Days of Awe and Wonder

Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the Twenty-first Century

Showcasing some of his most enduring and insightful writings, including many previously unpublished works, a concise and illuminating introduction to Marcus J. Borg, the late spokesman for progressive Christianity and one of the most revered and influential theologians of our time.
In his acclaimed books, including classics such as Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, Speaking Christian, and Convictions, Marcus J. Borg helped shape an enlightened modernist view of Christianity. A leading scholar of the historical Jesus acclaimed for his ability to speak about Christianity in the context of contemporary society, Borg offered profound wisdom and inspiration a new way of seeing and living the Christian life—for believers, students, and lay readers. Ultimately, he taught us that by developing a deeper understanding of Jesus and the New Testament, we can discover a more authentic way of being. Yet Borg himself was always conscious of a greater truth beyond what he could explain: the wonder of God.
Now, two years after the liberal theologian’s death, comes The Days of Awe and Wonder, a selection of his writing, including many never before published works, that explores the Christian faith and what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century. Provocative and uplifting, this anthology illuminates Borg’s explorations of the miraculous and wonderful, his understanding of conviction and fulfillment, and his contention that we must keep an open mind and question assumptions and certainties in all our religious journeys.
"For as long as there have been Christians, there has been considerable debate about what it means to be a Christian. From the authority of the Bible and the believability of its stories, to the meaning of Jesus, to what difference Christianity really makes, essential Christian ideas have evolved and been interpreted in various ways. Yet the twenty-first century has seen even more dramatic change for Christianity. Old assumptions about and images of God no longer hold. Christianity is no longer considered essential for “salvation.” It no longer provides an unambiguous moral compass. And the United States, “a Christian country,” is now the most religiously diverse country in the world. As W. B. Yeats wrote in “Second Coming,” we are in a post-Christian era; and what “rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.” So just how important is Christianity to the twenty-first century? What does it mean to follow Jesus across terrain that is both trampled and uncharted? Does being Christian really matter anymore?
I suggest the angst among many Christians and the increasing number of “nones” on the religious affiliation line is good news. And it couldn’t come at a more opportune time."