Product Description

Arguing from Scripture and history, Dr. Boyd makes a compelling case that whenever the church gets too close to any political or national ideology, it is disastrous for the church and harmful to society. Dr. Boyd contends that the American Evangelical Church has allowed itself to be co-opted by the political right (and some by the political left) and exposes how this is harming the church’s unique calling to build the kingdom of God. In the course of his argument, Dr. Boyd challenges some of the most deeply held convictions of evangelical Christians in America – for example, that America is, or ever was, “a Christian nation” or that Christians ought to be trying to “take America back for God.”

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6997 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Released on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"Boyd's intervention into the discussion is welcome. He is bold,… passionate, and discerning, while still attempting to be charitable. Boyd doesn't pull punches, denouncing the nationalistic "idolatry" of American evangelicalism, which often fuses the cross and the flag. Boyd also calls without apology for a renewed Christian commitment to nonviolence, citing the Anabaptist refrains of John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, and Lee Camp. But Boyd's claims can't be dismissed as mere ranting of a Christian leftist. Rather, one senses that his are the expressions of a pastor's broken heart which, every once in a while, bubbles over into a kind of restrained, low-boil anger." — Christianity Today

(Christianity Today )

From the Back Cover
The church was established to serve the world with Christ-like love, not to rule the world. It is called to look like a corporate Jesus, dying on the cross for those who crucified him, not a religious version of Caesar. It is called to manifest the kingdom of the cross in contrast to the kingdom of the sword. Whenever the church has succeeded in gaining what most American evangelicals are now trying to get – political power – it has been disastrous both for the church and the culture. Whenever the church picks up the sword, it lays down the cross. The present activity of the religious right is destroying the heart and soul of the evangelical church and destroying its unique witness to the world. The church is to have a political voice, but we are to have it the way Jesus had it: by manifesting an alternative to the political, “power over,” way of doing life. We are to transform the world by being willing to suffer for others – exercising “power under,” not by getting our way in society – exercising “power over.”

About the Author
Gregory A. Boyd is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN, and founder and president of Christus Victor Ministries. He was a professor of theology at Bethel College (St. Paul, MN) for 16 years. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (BA), Yale Divinity School (MA), 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 14 books prior to The Myth of a Christian Nation, including Escaping the Matrix (with Al Larson), Seeing Is Believing, Repenting of Religion, and his international bestseller Letters From a Skeptic. www.gregboyd.org

Gregory A. Boyd es el fundador y pastor señor de Woodland Hills Church en St. Paul, MN, y fundador y presidente de Christus Victor Ministries. Era un profesor de teología a Bethel College por 16 años. Es un graduado de University of Minnesota, Yale Divinity School, y Princeton Theological Seminary. Greg es un hablante nacional y internacional a iglesias, colegios, conferencias, y retratos, y ha aparecido en muchos programas del radio y televisión. También, él es el autor y co-autor de 14 libros antes de The Myth of a Christian Nation.

Customer Reviews

Myth Busted!!
Gregory A. Boyd's controversial work is actually a collection of a series of sermons he gave at his church, Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The title reads like a historical treatment, but is actually a call to practice spirituality outside of the realms of nationality and politics.

Boyd develops two premises: he describes the Kingdom of the Sword, which is the mindset of the world, and the Kingdom of the Cross, which is a mindset that resembles Christ. He proposes that we have become to entrenched in the Kingdom of the Sword, and cannot see the way that Christ has shown us, i.e. the Kingdom of the Cross.

Boyd also empahsizes that being Christian means to follow and look like Christ. Therefore, a Christian nation should follow and look like Christ. The question is asked: does America bear fruit? Does this nation have a history of following and looking like Christ? Comparisons to Israel are made, but not in the usual "city on a hill" way. Boyd destroys the perception of America as moral guardian, instead pointing readers to the Bible as the authority on sin. There is also a question and answer format in the last chapter, discussing many of the tough questions he has been asked over the course of presenting these sermons.

This is a good book to read, especially in such politically dividing times. Boyd approaches the topic humbly, realizing that he still has room to grow. He doesn't claim to have mastered or even reached the lofty goals he proposes, but instead relies on the grace of God to eventually carry him to their end.

Originally posted at http://scandaloussanity.blogspot.com

The Myth of a Christian America
A very Powerful read!
I am sure very Controversial read for many.
But I did understand what the writer was talking about.
A very good point how Religion is being used and abused in today's America

Not a politician
Boyd does not take a stance of being republican or democratic. I was a little skeptical about reading this book at first because I do not like politics very much and thought that was what Boyd was going to be pushing. Boy was I wrong. Boyd talks about the difference between the Kingdom of the World and the Kingdom of God. He opened my eyes up to God's Kingdom in a way I had never really viewed it before. This is a great read to stretch you current views, and open your mind to being mindful of things that are important to God.