Seminar member Dr. Marcus Borg of Oregon State University stated of Jesus, ''We're making him a Buddha-like figure, not just another philosopher but a really big one''

''I find it literally incredible that the God of the whole universe has chosen to be known by one religious tradition,'' Borg said.

He said all the great religions of the world, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, suggest that God is an encompassing spirit who is part of everyday life.

He described this not as pantheism but as ''panentheism,'' which suggests that God is not only transcendent and beyond human experience, but also immanent, or dwelling within all of us.

The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions is a theological remix of the old Cole Porter song ''Let's Call the Whole Thing Off.'' In alternating chapters, the (mostly) liberal Marcus J. Borg and the (mostly) conservative N.T. Wright consider the major questions of the historical-Jesus debate that has dominated biblical studies in the 1990s. Borg and Wright agree that Jesus was the Christian messiah and preached the Kingdom of God, but they disagree about the Virgin birth, the purpose of Jesus' death, the issue of his bodily resurrection, and the question of his divinity. The Ping-Pong structure of this book and the fastidious politeness with which the authors treat one another sometimes give The Meaning of Jesus a tomato/tomahto, potato/potahto bounciness, but the project is nevertheless worthy: this is a simple, clear orientation to some of the most important biblical questions of our time, and a record of a lively and loving friendship between two of the best Christian scholars alive