The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

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.”

• Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity
• Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview
• Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence
• God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God
• The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Volumes 1 & 2
• Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty
• Is God to Blame? Moving Beyond Pat Answers to the Problem of Suffering
• Dr. Gregory Boyd's Myth of a Christian Nation: A Reply, Refutation and Rebuttal (Reply, Refutation and Rebuttal Series) (Volume 3)
• The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution
• Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News