In Gratitude for Marcus Borg: On the Unholy God

Last updated on: January 27, 2015 at 6:28 pm by Adam Ericksen

In Gratitude for Marcus Borg: On the Unholy God 2015-01-27T18:28:41-05:00 Adam Ericksen

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Marcus Borg, a bestselling author and prominent Jesus scholar, died last week. I read the news on my Facebook feed as many of my progressive friends lamented his death.

Borg’s influence is unparalleled in progressive Christian circles. He was a scholar with the rare ability to speak to academics and to the masses. Many in my mainline denominational church claim that Borg has helped them remain Christians. His books, especially Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, provided a way for them to re-interpret ancient doctrines and creeds of the faith that were an intellectual stumbling block for them.

I’m grateful that Borg has opened the door for my progressive friends to remain intellectually honest and grapple with questions concerning Christianity, particularly the Incarnation and Resurrection. Personally, I haven’t struggled much with those doctrines and I disagree with some of the moves Borg makes. But I do greatly appreciate Borg’s work and, more importantly, his life, for other reasons.

What I appreciate most about Borg is that he understood the radical nature of the Gospel of Jesus. Just how radical is that message?

Jesus revealed that God is unholy.

In his book Conflict, Holiness, and the Teachings of Jesus, Borg states that holiness during the time of Jesus was “understood as separation from everything impure.” The same thought applies for most people today. Religiously, to be holy is to be set apart from what is unholy. Highly religious people often fear being contaminated by other people they perceive to be unholy. The emphasis on religious holiness creates a barrier between people that cannot be crossed. If that barrier were crossed, then people concerned with being holy would become contaminated by those deemed unholy.

It is taken for granted by those concerned with being holy that God is holy. Because God is holy, God hates sin and responds to it with anger. Borg states that the imitatio dei, or the imitation of God, requires religious people to do what God does. If we believe that God is holy and responds to sin by either separating from it or with divine wrath, then we should respond in the same way.

But what if God isn’t concerned with holiness? What if God doesn’t respond to sin with wrath? What if religious holiness is just a human construction to divide “us” from “them.” And what if God actually bridges the divide of holiness that separates “us” from “them”?

There are two strands in the Bible that are in tension. One strand is concerned with a religious holiness that divides the world into “us” and “them.” The other strand is a divine compassion that unites “us” and “them.” Leviticus 19:2, for example, states, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” One aspect of holiness in Leviticus is the separation of the holy and the profane. Leviticus was concerned with separating Israel from the nations; otherwise Israel would be contaminated by the profane religious practices of those nations. On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah wasn’t concerned about separating the nations, but about uniting them through compassion. Isaiah had a vision where the shroud that separates the nations will be destroyed and that nothing, not even the shroud of holiness, will separate “us” from “them.”

The questions we should ask is, “Which strand did Jesus pick?” Borg points out that Jesus clearly picked the strand that sought to unite people through divine compassion. In addition, Jesus critiqued religious holiness that divides people. He states that Jesus intentionally critiqued Leviticus 19:2, which emphasized holiness and separation from others by emphasizing compassion.

For Jesus, God isn’t holy; rather, God is compassion. God bridges the divide that humans have set up through religious holiness codes through God’s code of compassion. Quoting Luke 6:35-36, Borg states that Jesus critiqued the holiness that divides in Leviticus 19:2 with a compassion that unites:

“But love your enemies and you will be sons of the Most High; for God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be compassionate as God is compassionate.” (Emphasis in original.)

God is no longer seen as holy because God is not to be used as an excuse to separate “us” from “them.” In fact, God has nothing to do with religious holiness codes that divide people into holy and profane. Borg states that Jesus articulated a compassion that was “an alternative to the quest for holiness.” For Jesus, God’s compassion is radical beyond the human understanding of holiness. God’s compassion is “an inclusive compassion, embracing the selfish and the unselfish, the just and the unjust.” Jesus, known as Emmanuel, or God with us, not only taught this message, but he lived it. God isn’t holy, set apart from us. God is with us. Jesus revealed this by bridging the human religious construction of holiness that separates people. Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, he healed the blind, cured the sick, and invited the marginalized to join him in a community of compassion. It was the religious elite that was concerned about keeping God holy; not Jesus.

Borg’s ability to identify and articulate this radical message from Jesus is a profound gift of his legacy. That he lived and modeled that radical message is his greatest gift to us. Borg was a liberal scholar and a faithful member of the Jesus Seminar. But Borg didn’t let the “holiness” of liberal or progressive Christianity divide him from being in friendship with conservative scholars. His pastoral and humble presence on the popular Living the Questions videos and in lectures he delivered clearly showed that he loved Jesus, God, and bridging the holiness gap that divides “us” from “them.” For his scholarship and his ability to model compassion, I am grateful.

May Marcus rest in peace and rise in the glorious compassion of God.

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