The Beginning of a Movement

books:


	• The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church Gregory A. Boyd Zondervan, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

The Beginning of a Movement

For almost 30 years I have believed that attaching a conservative political agenda to the Good News of Jesus Christ has been spiritual adultery.- The Church of Jesus Christ in bed with the Republican Party (a worldy philosophy)! I have believed that eventually, anyone who didn't embrace the political agenda would not be considered an authentic Christian. This has fully come to pass. I believe that there are many others across the land who have believed similarly, but have been shouted down within the Body of Christ and have either left the institutionalized church or have just sat down and shut up. Many churches have purged their congregations of those who do not accept political conservatism as part of Christianity. It has harmed the cause of Christ tremendously. Christian conservatives elected to office have supported and done some very wrong things. Greg is so articulate on these matters that I am hoping that authentic Christians across the land will begin to speak the truth of these matters in love and become the beginnings of a new movement towards vibrant, authentic Christianity alone- no political agenda attached!

for more information click here

No more guilt trip

Boyd's book put into words what I have been feeling in my heart but could not articulate myself to satisfaction. Since I am a person of tender heart who wants to be good, I have often struggled with the guilt trip that the Christian right tends to impose--all the shoulds and should-nots--i.e. I should vote Republican and go to world view weekend and collect literature about the voilent muslims etc. I should support President Bush and tell others to do the same and if I question anything then I am a liberal and ought to "know better" For so long I have known in my heart that something was amiss here. Deep down in my heart I knew that such things were not the defining point as to whether one was "saved" or not. Deep down I knew that there have always been "liberal" Christians and it was not a matter of "us against them." Political ideology does not define whether or not one belongs to Christ. Deep down I knew that I ultimately had to follow my own heart and the love and depth of character that my God was slowly instilling in my soul through prayer and a deeper walk. I knew in my heart that it clashed with the version of Christianity that I had grown up with and had instilled in my mind. But a wise person once told me that one can be convinced of just about anything with their mind (or by rationalizing it) but I had to be convinced in my heart if I was ever going to be at peace with my Christian walk. Now that I had been convinced in my heart, I had no way to articulate this to others who insist on being convinced with their minds--until now. Boyd does a tremendous job of articulating the heart for the sake of the mind. Now, whenever someone tries to lay a guilt trip on me, my heart can send me back to Boyd's book to convince my mind. The problem is solved. No more guilt! Thank you Dr. Boyd!

for more information click here

A Must Read!

I just recently finsihed reading Gregory Boyd's book entitled, The Myth Of A Christian Nation. I was given this book as a gift from a friend who happens to be a Freewill Baptist Minister. At last there is hope! This book should be a required reading for every church member. The people in this country are so ignorant of real history and of the true tenents of Jesus' ministry. This is not one of those books that attempts to label the forefathers as die-hard Diests, although their Diestic tendencies are mentioned. Boyd does a wonderful job comparing the differences between the Kingdom of the World and the Kingdom of God. This thought-provoking work will certainly find a permanent place on my shelf!

Randall F. Hubbard
History Teacher
Springville, Alabama

for more information click here

Whoa! What a message!

I was so blessed to have had two evangelicals in my life (first 3 to 4 years ago a protestant one, then until very recently a Catholic one) and to get to spend hours and hours a day in professional contact with them. Both, however, seemed to want to twist my arm a bit in order to think that being conservative was really the only holy, sanctified choice. The Catholic one, beloved, even had a minion of his (keep in mind that minion originally implied protege and favor and of royal blood in a royal court) tell me that our group was "conservative". By WILLing such a thing, it was A sort of Mortal blow to my belief in our relation. JuSt because leading political conservatives tend to be evangelicals does not mean that their politics should be considered related (at best i think it's 50/50 for the best of them being right as it is for the the best of the liberals being right, though this is not an endorse of German/Kant/Hegel/Karl Bart dialectical philosophy/theology...that's just bunk to someone like myself of a non-German, Anglo-American culture...not to a good-evil Christ/anti-christ idea...dialectical has no meaning outside the German Culture. Period.) I've never, ever for a second thought that George W. Bush's political decision could ever be considered right with God (though I must agree with my biological father's phenomenal jokes about this second president Bush is just too damn stupid to be the anti-Christ). In fact, I more than respect conservative values, actually I embrace them. But I don't disrespect liberal values (in life nor in politics), so much so that I started experimenting with them not just in my earlier spirit of tolerance but in life itself (conclusion/result: I'm not really built for liberal values...they don't really work so well for me). Such experiments have actually been fueled and enflamed by subtle, but firm pushes from these two deeply respected evangelicals towards conservative political values. (odd but true)

Anyhow, this book's message is amazing. I doubt even the pope of the Catholic Church would ever have the courage or ability to say what Gregory A Boyd is saying.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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.?

for more information click here

hot