| A Review of
Speaking Christian:
Reviewed by Shaun C. Brown |
Not long after philosophers like Ludwig Wittgenstein and J.L. Austin made the linguistic turn, theologians followed suit. An increased emphasis upon theology as speech about God continues until this day, as seen in works like George Lindbeck’s The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age, which emphasized a cultural-linguistic understanding of theology. Some of Lindbeck’s postliberal heirs, like Stanley Hauerwas, have continued this emphasis. As Hauerwas says in his recent book Working with Words: On Learning to Speak Christian, “To learn to be a Christian, to learn the discipline of the faith, is not just similar to learning another language. It is learning another language” (87). Speaking Christian represents New Testament scholar Marcus Borg’s attempt at cultural-linguistic theology.
Borg notes that in America, “For many, an increasing number, Christianity has become an unfamiliar language” (5). Even for those who speak Christian fluently, they often misunderstand much of the language. In Speaking Christian, Borg provides a primer to help correct misunderstandings and help those unfamiliar with Christian language to become fluent.
Borg critiques two understandings of Christian language and seeks to correct them. First, he critiques the “heaven-and-hell framework,” which boils Christian language down to issues concerning “the afterlife, sin and forgiveness, Jesus dying for our sins, and believing” (11). Borg believes this framework has become a stumbling block for many in the modern world. Instead of replacing the language of the Christian faith, Borg seeks to redeem it, helping people understand “their biblical and traditional meanings” (1).
Second, Borg critiques a literal understanding of language. Borg critiques not only those who insist upon an inerrant infallible Bible, but also those who hold to a “soft literalism.” Borg argues that literalism is a modern, and thus not an ancient, phenomenon. Similar to the “heaven-and-hell framework,” Borg sees literalism as too incredible for the modern world. He instead calls for a historical-metaphorical approach to the Bible. By historical, Borg does not mean factual. He means that readers should understand biblical texts in the ancient contexts in which they were written. By metaphorical, Borg means that religious language “often has a more-than-literal, more-than-factual, more-than-historical meaning” (29). Borg argues that the points of most biblical stories are metaphorical and not factual, while those stories may include some historical memory.
Similar to the format of Kathleen Norris’ Amazing Grace, each subsequent chapter contains a discussion and reflection upon a term important to the Christian faith. Speaking Christian includes chapters on terms like salvation, God, Jesus, Easter, the creeds and the Trinity, and the Lord’s Supper. Speaking Christian has helpful chapters on mercy/compassion, righteousness/justice, and he reminds readers that the Bible speaks about sin as not only an individual problem, but as a corporate structural problem. Borg also reminds Christians that salvation in Scripture involves more than “fire insurance” (my term). Biblical writers use multiple metaphors to discuss salvation, including liberation from economic, political, and religious bondage, return from exile, rescue, and healing. Biblical writers also discuss salvation not only in individual terms, but also in political/communal terms.
Borg is also correct that much of the language in Scripture about God or Jesus is metaphorical. We should not assume because Acts 2:33 says Jesus has been “exalted to the right hand of God” that God has a right hand, or that Jesus is a loaf of bread or a photon. At the same time, Borg makes some terminology metaphorical that the Christian tradition has understood literally. For example, while Borg does argue that Jesus reveals God, Borg does not believe that the “pre-Easter Jesus” was divine, thus he denies the incarnation as traditionally understood. He also argues that the early Christian confession “Christ is risen” does not refer to Christ bodily overcoming death and to Christ’s abiding presence, but to Christ’s continued presence alone. The early apostles or others who see Jesus in the modern world experience him as a vision of divine reality, similar to how surviving spouses will sometimes have experiences of their deceased spouse. This perspective makes me think of Paul’s words, “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain” (1 Cor 15:14).
Borg, nonetheless, is an important figure in discussions on topics from the historical Jesus to religion and culture. He challenges Christians to live for God’s justice in the world and not just focus on the next world. Interested readers should also look at a respectful dialogue with and critique of Borg’s perspective on Jesus in The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, written by Borg with N.T. Wright.
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Shaun C. Brown is Associate Minister of Youth at Central Holston Christian Church in Bristol, TN, where he lives with his wife Cassandra and cat Tonks.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
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