The book, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and NT Wright is a conversation of sorts between "leading liberal and conservative Jesus scholars" as they "present the heart of the historical debate about Jesus. In the introduction, the researchers note that the inspiration and writing of the book grew out of friendship. The book documents the public and private conversations between these scholars and friends, sharing Christian faith and practice as they tackle these complex issues in hopes of better understanding each other. Both “…recognize Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, and [we] regard the unrestricted study of his actual history as an essential part of what we mean by this” (viii). In these circumstances, identified in the book Here are some of the goals of writing: the desire to move cluttered debates toward more fruitful possibilities by suggesting alternative ways of aligning issues, as well as opening a question crucial: how are the different visions of Jesus linked to the different visions of the Christian life? Agreeing that discussions and conversations about Jesus need to be open and in the public sphere, Borg and Wright act on this shared aspiration and reveal a conversation that is both interesting and refreshing, with the underlying goal of igniting dialogue between others, Christians and non-Christians. Christians likewise (ix-x). In this situation, the content of the writing is divided into eight parts, with each scholar writing a short chapter on each of the topics, alternating the position of the chapters in a counterpoint manner. Rarely stating explicit disagreement with the other, the intimate manner of presentation does an excellent job of exposing the inherent tensions between the two...... middle of paper ...... of the Christian faith coming to the fore in uniting two camps of believers in a single reading; a starting point. As the authors illustrate: “Although we of course did not reach an agreement, we are satisfied that we have eliminated misunderstandings, that is, neither of us misrepresented the other . We offer the result to the reader as a celebration of shared friendship, faith, and scholarship” (xi). In conclusion, I found the book incredibly thought-provoking and interesting for this course. Its strength comes from the open and honest but respectful nature of the dialogue between these researchers. Each chapter offered by Borg and Wright felt more like teasers for reading their other publications, which was unsatisfying in a way but very enticing for interested readers of the book to continue their own quest to understand the Jesus historical..