As with French, German or Spanish, learning the basic vocabulary of Christianity is a vital first step in understanding what it means and how it works. We think of words like 'faith', 'forgiveness', 'salvation', 'sin' and 'heaven'. But how can we be sure that we understand them correctly? Over the centuries all sorts of different meanings have grown up around these words, and sometimes those meanings can obscure or distort the way the words were originally used in the Bible. In Speaking Christian, Marcus Borg takes some of the key words in the Christian dictionary and exposes the negative and unhelpful connotations they still carry today. At the same time, he goes back to the Bible and unpacks their meaning in a way that is both more faithful to the teaching of Jesus and more relevant to his followers today.

This book could start a revolution. Borg cracks open the encrusted words of faith and pops them into fresh language that people can understand and trust. The last time this happened, we got the Reformation. --Anne Sutherland Howard, Executive Director of The Beatitudes Society

Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. His many books include Jesus (2011), Meeting Jesus in Mark (2011) and three written with John Dominic Crossan: The Last Week (2006), The First Christmas (2007), and The First Paul (2009), all published by SPCK.