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Dec 05, 2008

Paul rated it:

Boyd’s book was a very interesting read for me. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had such a rollercoaster reading experience as I had reading this book. I have read books where I agree with some of it but not all of it. Only the intellectually insecure seem to discount everything someone says simply because s/he says something you disagree with. But with this book, I literally agreed with one sentence 100% and then disagreed with the very next sentence 100% and then agreed with the very next sentence 1 More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Pip rated it:

I think every American Christian should read this book. The American church really is becoming obsessed with politics and forgetting our real mandate is not to make a country into a Christian-run nation. The only part that I disagreed with was his last chapter on non-violence. I think that Romans 13 clearly demonstrates that government has the right to operate the sword, and for Christians to participate in this mandate does not violate Christ's command to turn the other cheek. But overall, I wo More...

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Nov 10, 2011

***Dave rated it:

(Original review Jan 2007)

Overall 4/5
Writing 4/5
Re-Readability 4/5
Info 4/5

Gregory Boyd is a theologian and pastor of a large Protestant congregation in Minnesota. Disturbed by what he saw as increasing identification between the evangelical Christian church and the political right wing, he started in 2004 a series of sermons on “the cross and the sword,” arguing that such close ties were not only harmful to the church, but were against the message of Jesus. T More...

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Sep 11, 2011

Steven rated it:

This book is certainly over due. This is a book all Christians in America must read. As Boyd writes Christians in American have become to closely tied to the American government and as a result the church in America has also been tied with the government, which it never should be. America is a nation with Christians, not a Christian nation. Boyd writes about the dangers of the myth Christians live by in believing America is a Christian nation. His argument is sound and his points are well defend More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Scott rated it:

Ok this was a difficult book.
The premise was good. We are not to follow blindly the kingdom of this world, no matter what form of government they may take. We are members of the Kingdom of God and that is important that we always place that above all other allegiances. The goal of this is also a good goal. The argument, rightly stated, is that equating Christianity with any form of Government hinders the spread of the Gospel. When we spend all of our time arguing politics with lost people th More...

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Jul 09, 2010

Casper rated it:

Crossposted at http://nicodemist.wordpress.com/2010/07/...

In the run up to the 2004 Gregory Boyd began a sermon series "The Cross and the Sword" that according to the New York Times resulted in the loss of 1000 members from the church membership of 5000. The Myth of a Christian Nation is based on these sermons and it is easy to see why this was a source of contention for many evangelicals; Boyd's argues that many evangelicals have simply got it wrong, not so much on the subst More...

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Dec 10, 2008

Nelson rated it:

The Path through Politics Is Not the Road to God When the kingdom of God is manifested, it will wear the face of Jesus Christ. And that, says author Gregory Boyd, has never been true of any earthly government or power. Through close examination of Scripture and lessons drawn from history, Dr. Boyd argues that evangelical Christians who align themselves too closely with political causes or declare that they want to bring America "back to God" are actually doing harm--both to the body of More...

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Aug 22, 2011

Randall rated it:

Boyd's contention is that "a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry" and his thesis is that "fusing together the kingdom of God with this [American] version of the kingdom of the world is idolatrous and that this fusion is having serious negative consequences for Christ's church and for the advancement of God's kingdom."

He makes his point by contrasting the "Kingdom of the Sword" (wherever a person or group e More...

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Apr 27, 2009

Ellis marked it as to-read

Before Reading:
I strongly believe that mixing religion and politics corrupts both. I also don't appreciate the angle (that America is a Christian Nation) the Christian Right has taken to marginalize non-Christian Americans. This book is a must read for me. (See a section from the book's synopsis below.)

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 c More...

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May 31, 2011

Timothy rated it:

I liked this book a lot. Boyd said many things in this book which I also said in my book, The Diluted Church, published a year earlier. What I did not like about this book is the pacifism and the last chapter. However, Boyd made some really good points that the world throws opposite sides at the believer and we should be aware that it is playing both sides of the political game. Few are aware of this! I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it with only a couple reservations. Pacifism is n More...

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Jul 01, 2011

Kevin rated it:

It's no secret that the "evangelical voter" is a big ticket in American elections. I have no idea how much money is spent trying to win them over, but I'd bet quite a bit that it's a large sum. A large part of the rhetoric employed in this campaign involves the notion that America is, or was, a Christian nation.1 Of course, lots of ink has been spilled arguing that this neither is nor ever was the case (the founding fathers were deists, America was founded to be a secular nation inspi More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Ady added it

This is a very provocative book that I highly recommend. It might be an uncomfortable read for many of us (about 700 of his congregation departed when he preached this series of sermons) but one would be hard pressed to find any Biblical evidence that what he teaches is untrue. He supports every thought with scripture, and reminds us again and again that it's pretty simple: if our behavior doesn't mirror the love of Christ, nothing else we do matters. Nothing.

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Jul 15, 2010

Greg rated it:

While this was a really good idea, and was delivered well, it was sort of...repetitive. Greg Boyd is my favorite preacher, and probably my favorite public speaker, and I agree with both his politics and his theology, I found this book to be difficult to read. I sort of felt like saying: "I get it already! Did you have something new you wanted to add?"

While I would still recommend this book, I think God at War, God of the Possible and of course Letter from a Skeptic were b More...

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Apr 10, 2010

Thomas rated it:

Like "Jesus for President," Boyd's book critiques the notion that America is uniquely Christian. But "The Myth of a Christian Nation" lacks some of the power and unsettling insight of Claiborne's book. Nevertheless, it offers several interesting nuggets of wisdom that I will record here:

-- What does it mean to be Christian? It is one who imitates Christ
There was never a time in American history when it has acted Christlike.

