It is with a great sense of loss that we announce the passing of world renowned Christian/Jesus scholar and former Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture Emeritus Professor Marcus Borg who passed away on January 21, 2015.


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Distinguished Professor in Religion and Culture and the Hundere Endowed Chair in Religious Studies

Marcus J. Borg (Ph.D., Oxford University), Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture, retired in 2007. Known as one of the leading historical Jesus scholars of this generation, he is the author of ten books, two of which have become best-sellers, Jesus: A New Vision and Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. His most recent publication is The Heart of Christianity: How We Can Be Passionate Believers Today (2003). He has lectured widely in this country (including at the Smithsonian and Chautauqua Institutions) and overseas (England, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel, and South Africa). His books have been translated into German, Dutch, Korean, and French.

An outstanding teacher, Borg has received all of OSU's major awards for teaching, including one from the legislature. He is the first person in the College of Liberal Arts to be designated "Distinguished Professor" by the university. He has twice been President of the CLA Faculty Council.

Borg sees philosophy as primarily concerned with the role of ideas in our lives. "Ideas matter," Borg says, "much more than we commonly think they do - especially our world-views and values, namely our ideas about what is real and how we are to live. We receive such ideas from our culture as we grow up, and unless we examine them, we will not be free persons, but will to a large extent live out the agenda of our socialization."