What is heresy?heresy, in religion, especially in Christianity, beliefs or views held by a member of a church that contradict its orthodoxy, or core doctrines. (Columbia Encyclopedia)
In Christianity, heresy is a "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. (Answers.com)
I received the following invitation today:
Christianity Scholar to Deliver Smith Lectures At Mercer
MACON — Prominent author and Christian scholar Dr. Marcus J. Borg has been named the 2009 Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity at Mercer University. Dr. Borg will give three lectures as part of his appointment. All three are free and open to the public. Dr. Borg will speak in Newton Chapel on Mercer's Macon campus. Each lecture will build upon the theme "Rethinking the Big Questions: God, Jesus and the Christian Life." The times and subjects of each lecture are:
"Thinking about God Again"
Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 10:50 a.m.
"Thinking about Jesus Again"
Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
"Thinking about the Christian Life
Again"Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 10 a.m.
"In our day, no one has written more critically and faithfully about Jesus than Marcus Borg," said event organizer Dr. Richard F. Wilson, professor and chair of the Columbus Roberts Department of Christianity. "His deep and broad learning, his sometimes stunning candor and his disarming piety come together in ways that appeal to large audiences of students, teachers and honest pilgrims."
WHY WOULD I CALL Borg A HERETIC?
Since we have a number of Mercer students at New City Church, I want to make certain that they/we know and understand the beliefs of the man described as one who has 'written more critically and faithfully about Jesus' than anyone else in our day. I will lay out some of those beliefs in a series of posts - this being the first.
1) Marcus Borg does NOT believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus.
The teaching of the bodily resurrection of Jesus has been a part of Christian doctrine since the resurrection of Jesus in bodily form. It is Orthodox Christian belief. Dr. Borg denies this belief.
From an interview with Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly November 7, 2008
Professor MARCUS BORG (Oregon State University): I do believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I'm just skeptical that it involved anything happening to his corpse.
Prof. BORG: The truth of Easter really has nothing to do with whether the tomb was empty on a particular morning 2,000 years ago or whether anything happened to the corpse of Jesus. I see the truth of Easter as grounded in the Christian experience of Jesus as a living spiritual reality of the present.
Prof. BORG: I think of the great Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," with all its soaring hallelujahs. And I see that hymn as profoundly true even though I don't think its truth depends upon the tomb having been empty or something happening to the corpse of Jesus. Christ indeed has risen, but to confuse that with an event that you could have photographed, I think is to trivialize the story.
Read the entire interview HERE.
Of Borg's position, Al Mohler writes:
But belief in the bodily resurrection is not merely foundational, according to Scripture, it is essential. As Paul argues in Romans 10:9, the Gospel comes down to this: "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" [emphasis mine]. Beyond this, Paul's logic in 1 Corinthians 15 demonstrates the reverse -- if Christ is not raised then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins.
