Days of Awe and Wonder audiobook

I have read many books by Marcus Borg and this is another excellent book on Christianity. If I ever have a clear understanding of Christianity it will be because of Borg. In this book, he asks us to get rid of our "flat tire" theology and move on to what is important. Borg tells us to listen to our lives and listen to what happens to to us. It is through what happens to us that God speaks. In the end, to be a Christian, we must center in God, be compassionate, and seek justice.

I enjoyed these lectures and writings from Borg. It is a broad glimpse at his work, ending with beautiful words from Barbara Brown Taylor. He pushes back against a complacent or intellectual Christianity and invites us deeper into relationship with Christ; a relationship of paying attention.

This book was a revelation for me.

Marcus Borg died January 21, 2015, of a disease that typically takes its victims within a few years. Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the Twenty-First Century is copyright 2017 (published posthumously). Foreword is written by Marianne Borg, his wife, and I expect she was a principal force in organizing the book and getting it published. It is a collection of previously published writings (including three chapter selections from Jesus, A New Vision), selected sermons, lectures, and articles. You might call it a "Marcus Borg reader." His last (before he died) book is Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most, c. 2014. I suspect he knew his prognosis--that his time was limited--and Convictions was his magnum opus; it is also an excellent tour of his thought and exposure to his spirit--his testimony, if you will. I think the book would be an excellent choice for a group study...should stimulate some deep conversation. The Marcus J Borg Foundation was formed (apparently) also in 2017, the same year as copyright for this book, Days of Awe and Wonder. You can find a number of videos there which will give you the opportunity to hear his voice as well as what he has to say. I recommend you listen to at least one to get an appreciation for his gentle, welcoming, engaging spirit, and one video I might recommend is "What is God?" ( https://marcusjborg.org/category/vide...) For more bio on Borg, including photo, see https://marcusjborg.org/about-us/.

It was great to have another book to read by Marcus Borg. I was deeply saddened by his passing in 2015 and had missed reading him.The book is a conglomeration of chapters of previously published books, blog posts, and some unpublished lectures and sermons. So, to some degree it felt like a hodge-podge. As many of the items were stand-alone, there is much repetition as Borg laid out some of his basic tenets in each. I think the book would have been more enjoyable had some of this been edited. The biggest frustration for me was some of the chapters pulled from his book, Jesus: A New Vision. My disappointment lies in the fact 2006's book, Jesus by Borg, was, in Borg's own words, and updating (maybe even correcting) of the earlier book as his views had changed on many things over 20 years. I feel that a fair amount of the information shared in these chapters from the "New Vision" book is what had changed.The book ends with the eulogy shared by Barbara Brown Taylor at Borg's funeral. That was almost worth the cost of the book in itself, especially since I found reading this book, that I was still grieving a person who I had only met briefly on one occasions years ago.So, it was an interesting read, but there was really nothing "new" for me. It was good to "hear" Borg again, if only in a slightly new way, but for the most part, I'd recommend his other books published in his lifetime.

Marcus Borg is one of the clearest writers on progressive Christian thought, and spent a lifetime articulating the values, experiences, and actions which form the heart of Christian living. This posthumous book, however, reads a bit like a "greatest hits" album. I always preferred "Rumors" to Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits and "The Joshua Tree" to U2s greatest hits. Why? Because sometimes greatest hits collections do not follow their themes in the same coherent, integrated manner that the original albums did, and that's certainly true of this collection of Borg's essays. The fact that they jump from his early writings to his more recent ones and back again (i.e., are not chronological) adds to the disjointed feeling of the book, as one cannot follow the progression of Borg's ideas over time. Still, the individual chapters are masterfully written, so even this "greatest hits" mash-up gets 4 out of 5 in my opinion.

