The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution [Hardcover]

Gregory A. Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 2009

The kingdom of God is a beautiful revolution. Marked by the radical life, love, servanthood, and humility of Jesus, it stands in stark contrast to the values and ways of the world. Regrettably, many who profess to follow Christ have bought into the world's methods, seeking to impose a sort of Christianized ethical kingdom through politics and control. In this illuminating sequel to his bestselling book The Myth of a Christian Nation, Dr. Gregory Boyd points us to a better way---a way of seeing and living that is consistent with the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom. Between the extremes of passivity on the one hand and political holy war on the other lies the radical, revolutionary path of imitating Jesus. In twelve areas ranging from racial and social issues to stewardship of the planet, this book will convince and inspire you to live a Christlike life of revolt and beauty---and it will help you attain a practical lifestyle of kingdom impact.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Imitating the life of Jesus isn't solely about embracing his message of love, sacrifice and service, according to evangelical pastor Boyd. In his latest book, the author of The Myth of a Christian Nation also asserts that becoming part of the beautiful revolution means rebelling against everything that is incompatible with that way of life, including violence, poverty, sexual promiscuity and secularism. While exhortations to practice the presence of God and be generous to the poor are likely to be uncontroversial, the writer seems to enjoy afflicting the comfortable, whether they are church-going believers or secular atheists. His critique of the pagan values of our nation and his impassioned call to choose love over judgment may occasion heated conversation among more conservative readers, while his endearing honesty and accessible style will undoubtedly appeal to others. Boyd has included an extensive action guide, which includes multiple exercises for self-reflection, as well as his practical suggestions for churches and small groups on how, as he sees it, to lose one's religion and become a part of the radical kingdom of Jesus. (May)
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Review

The Myth of a Christian Religion is one of the most sensible, fog-clearing books that I've read on the subject God's Kingdom to date. I highly recommend it to all Christians, especially those who wish to cut through the religious clutter that surrounds American politics today. -- Frank Viola, author of From Eternity to Here, Reimagining Church, and Pagan Christianity <br><br>

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310283833
• ISBN-13: 978-0310283836
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregory A. Boyd is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and founder and president of ReKnew. He was a professor of theology at Bethel College (St. Paul, Minn.) for sixteen years where he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor. Greg is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (BA), Yale Divinity School (M.Div), and Princeton Theological Seminary (PhD). Greg is a national and international speaker at churches, colleges, conferences, and retreats, and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows. He has also authored and coauthored eighteen books prior to Present Perfect, including The Myth of a Christian Religion, The Myth of a Christian Nation, The Jesus Legend (with Paul Eddy), Seeing Is Believing, Repenting of Religion, and his international bestseller Letters from a Skeptic.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Follow Up April 27, 2009

By William A. Guice

Format:Hardcover

Greg Boyd completes many of the thoughts engaged in The Myth of a Christian Nation. While you again get Boyd's intelligent and thoughtful approach to scripture, this time his pastor's heart seems to engage much more. The books is a solid re-enforcement to the first work but takes more practical steps to speak into a number of American cultural issues. The first section of the book ties together this work with the previous and one and defines Boyd's position in how we are to approach others and entities as believers of Jesus. Boyd in his useful terms gives us again the picture of power over (manipulation, strength, control) and power under (love, surrender, service) and how operating from this position puts us often in direct conflict with the way that the world works. We are called to manifest the beauty of God by sacrificially loving and serving those around us. He writes that there is no way to do this without "revolting against everything in our lives that keeps us self-centered, greedy, and apathetic toward the plight of others." The American church shares and even celebrates much of what it seems early followers of the way stood against. The kingdom of God must display the sacrificial character of Jesus. Boyd says, "To the extent that any individual, church, or movement looks like that, it manifests the Kingdom of God. To the extent that it doesn't look like that, it doesn't. It's that simple." The book then discusses twelve areas where Boyd believes that followers of Jesus must revolt against the powers. The twelve focus areas are idolatry, judgment, religion, individualism, nationalism, violence, social oppression, racism, poverty/greed, abuse of creation, abuse of sex, and secularism. In each section Boyd takes his ideas of sacrificial calvary type love and shows what this means for how we interact with others. The book makes you think and dig. Whether you agree with Boyd or not, the book will lead to some great discussion and stretching.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A revelation ... July 2, 2009

By Brian Wright Dines

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is certainly one of the most enlightening and freeing Christian books I've ever read -- and I've read plenty in my 30 plus years as a Christian. Other reviewers have rightly talked about the message and the impact this book has had on people and their understanding of how the Kingdom of God is really supposed to operate, so I don't need to add anything more on those lines.

I do want to add a very curious reaction I had after reading the first four or five chapters of this book, something very surprising. I've been reading the Bible now for decades and, particularly in the Gospels, I've always run across these sayings or actions of Jesus that just didn't seem to sit well with what I've been taught about the nature of Christianity. For instance, the whole Sermon on the Mount -- is one to read that as absolute instruction "when your enemy strikes you, turn to him the other cheek", or is that just metaphor for some kind of deeper understanding? And really, what's the point of turning the other cheek? How does having bruised cheeks benefit the kingdom? And what about phrases like "the world will know you're my disciples by the love you have for one another"? And what about Jesus washing of the disciples' feet? Frankly, these events and sayings of Christ never seemed to sit well in the jigsaw puzzle that is my Christian understanding. Teachings about the Sermon on the Mount always seemed to be reaching for something that wasn't really there.

But after reading about half the Boyd book, suddenly the jigsaw puzzle rearranged itself and all these confusing sayings and historical activities suddenly fell neatly into place. Turning the other cheek is an extension of the power of the cross. It's all about the cross, self sacrifice, loving your enemy, denying self, humble service, etc. That is the power of the cross and that's the power that will save people. Squabbling about abortion, legalizing morality, judging, condemning, Gay bashing, etc. -- these things have been completely ineffective, if not detrimental, to the advancement of the Kingdom, because they reflect the power of man and the flesh, not the power of the cross. The cross wasn't just for Jesus and his disciples; it's a way of life for all of us if we're serious about our Christianity.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Myth Busted May 5, 2009

By Scandalous Sanity VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The Myth of a Christian Religion is Gregory Boyd's follow up to The Myth of a Christian Nation. The book takes Boyd's opinions and views of a Christian nation even further, stating that Jesus did not come to start a new religion, but to bring the kingdom of God to earth.

Boyd basically expounds on many of the themes he covered in Myth of a Christian Nation, but focuses less on America and more on the individual spiritual condition. His passion and caring exude from the chapters, and we see more of Gregory Boyd than in previous works.

Boyd calls on readers to revolt against a variety of things: idolatry, judgement, religion, individualism, nationalism, violence, social oppression, racism, poverty, greed, abuse of sex and creation, and secularism. Boyd is quick to use the example of Jesus in response to any opposition to his views, showing that Christians are called to follow this example.

This is a great book to add to your collection. It is less eye opening than Myth of a Christian Nation, but is a deeper and more personal work.