Books by Marcus Borg

Marcus Borg’s books cover a broad range of topics that include historical Jesus, biblical scholarship, substitutionary atonement, and many other topics. In addition, Marcus Borg has been recognized worldwide as one of the foremost Christian scholars. Consequently, his books have helped many start on new life changing spiritual journeys.

Marcus was an American New Testament scholar, theologian and author. He was among the most widely known and influential voices in progressive Christianity and internationally known in both academic and church circles.

Marcus Borg, progressive Christian author, working at a laptop
The Last Week

The Last Week

Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson’s blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion.

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The First Christmas

The First Christmas

The First Christmas: What the Gospels really teach about Jesus’s Birth was co-written with friend and colleague John Dominic Crossan. This book describes the context of the Christmas story, the different birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, and sheds fresh light on the meaning of these stories for us today.

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The First Paul

The First Paul

Meet Paul Again . . . for the First Time. Continuing in the tradition of The Last Week and The First Christmas, world-renowned New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to expose the church’s conspiracy to silence Jesus’s most faithful disciple, the apostle Paul.

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Convictions

Convictions – Takes Readers on a Journey of Faith 70 Years in the Making

Borg reflects on his life and how he developed his most bedrock convictions — and why they matter. The result is a manifesto for all progressive Christians who seek the best path for following Jesus today. With each chapter embodying a distinct conviction, Borg writes provocatively and compellingly on the beliefs that can deeply ground us and guide us.

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Prayers for Progressive Christians

A New Template In the first part of the book Morwood summarises the key theological shifts that necessitate changes to liturgical, group and personal prayer. In the second part he demonstrates how these major shifts can be incorporated into a

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Convictions Study Guide

Marcus describes experiences, “conversions” or changes of perspective over his lifetime and how they affected his convictions.  Download the guide for some suggested prompts for conversation.

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The God We Never Knew

How to have faith—or even think about God—without having to stifle modern rational thought is one of the most vital challenges facing many of us today. Marcus J. Borg, author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, traces his personal spiritual journey to the discovery of an authentic yet fully contemporary understanding of God.

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The Meaning of Jesus

Was Jesus born of a virgin? Did he know he was the Messiah? Was he bodily resurrected from the dead? Did he intentionally die to redeem humankind? Was Jesus God? Two leading Jesus scholars with widely divergent views go right to the heart of these questions and others, presenting the opposing visions of Jesus that shape our faith today.

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The Last Week Study Guide

The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem, this book is co-authored by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan. Borg and Crossan are careful to emphasize that their book is a commentary on

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Evolution of the Word Study Guide

A guide to help you with discussion questions for The Evolution of the Word. Exploring the New Testament in the order that it was written helps place things in historical context.

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Speaking Christian Study Guide

In Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power – and How They Can Be Restored Marcus Borg explores the importance of knowing and understanding the language of our Scriptures, the tradition, its meanings and its ethos

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Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

In Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time Marcus Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining. Taking us through his own personal journey of faith, he illustrates how an understanding of historical Jesus can take us to a more meaningful understanding of post modern Christianity and contemporary faith.

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The First Christmas Study Guide

a study guide that provides some questions that you might discuss with others while reading this book which takes a look at the birth narratives of Christmas and what they mean for us today

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Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time Study Guide

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith takes an in depth look into Marcus’s personal journey of faith and how understanding the historical Jesus can lead to a more authentic Christian

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Days of Awe and Wonder

Showcasing some of his most enduring and insightful writings, including many previously unpublished works, a concise and illuminating introduction to Marcus J. Borg, the late spokesman for progressive Christianity and one of the most revered and influential theologians of our time.

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Speaking Christian by Marcus Borg

Speaking Christian

In Speaking Christian, acclaimed Bible scholar Marcus Borg, author of Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, argues that the very language Christians use has become dangerously distilled, distorted, and disconnected from the beliefs which once underpinned it.

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Convictions

Convictions

Borg reflects on his life and how he developed his most bedrock convictions — and why they matter. The result is a manifesto for all progressive Christians who seek the best path for following Jesus today. With each chapter embodying a distinct conviction, Borg writes provocatively and compellingly on the beliefs that can deeply ground us and guide us.

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Evolution of the Word

By presenting the New Testament books in the order they were written, bestselling Bible scholar Marcus Borg reveals how spiritually and politically radical the early Jesus movement began and how it slowly became domesticated.

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Putting Away Childish Things

Putting Away Childish Things

“Marcus Borg has given us a novel about the great debates in Christianity (and religion) today…Read this book and give it to all who seek.” — Nora Gallagher, author of Changing Light and Things Seen and Unseen

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Conversations with Scripture

Most Christians are familiar with the story told in Mark’s gospel, from the fishermen leaving their nets, to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, to the political rumblings and the crucifixion. But no one knows who Mark really was or why this gospel was written or why it’s charged with such a sense of immediacy.

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Jesus

From top Jesus expert Marcus Borg, a completely updated and revised version of his vision of Jesus—as charismatic healer, sage, and prophet, a man living in the power of the spirit and dedicated to radical social change. 

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The Heart of Christianity

In The Heart of Christianity, world-renowned Jesus scholar and author of the bestseller Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time argues that the essential ingredients of a Christian life—faith, being born again, the kingdom of God, the gospel of love—are as vitally important today as they have always been, even during this time of conflict and change in the church.

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Experiencing the Bible Again for the First Time

At last, an important and relevant faith development curriculum for grown-ups. Inspired by Marcus Borg, Experience! offers adults an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible in the formation of their mature faith. Accept the invitation to come

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Reading the Bible Again for the First Time

This unique book invites everyone—whatever one’s religious background—to engage the Bible, wrestle with its meaning, explore its mysteries, and understand its relevance. Borg shows us how to encounter the Bible in a fresh way that rejects the limits of simple literalism and opens up rich possibilities for our lives.

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Lost Gospel Q The Original Sayings of Jesus

The image of the historical Jesus takes form in the words of the Gospel Q. The Lost Gospel Q represents the very first Gospel, older than the traditional Gospels and written by Jesus’s contemporaries. It preserves Jesus’s original words the Sermon on the Mount, Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, parables, and his counsel for a compassionate life. The original of the Gospel Q was lost for 2,000 years, but for the past 150 years historians and theologians have been digging through the many layers of the New Testament to uncover the original Gospel.

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Jesus and Buddha

Jesus and Buddha were separated by five hundred years, three thousand miles, and two drastically different cultures. Yet this trade paper edition of the highly acclaimed hardback juxtaposes passages from the New Testament and ancient Buddhist scriptures to illuminate the striking similarity between their lives, deeds, and teachings.

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Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship

Who was Jesus? A cynic-like figure? A political activist? Professor Marcus Borg, a nationally known Jesus scholar, here offers an accessible guide through the growing maze of literature and research on Jesus. This state-of the art volume will be a welcome resource especially for libraries, research specialists and students.

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Jesus a New Vision

A thoughtful, well-researched historical portrait of Jesus as charismatic, healer, sage, and prophet–as spiritual, deeply political, and fully consistent with the gospel presentation.

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Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus

Marcus Borg argues that conflict between a politics of holiness and a politics of compassion, and their implications for Israel, resides at the center of Jesus’ activity and teaching. He emphasizes several features that have since become central to Jesus scholarship: the importance of Jesus’ inclusive meal practice, a non-apocalyptic paradigm for understanding Jesus, and Jesus as a social prophet and boundary-breaker.

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