Lichfield Cathedral, where Wright is the dean. Hopefully, The Meaning of Jesus<\/i> will encourage others to come to a similarly deeper understanding of the issues and the people involved in \u2018historical Jesus\u2019 research.<\/p>\n
\u2014 A version of this article first appeared in <\/i>BC Christian News.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright for this newspaper when they met for a dialogue \u2014 no one wanted to call it a debate \u2014 at Regent College. Both men are members of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[408,406,407,187],"class_list":["post-4664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bcchristiannews","tag-historical-jesus","tag-marcus-borg","tag-meaning-of-jesus","tag-nt-wright"],"yoast_head":"\n
Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"1999-05-02T04:16:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-13T05:27:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/files\/2013\/01\/meaningofjesus-198x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html\",\"name\":\"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1999-05-02T04:16:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-13T05:27:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\"},\"description\":\"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/\",\"name\":\"FilmChat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\",\"name\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\"},\"description\":\"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions","description":"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions","og_description":"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html","og_site_name":"FilmChat","article_published_time":"1999-05-02T04:16:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-13T05:27:28+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/files\/2013\/01\/meaningofjesus-198x300.jpg"}],"author":"Peter T. Chattaway","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter T. Chattaway","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html","name":"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website"},"datePublished":"1999-05-02T04:16:31+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-13T05:27:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde"},"description":"\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Four years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Borg","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/1999\/05\/review-the-meaning-of-jesus-two-visions.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/","name":"FilmChat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde","name":"Peter T. Chattaway","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter T. Chattaway"},"description":"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/227\/2013\/01\/meaningofjesus.jpg\" "\\"meaningofjesus\\"")
<\/a>\u2022 Marcus Borg & N.T. Wright: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions<\/i><\/b>, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998.<\/p>\n