Conflict Holiness And Politics In The Teachings Of Jesus

Originally published in 1984, this extraordinary work has until now been available only in an expensive library edition. The present edition has been completely updated and redesigned, and includes an extended new introduction by Marcus Borg that relates the book's central arguments to subsequent Jesus scholarship. A foreword by N.T. Wright characterizes the book as one of the foundational works in the "third quest" for the historical Jesus. In the book, 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. Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University. He is the author of nine books, including Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship, also published by Trinity Press.

"In the book, 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"--

An accessible guide through the growing maze of literature and research on Jesus. Examines issues in contemporary Jesus research and looks at the potential of current research for helping rethink Jesus' identity and the implications for the reader and the church.

Originally published in 1984, this extraordinary work has until now been available only in an expensive library edition. The present edition has been completely updated and redesigned, and includes an extended new introduction by Marcus Borg that relates the book's central arguments to subsequent Jesus scholarship. A foreword by N.T. Wright characterizes the book as one of the foundational works in the "third quest" for the historical Jesus. In the book, 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. Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University. He is the author of nine books, including Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship, also published by Trinity Press.

An Ethos of Compassion and the Integrity of Creation addresses how to reconcile the lawful order seen in the world, which the Institute for Christian Studies takes as given by God, with the need for human compassion, also called for by God. The Institute sponsored this book in celebration of their twenty-fifth anniversary. An Ethos of Compassion and the Integrity of Creation opens with a study of parables relevant to today and closes with a meditation by Langdon Gilkey on the ideas brought forth in this book. A study of the history of the idea of 'creation order', central to the Institute's philosophical tradition, is followed by a controversial challenge suggesting how that philosophical tradition can be changed to give centrality to the viewpoint of compassion toward vulnerable people and the physical environment. Medical ethics, the environment, and gender chauvinism serve as case studies for issues of compassion and created order. Contributors: Atie Th. Bruggemann-Kruijff, Adrienne Chaplin, Jonathan Chaplin, John Cooper, Calvin B. DeWitt, Harry Fernhout, Langdon Gilkey, Sander Griffioen, Caroll Guen Hart, John E. Hare, Hendrik Hart, Sylvia C. Keesmaat, J. Richard Middleton, James Olthius, Elaine Storkey, Johan van der Hoeven, Allen D. Verhey, Brian J. Walsh, Albert M. Wolters, Nicholas Wolterstorff. Copublished with the Institute for Christian Studies.

Amid competing portrayals of the "cynic Jesus," the "peasant Jesus," and the "apocalyptic Jesus," the "political Jesus" remains a marginal figure. Douglas E. Oakman argues that advances in our social-scientific understanding of the political economy of Roman Galilee, as well as advances in the so-called "Third Quest" for the historical Jesus, warrant a revival and a critical revision of H. S. Reimarus's understanding of Jesus as an instigator of revolutionary change.

Essential reading for anyone interested in the historical Jesus debate, this volume offers a comprehensive and balanced account of research into the person of Jesus.