Week 4 Post

This week we read deeper into Marcus Borg's, Jesus. In this section, Borg discusses how Christians take the readings of the gospels in a metaphorical matter. Rather than looking at the readings of Mark, Mathew, Luke and John factually, Borg explains how Christians see the readings metaphorically. All of the narratives are not based on the memory or particular events, but instead they are created because of their metaphorical meaning. Take the Wedding at Cana. The story of Jesus changing water into wine is purely a metaphorical narrative not a memory of a historical event. This then leads us to question what the narratives are saying, and what is the parabolic meaning behind them all. Well, they all differ, aiming at different parts of living, but they all have the same content. That being a message behind everything, which is what Christians look at and reflect on. Borg reminds us that we need to continue to look at them metaphorically and stray from taking the readings as historically factual.

As a Christian, I have no trouble seeing the metaphorical meaning behind these narratives. For an outsider though, or someone who is not Christian, I can see how difficult it might be to understand what these narratives are saying. They are, in some cases hard to believe, but the key to Christianity is not to believe but more so to understand. We do not need to believe them factually, instead what we need to do is look at the morals we can deduce from the actions played out, and we can then apply that to our lives. Not all of Jesus' stories are going to be true. It is part of the faith, which makes the narratives valid and gives Christians the backbone to understand Christ's intentions.