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

.Gregory A. Boyd is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and founder and president of Christus Victor Ministries. He was a professor of theology at Bethel College in Minnesota for sixteen years. Greg is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (BA), Yale Divinity School (M.Div), and Princeton Theological Seminary (PhD). He 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, and his international bestseller Letters from a Skeptic. Learn more at www.gregboyd.org

Gregory A. Boyd es pastor y fundador de la iglesia Woodland Hills en St. Paul, MN y ademas fundador y presidente del ministerio 'Christus Victor'. Greg tiene una licenciatura de la Universidad de Minnesota, una maestria en Divinidad de la escuela Yale Divinity y un doctorado del Seminario Teologico de Princeton. Ademas, sirvio como profesor de teologia en la Facultad Bethel de Minnesota por dieciseis anos. el es invitado con frecuencia a dictar conferencias en iglesias, retiros y universidades nacionales e internacionales y aprecio en numerosos programas de television y radio. Greg es autor y coautor de varios libros, entre ellos, Dios de lo posible y su exito de ventas, Cartas de un esceptico. Visite www.gregboyd.org para mas informacion.

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.'

Christianity Today

'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

Contents Introduction / 9
1 The Kingdom of the Sword / 17
2 The Kingdom of the Cross / 29
3 Keeping the Kingdom Holy / 51
4 From Resident Aliens to Conquering Warlords / 67
5 Taking America Back for God / 87
6 The Myth of a Christian Nation / 107
7 When Chief Sinners Become Moral Guardians / 127
8 One Nation under God? / 147
9 Christians and Violence: Confronting the Tough Questions / 161
Acknowledgments / 187
Notes / 189