tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post4231273776804559268..comments2021-07-20T14:05:47.042-07:00Comments on <big>q</big>uixotic infidel <sup><small><small><small>(the)</small></small></small></sup>: Marcus Borg on the new atheism ...Quixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03126711689901268060noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post-91496272225901075502017-02-27T13:08:15.988-08:002017-02-27T13:08:15.988-08:00Thank you Snowbrush.
I empathize with your sentim...Thank you Snowbrush. <br />I empathize with your sentiments. Quixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03126711689901268060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post-48087373739691527342017-02-27T11:22:29.725-08:002017-02-27T11:22:29.725-08:00I didn’t know that Borg had died. Since I live in ...I didn’t know that Borg had died. Since I live in Eugene, Oregon, he was practically a neighbor. I did get to hear him speak once, and while I wasn’t much attracted to his books, I did believe in his goodness.<br /><br />As for Stephen’s comment, I thought your response was excellent. As for my own thoughts, when I noted his smugness in his beliefs, I just thought that, well, that’s what I grew up with (in the fundamentalist Church of Christ) and what I expect from the majority of Christians who can’t support their own beliefs but are only too ready to gleefully consign everyone else to eternal hell for not believing as they do.<br /><br />I must say that the more the dominant face of Christianity becomes one with Republican politics with all its callousnesssnf cruelty, the more I despise Christianity. When I think of Catholicism, I think of a religion that claims moral authority despite its widespread buggering of children, its subsequent cover-up of that buggering, and even the disowning of thousands of those children by their families who believed the word of priests over the word of their little ones. And when I think of evangelicals, I think of their enthusiasm for war, for “enhanced interrogation,” their disinterest in the plight of the suffering in this country and elsewhere, and their willingness to vote for a profoundly unethical man if he suits their purposes. These were the very people who used to criticize Communism because it took the position that “the end justifies the means,” yet they’re only too willing to violate their own moral precepts if it will get them what they want. Whatever openness I used to have toward Christian people—if not their religion—is gone because not only are they unwilling to do anything about our nation’s problems, I’ve come to see them as BEING our nation’s foremost problem.Snowbrushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00436087215476479042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post-45133693986477579572017-02-27T01:25:52.873-08:002017-02-27T01:25:52.873-08:00Hi Stephen;
Thank you for dropping by and readin...Hi Stephen; <br /><br />Thank you for dropping by and reading this post. I'd almost forgotten about it, and Mr. Borg has passed away since I wrote it, so it was nice to remember the occasion, as I was prompted to re-read it by your comment.<br /><br />A couple of thoughts on your comment:<br /><br />1) You wrote: ["So in other words, he was presenting his own atheistic religion."]<br /><br />Actually, neither is panentheism Borg's invention, nor is it "atheistic" in the sense you imply. In fact, the blog post explicitly mentions that it is an old variant of theism. In fact, it can be traced back to ancient Greece, its more contemporary forms were formulated by Spinoza and then by more modern scholars, the most notable and influential being Paul Tillich. I highly recommend the anthology <b>Alternative Concepts of God</b>— "Essays on the Metaphysics of the Divine" (Edited by Andrei Buckareff and Yujin Nagasawa - 2016 Oxford University Press) to you. It is a fairly exhaustive review of the concepts and the history of this old tradition that seems to rile you up enough to call people "blind" for some reason. <br /><br />2) You quote Luke 18:8 by itself as if it in itself were some kind of refutation of Borg's position. The irony, of course, is that that particular verse is part of a pericope which immediately continues on to depict the character Jesus as speaking a parable which to my eyes seems to be directed at one such as yourself:<br /><br />(vv 9–14)<br />To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:<br />"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’<br />But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’<br />I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”<br /><br />Though I am not really a Christian of any kind (neither "progressive" nor otherwise), this is one of my favorite parables of Jesus. I'm sure that you will probably be insulted to be told that it is addressed to you, specifically (it says explicitly that he said it to those who were "confident of their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else"). Jesus equates these people to the Pharisee and the serene humble penitent (e.g. Borg) to the tax collector. <br /><br />It astounds me that here we are, almost two thousand years since this narrative was written, and the point of the parable flies right over the head of someone who fancies himself an adherent of Jesus' teachings.<br /><br />Jesus is talking to you. You should maybe pay attention. <br /><br />If this angers you, i suggest you meditate on why that may be. <br /><br />i wish you peace <br /><br />ÓQuixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03126711689901268060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post-83636438064928794652017-02-26T18:09:53.379-08:002017-02-26T18:09:53.379-08:00So in other words, he was presenting his own athei...So in other words, he was presenting his own atheistic religion. So many people are so blind these days...Jesus was right: "nevertheless, when the Son of Man returns will He find 'The Faith" on Earth."...right now from posts like this and seeing the so-called 'Progressive' Christinaity feed...his answer will be a complete baffle to only Those who Know HimStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980724753973410660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212346.post-9268986344369967252014-08-03T21:29:15.375-07:002014-08-03T21:29:15.375-07:00I enjoyed your post, but it's not clear whethe...I enjoyed your post, but it's not clear whether Borg was relatively unengaging because he got you point or because he didn't want to get into an involved discussion. I think your presentation of why the New Atheists don't take on panantheism was well put.Snowbrushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00436087215476479042noreply@blogger.com