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Imprints: World renowned professor starts a new chapter in life
Professor Marcus Borg will teach his last class at OSU on March 16 after 28 years on campus
Aleks Cherednichenko
Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: News
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These days, the OSU professor is considered to be the top scholar on the topic of Jesus and ancient Christian scripture at Oregon State.
"I was exposed to religion from an early age," Borg said.
He went to Concordia College, a small liberal arts school in Minnesota. During his junior year at Concordia, he took a class in religious studies.
"It was the most exciting course I've taken in my life," Borg said. "The professor who taught the course exposed us to so many different religious thinkers and addressed all the big questions."
The class decided Borg's future career plans.
"By the time I was 20, I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and I've never been sorry," Borg said.
Borg identifies himself as a Christian non-literalist, and a non-exclusivist.
"I don't take the language in the Bible literally and I don't think that Christianity is the only right religion," Borg said.
Borg received his doctorate degree at Oxford University in England and published his first book by the time he was 27. He takes a historical approach to religion, studying ancient texts in their ancient context.
"I came to Oregon out of sheer randomness," Borg said.
He was looking for a teaching job and wanted to move either to Maine or Oregon.
"I've never been to any of the two states before, but I knew I wanted to move to either one," Borg said.
He was offered the job at OSU first, and in 1979 he began to teach religious studies on campus. When the philosophy and religious departments merged at OSU, Borg stayed on as a philosophy professor.
In his 28 years of teaching at OSU, Borg has taught courses from topics such as the Bible, Jesus, God and world religions to topics like feminism, science and politics.
"He takes encounters with individuals as very meaningful experiences," said Courtney Campbell, chair of the philosophy department. "His classes are so well thought out, and it reflects upon his students."
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