I like Marcus Borg. I don't trust his Christology. His strong division and lack of correlation between the Pre-Easter Jesus and the Post-Resurrection Christ, and his denial of the Trinity makes his theology deeply flawed, and I still find myself in the same pool with the orthodox Christians. And yet, I like Marcus Borg and have never been bored by reading his books and he illuminates some stuff for me. I appreciate that he wants to look at the historical Jesus, that he saw Jesus as a Spirit person, stamped by the Divine, that he held up Jesus' social concern for the marginalized, and his openness to mystical faith. So well there is so much that he says which I can't go along with, I also find myself impressed and drawn in by aspects of Borg's Christianity. This book was published posthumously and is a patch work of previously published works (in books, blogposts, interviews, sermons, and lectures)

I already loved Marcus Borg from having read a few of his books. This book was like getting to know him. With each chapter I felt like I was there with him speaking to me. The chapters consist of excerpts from books and more from his sermons and lectures. I felt his love for those he was speaking to, and for me. He shares his experience and not doctrine, though he does tell us about doctrine, just that doctrine is not Christianity. There is a lot of repetition in the book, though it is presented differently each time. Here might be a good place to get the main ideas and personality of Borg. At the end is a eulogy given by Barbara Brown Taylor. She sums up much of who he was and what he said in her own witty, wonderful way. I highly recommend this book, maybe especially to those who want to understand more of Jesus without someone trying to convert them.

Borg's writings (and here his collected sermons) show us a man who has searched for a relationship with Gody in a very open and honest way. I see much that is true and ovely in what he says, but I can't go as far as to say that all religions lead to God because the Gods of all religions are not the same. How can the many Gods of Hinduism be the same as the one God of Christianity or the "no God" of Buddism? I understand that all religions search for similar things and that all share some elements of truth, but if no single truth exists God becomes a vague and untenable conglomaerate in our imaginations. I do love Borg's idea that we have misunderstood righteousness as a personal issue rather than a seeking for social justice and compassion. The best thing, for me, about Borg, is that he shows how one can be a person of faith without believing in inerrancy.

If you’ve read any Marcus Borg, you’ll appreciate this deep collection of his writing, sermons, interviews, questions and answers as well as a moving eulogy that was delivered at his funeral. Because it is a collection of sermons, it can be a little uneven and repetitive at times. (There must be 10 sermons from the Lenten Noonday Preaching Series alone.) If you’ve read his other books, many of the themes will be familiar to you, but I still was struck by some thought provoking ideas. A new appreciation of the importance of the cross for one—as a New Thought church member, we’re more Easter morning than Good Friday focused. But what will stick with me is a line in the eulogy that God is “minimal protection and maximum support.” Nice audio book option as so much of the writing was intended as sermons...

I read this book as part of an eight-week study as a member of a study group comprised of liberal Christians. Marcus Borg was a Progressive Christian theologian. Although I do not agree with him on every point I love his writing style, which is simple enough to be understood by the average lay person yet filled with wonderful statements that resonate with so many people on so many levels. This book was a compilation of his most noteworthy sermons and articles followed by the eulogy presented at the memorial service for Marcus Borg in 2015 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Borg’s Christian philosophy can be summed up with this simple statement: God’s passion is that we center our lives in God as known in the Bible and through Jesus Christ, living with compassion and love, seeking social justice throughout the world.

Finally, not a boring book on Christianity. I think Marcus Borg cleared up alot of haze on my poor understanding on Christianity. Growing up as a Christian, and then neglecting it for more than 10 years, and now returning to the Church brings up more questions than ever. This book breaks in down into so many aspects of my learning and believing and being convinced and being decided to wait upon the Lord. Thinking of my childhood bible stories seems so real metaphorically today. Read this book if you just need some trimming and mending in your Christian walk.

I love anything Marcus Borg wrote. This book was compiled posthumously, and as its contents were drawn from numerous sources (books, sermons, etc.), it doesn't flow quite as well as some of his other books, along with some inevitable repetition. Still, a great book that reveals much of Borg's character, compassion, and wisdom. Barbara Brown Taylor's eulogy in the afterward was so touching. And I am thankful that Marianne Borg is keeping the conversation going.