Everyone knows the New Testament begins with the
Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was
actually one of the later books to be written? (It
wasn't even the first Gospel!) But Evolution of the
Word is not your typical New Testament. Marcus J.
Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling
author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as
we know it by putting the books in a completely new
order--the order in which they were written. By
doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to read
these documents in their historical context. For
the first time, see how the core ideas of
Christianity took shape and developed over time.
Borg surveys what we know of the Jewish community
of Jesus followers who passed on their stories
orally. Into this context emerges the apostle Paul,
whose seven authentic letters become the first
collected writings that would later become the New
Testament. Borg offers helpful introductions for
each book so that as we read through these biblical
documents, spanning over a century in time, we see
afresh what concerns and pressures shaped this
movement as it evolved into a new religion. In this
groundbreaking format, Borg reveals how a radical
and primitive apocalyptic Jewish faith slowly
became more comfortable with the world, less
Jewish, and more pre- occupied with maintaining
power and control. Evolution of the Word promises
to change forever how we think about this historic
work.
Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was
actually one of the later books to be written? (It
wasn't even the first Gospel!) But Evolution of the
Word is not your typical New Testament. Marcus J.
Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling
author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as
we know it by putting the books in a completely new
order--the order in which they were written. By
doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to read
these documents in their historical context. For
the first time, see how the core ideas of
Christianity took shape and developed over time.
Borg surveys what we know of the Jewish community
of Jesus followers who passed on their stories
orally. Into this context emerges the apostle Paul,
whose seven authentic letters become the first
collected writings that would later become the New
Testament. Borg offers helpful introductions for
each book so that as we read through these biblical
documents, spanning over a century in time, we see
afresh what concerns and pressures shaped this
movement as it evolved into a new religion. In this
groundbreaking format, Borg reveals how a radical
and primitive apocalyptic Jewish faith slowly
became more comfortable with the world, less
Jewish, and more pre- occupied with maintaining
power and control. Evolution of the Word promises
to change forever how we think about this historic
work.
