Putting Away Childish Things - by Marcus J Borg (Paperback)

About the Book

"We all know that Marcus Borg is a gifted teacher, biblical scholar, and writer of nonfiction, but it turns out that he's a master storyteller, too." -- Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity

Bestselling author, Bible scholar, and theologian Marcus Borg (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, The Last Week) uses his core teachings on faith and the Bible to demonstrate their transformative power and potential in Putting Away Childish Things the moving, inspirational story of a college professor, her students, and a crisis of faith.

Book Synopsis

"We all know that Marcus Borg is a gifted teacher, biblical scholar, and writer of nonfiction, but it turns out that he's a master storyteller, too."
-- Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity

Bestselling author, Bible scholar, and theologian Marcus Borg (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, The Last Week) uses his core teachings on faith and the Bible to demonstrate their transformative power and potential in Putting Away Childish Things: the moving, inspirational story of a college professor, her students, and a crisis of faith.

From the Back Cover

In Putting Away Childish Things, Marcus Borg weaves his insightful teachings on Christianity into a new form--fiction. In this compelling tale, we meet Kate--a popular religion professor at a liberal arts college in a small midwestern town who thinks her life is right on track. She loves her job, is happy with her personal and spiritual life, and her guilty pleasure consists of passing her afternoons at the local pub with a pint of Guinness and a cigarette. Life is good.

Kate is up for tenure when it all starts to go wrong. A colleague warns her that her books are too Christian and too popular. She is offered a visiting professor job at a prestigious seminary, which sounds like the perfect solution except for one complication--it is the same seminary that employs the professor she had an affair with years ago. Kate now has to face her past and watch as the ramifications unfold in ways she never imagined. In the classroom, students ask for her views on Jesus, the Bible, and homosexuality, controversial topics that Kate candidly addresses until outraged parents start campaigning for the school to get rid of her. Through it all, Kate faces the toughest challenge yet--a crisis of faith that leaves her questioning what she believed so strongly before.

Putting Away Childish Things is an engaging way for readers to learn about the important issues dividing Christians today. Along the way, we join with the characters to ask the hard questions such as what does the Bible really teach? Who is Jesus? What is the nature of faith today?

This is a story that promises to leave us different in the end than when we started, as we learn how even in the twenty-first century, God works in mysterious ways.