-- Jesus' disciples Mat More...

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Feb 14, 2009

Jeff rated it:

Boyd tackles one of the major dominant and still emerging obstacles to Christian faith in the US which is nationalism and more precisely the power-over authority of the "principalities and powers." This book is a must read for opening up thoughts and dialogue about what it is to be a part of God's kingdom and how that differs from the world at-large. Be careful, this book is revolutionary!

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Dec 12, 2009

Callie rated it:

I have a headache and don't feel like writing a review, so I'll keep it short. This book is absolutely amazing. For me, I'd say it's life-changing. This book points out what a mistake it is to mix true Christianity up with politics. There were points in the book that were a bit repetitive, but the message was so incredible. Why haven't I heard these things before? No matter how good any govt. may be, it is no substitute for the kingdom of Heaven. Ugh, I can't do this book justice right n More...

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Jun 18, 2008

Tim rated it:

This won't do justice to the entire book, but my quick take on the thesis is that all governments are necessarily non-Christian (regardless of how officials might use Christian language to support the government or legitimize its actions) in that they govern (shape/regulate behavior) by the sword (top down, lording over power) instead of transforming hearts and lives through the type of sacrificial love to which the church is called (i.e., "Calvary-type" love in the author's words). More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Sheri rated it:

Refreshingly, this work of Christian non-fiction did a decent job of avoiding the three major pitfalls of its genre: being painfully dry, painfully lacking in novel ideas, and/or painfully repetitive. The book clarified my thinking about the relationship between faith and politics, and I've been interested to begin noting how prevalent this Myth is, even becoming apparent as I read my (NRSV) Bible footnotes.

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Nov 28, 2010

Count rated it:

Serious Biblical exegesis for the firm believer. In clear, carefully-argued prose that anyone who is not a firm believer will have a hard time following or maintaining interest in, the author lays out strong arguments for modernism in Christian faith.

Couldn't finish it, would recommend it to my friends who are either Christians themselves or possess the patience of Solomon.

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Dec 18, 2008

Laura rated it:

My Small Group just finished this book. We disagreed with some of it, but were ultimately challenged. It brought up ideas that I had never thought about before. Do you really know why you vote a certain way? What is a Christian's role in politics? What does Jesus have to say about it all? I think it's definitely worth the read.

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Dec 18, 2011

Joseph rated it:

I was waiting on Boyd to back track on his position, but he never did. He uses the Bible, quotes attributed to Jesus and the apostles, to make his points on nonviolence, silencing the "take America back" arguement, Christians wanting political power, and what to do with the "evils" of homosexual marriage and other social issues.

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Mar 27, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

Definitely a book worth reading (3.5 rating).

Mr. Boyd may take a few more words than necessary to get his point across, and he does--in my opinion--magnify a fact or two, but this should not detract from the overall message of the book.

I found it helpful in formulating my thoughts on this subject.

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Jan 29, 2009

P. Timothy rated it:

It was interesting and enlightening to read about core, basic Anabaptist ideas (I would argue, orthodox Christian beliefs) from an author who is not from an Anabaptist background...I underlined much stuff which was freshly rounded out. However, Boyd does repeat himself often, and some paragraphs felt like they could have used more editing. But as far as content, I cannot argue. Recommended.

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Apr 23, 2007

Deb rated it:

This book gave a pretty fresh perspective of what if means to live for the "Kingdom of God" as opposed to the "Kingdom of Man". The author makes a good argument as to why these two shouldn't and can't overlap, as he explains that a government can no sooner be "Christian" that can a petunia or an aardvark. (most world governments are by nature self serving, controlling, defensive and vindictive. )
I felt newly enthused after reading this book, as the author More...

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Aug 10, 2008

David rated it:

Boyd attacks the idea that to be a Christian is to be affiliated with a specific political party. He shows that a Christian's commitment is to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the world. So much wrong happens when people assume that a specific kingdom of the world (America for example), is favored by God. He spends a lot of time going through the damage that has been done by equating a earthly nation with God's kingdom, specifically the damage done by assuming America is a Christian nat More...

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Apr 24, 2009

Steve rated it:

A message particularly relevant to the Church in North America. An open mind and heart can be raised to new expectation in God's Kingdom. No political structure in history has brought us or any nation to a place where earthly government and heavenly government align.

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Mar 01, 2010

jessica rated it:

While I found myself agreeing in general with a lot of the book, it wasn't nearly as deep or thought-provoking (or even controversial]) as I'd hoped. Boyd's writing style was extremely repetitive (probably better to drive home his point, I'll admit), and fairly dry. On top of those things, he spends the last 30 pages basically discussing why he is a pacifist, which only LOOSELY relates to the theme of the book, so I ended up skimming that last chapter. On the other hand, I think the book does a More...

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Aug 19, 2011

Wendy rated it:

This really should be required reading for so many Christian evangelicals. I have many wonderful Christian friends who have become completely caught up in the idea of a Christian nation...God blessing our nation according to how much power the Christians wield, and how closely we are following his commands. Boyd pulls almost exclusively from Scripture to show that Jesus was apolitical...that Jesus showed in his life that the government in charge was superfluous to what the Christian should be More...

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Feb 10, 2012

Walt rated it:

I didn't finish the book, I quit reading it. While I think the author starts with a decent premise, he takes its application a bit too far. I've got too many other books to read to invest any more time in this one.

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Jun 23, 2009

Grant added it

Good insight on why it's important to keep faith separate from political views. Also, interesting discussion on how politicizing faith can be a serious turn-off for those seeking faith.

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