On the third Sunday of each month, we gather to study and discuss. We are currently using the following book. You may purchase the book through Amazon.com by clicking on the cover or title.

2004 Study Text

Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally
by Marcus J. Borg

One of the vital challenges facing thoughtful people today is how to read the Bible faithfully without abandoning our sense of truth and history. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time provides a much-needed solution to the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet contemporary understanding of the scriptures. Many mistakenly believe there are no choices other than fundamentalism or simply rejecting the Bible as something that can bring meaning to our lives. Answering this modern dilemma, acclaimed author Marcus Borg reveals how it is possible to reconcile the Bible with both a scientific and critical way of thinking and our deepest spiritual needs, leading to a contemporary yet grounded experience of the sacred texts.

This seminal book shows you how to read the Bible as it should be examined -- in an approach the author calls "historical-metaphorical." Borg explores what the Scriptures meant to the ancient communities that produced and lived by them. He then helps us to discover the meaning of these stories, providing the knowledge and perspective to make the wisdom of the Bible an essential part of our modern lives. The author argues that the conventional way of seeing the Bible's origin, authority, and interpretation has become unpersuasive to millions of people in our time, and that we need a fresh way of encountering the Bible that takes the texts seriously but not literally, even as it takes seriously who we have become.

Borg traces his personal spiritual journey, describing for readers how he moved from an unquestioning childhood belief in the biblical stories to a more powerful and dynamic relationship with the Bible as a sacred text brimming with meaning and guidance. Using his own experience as an example, he reveals how the modern crisis of faith is itself rooted in the misinterpretation of sacred texts as historical record and divine dictation, and opens readers to a truer, more abundant perspective.

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.

Previous Study Texts

The Good Book:
Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart
by Peter J. Gomes
Paperback - 383 pages Reprint edition (May 1998)
ISBN: 0380723239
Amazon.com Price: $10.40

Also available in the following formats: Large Print and Audio Cassette [Abridged]
(Click on the links above to order this book in association with Amazon.com.)

Book Description

Biblical studies have historically been consigned to theological schools and church groups. In The Good Book, Peter Gomes, pastor of Harvard University's Memorial Church and a professor of theology, has written a vivid, common sense and wise analysis of what the Bible means for us today. As an African American gay man, Gomes is interested in re-viewing the biblical passages on sexuality and race, but The Good Book is much more than a revisionist look at controversial biblical passages. Gomes is interested in rediscovering how the Bible can find a place in our emotional and political lives, as well as in our religious beliefs

The God We Never Knew:
Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith
by Marcus J. Borg
Paperback - 192 pages Reprint edition (June 1998)
Harper, San Francisco
ISBN: 0060610352
Amazon.com Price: $12.00
(Click on the link above to order this book in association with Amazon.com.)

Book Description
Answering the vital contemporary theological and spiritual questions that fall outside the scope of such popular historical bestsellers such as A History of God and God: A Biography, Marcus Borg leads us to a fresh, contemporary, yet deeply grounded experience of God in our minds--and hearts.

"For me, the problem was thus centrally intellectual, even though it deeply affected the rest of my life. For a variety of good reasons, not everybody experiences a serious intellectual problem with the notion of God. But some do. For my own religious journey, the resolution of the intellectual problem was indispensable; without it, I would still be on the outside of the Christian life looking in."--from The God We Never Knew

In The God We Never Knew, bestselling author Marcus J. Borg leads us from the distant, authoritative God of our childhood to an equally powerful, dynamic adult understanding of God. Tracing his own spiritual journey, he reveals how to embrace a fresh, authentic view of God that is fully compatible with good science, critical thinking, and religious pluralism--a view that promotes a much healthier and more vital life of faith today.