Review Quotes

"The form is different with Marcus Borg's insightful new novel, but the reader's experience and payoff are the same as with his many excellent non-fiction books: this is a great read that leads to a deeper, more hopeful understanding of the meaning and possibilities of Christian faith today." - Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today Board of Contributors, author of Onward Christian Athletes
"We all know that Marcus Borg is a gifted teacher, biblical scholar, and writer of nonfiction, but it turns out that he's a master storyteller, too. In Putting Away Childish Things, we encounter thoughtful and conflicted characters talking honestly and intelligently about God, faith, doubt, sex, food, and life's big decisions. A rewarding read!" - Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity
"A superb way of involving the reader emotionally and imaginatively in these important issues. Indeed, it is probably the only way of doing so. As we follow Kate's journey we become aware of the paradoxes and difficulties of faith in the modern world, and appreciate the way these affect our spiritual, intellectual and professional aspirations at every level. At the end of the novel, Borg is thus able to lead his readers to the crucial insight that religious commitment is more than belief." - Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God
"Putting Away Childish Things is a page-turning tale grappling with issues of faith confronting today's church. An inspiring and compelling story that will be treasured and revisited, Borg's illuminating insights and all-too-human characters make theology accessible to all." - Julia Spencer-Fleming, award-winning author of One Was A Soldier
"Professor Borg spins a fine yarn and teaches much in the process, yielding a whole cloth of integrated and inquiring Christianity. Let's hope there is a second tapestry to come!" - The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church
"Emily Dickinson said 'tell all the truth, but tell it slant, ' and Marcus Borg does just that. With his trademark pith and lucidity, Borg gives us a novel with meat on its bones: his story of theology professor Kate Riley's vocational and spiritual journey has something for the inquirer's intellect, the lover's heart, and the seeker's soul. Through his compelling story, he invites us to explore new truths that help us navigate a clear path through the culture wars and hot-button issues of our day. This is a feast for mind, heart and spirit." - Anne Sutherland Howard, author of Claiming the Beatitudes and Executive Director of The Beatitudes Society
"Borg offers up a didactic novel that explores some of the thorniest theological issues facing the Christian community. ... he is to be commended for taking up a new form of literature to share his theological perspective--a perspective that many have found to be generous, open and hopeful." - Christian Century
"I highly recommend this book. It is my hope it will draw us all to a place of humble hospitality where grace abounds. We need more than ever to rediscover the faith that Jesus lived and spoke, and Putting Away Childish Things brings us to place to talk about what that is. " - The Weary Pilgrim
"Borg writes fiction with passion. While the book raises many questions about faith, religion, and relationships, it also functions by itself as [a] truly moving story. I highly recommend this book for skeptics and people of faith alike." - Treehouse Monastic
"In the end, it's the kind of novel where you underline teaching points that have been made especially well and dog-ear the pages in which the author has included poetry that speaks to urgent human questions." - Beliefnet
"I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wholeheartedly recommend it.... Many a book group will enjoy discussing Putting Away Childish Things, and many a questioning Christian's faith will be sustained by the story." - A Wee Blether
"If you are interested in progressive Christianity and a how to live a life of faith in Jesus that is authentic and modern then look no further than Putting Away Childish Things.. ... I admire Borg for taking a stab at fiction and having some faith, putting away his academic work in order to reach a wide audience." - Englewood Review of Books
"In Putting Away Childish Things, Borg has chosen fiction as the best vehicle for exploring Christianity, important questions of career and vocation, and thorny issues within the church such as fundamentalism and homosexuality. This imaginative excursion is handled with aplomb...A thought-provoking novel." - Spirituality & Practice
"The story provokes ample opportunity for dialog on a personal and a group level. A wonderful novel.... You look forward to returning to digest more of this splendidly crafted tale.... Powerful, memorable and one that you can confidently recommend to others....as I now recommend it to you." - Bill Dahl
"I see this novel as an ingenious way to open up dialogue between Christians of differing points of view, and as a window into Borg's understanding of what it means to be truly Christian in a world that has become rather inhospitable to Christianity and its claims." - Presbymergent-Musings
"One of the things... I really liked was the emphasis on the experience of relationship with God. While there may be disagreement over interpretive issues regarding Scripture, there is common ground in a shared understanding of the importance of knowing God. ... There must be room within faith to ask questions and explore our personal theology.... I can almost guarantee that you will find something you disagree with and possibly some things you agree with." - Kingdom Grace
"I highly recommend this book... Beyond the story itself, I love the fact that Borg has written this book in this genre. In an era where many of us within the faith refuse to listen to the theology of those we deem (or have been told are) too _________ (you fill in the blank), we need more story. Don't tell me what you believe, show me how it impacts and guides people's lives.... I hope we see more fiction from the pen of Marcus Borg." - Waving or Drowning?
"I learned a lot about Borg's personal positions, gained knowledge on theological history, and now find myself understanding a bit more about liberal Christianity. So, in this sense, his book is a success. I found it intriguing and it helped me to reflect upon and reinforce my own faith." - The Christian Critic
"With a novelist's gift for creating plot and character, the distinguished New Testament scholar and theologian Marcus Borg has written a book that succeeds not only as a work of fiction but as an exploration of the kind of religious and social issues that divide many Christians today. I recommend it not only as an insightful exploration of contemporary Christian thought but as a consistently lively and engaging story." - Frederick Buechner, author of Secrets in the Dark
"Marcus Borg has given us a novel about the great debates in Christianity (and religion) today: imagination vs. orthodoxy, 'church' vs. 'spirituality, ' doctrine vs. the lived experience of faith. He has clothed these ideas in hearts, minds and bodies but above all, he has given us Kate Riley, whose desire to live out her true calling made me shiver with recognition. Read this book and give it to all who seek." - Nora Gallagher, author of Changing Light and Things Seen and Unseen
"Although Putting Away Childish Things presents sermons, poems, lectures, and pastoral counseling, it all goes down smoothly. It's didactic, but it's also novel. Borg takes advantage of [main character] Kate's syllabus for Religion and the Enlightenment to teach readers what she teaches her students, for example, about the historical Jesus, the Bible, and meanings of "faith" and "believe." The reader audits Prof. Riley's class and, thereby, drinks from Marcus Borg's font of knowledge about the Enlightenment, theology and religion.... [Borg] writes plainly, warmly, and with truth. - Beatitudes Review
"Borg takes advantage of [main character] Kate's syllabus to teach readers what she teaches her students... The reader audits Prof. Riley's class and, thereby, drinks from Marcus Borg's font of knowledge about the Enlightenment, theology and religion.... [Borg] writes plainly, warmly, and with truth." - Beatitudes Review
"Both informing and delighting.... One of the best reads of [the] last several months...good fiction well told and with a worldview or perspective lucidly and appealingly presented." - Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence
"Can a world renowned biblical scholar really write an entertaining work of fiction? The answer is absolutely YES! I was hooked by the end of the first chapter." - Progression of Faith