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

5.0

Excellent read. All my life all I have ever known is a mostly literal understanding of scripture. Rarely, have I read or understood the Bible as a metaphorical narrative. In this book, Borg humbly takes you through the entire Bible and provides what he believes could be a metaphorical understanding of much of the stories contained within it. He doesn't claim to be right or have all the answers, and he provides several possibilities of what these stories may mean. But, I am glad that I have now been exposed to another form of hermeneutic of scripture besides only the literal interpretation. At this point I believe the Bible could be understood with both perspectives (literal and metaphor), but the challenge is to discern what could be which. As Borg mentions, it only makes sense that most of the scripture was addressed to a particular audience and isn't necessarily supposed to be a prescription for all people for all times and all cultures. But, we can certainly glean truths from these ancient narratives that can be applied to our lives today. The bottom line is that the Bible is about a story of how people connect with the Divine, and how we are to treat and love others. And Borg addresses this multiple times through this book. I highly recommend "Read the Bible Again for the First Time" especially to those, like me, who have only been exposed to one stream of interpretation, namely literal. But, I also recommend it to those who are thirsty to hear and understand what God is speaking to us today. Kudos to Borg for a very well written and insightful book.