Greg Boyd |
Gregory A. "Greg" Boyd was born June 2, 1957. Boyd is Senior Pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and President of Reknew.org.. He is one of the leading spokesmen in the growing Neo-Anabaptism movement, which is based in the tradition of Anabaptism and advocates Christian pacifism and a non-violent understanding of God. Boyd has also long been known as a leading advocate of open theism. In addition, he is a noted Christian anarchist and is known for his writings on the relationship between Christianity and politics, including his best-selling book The Myth of a Christian Nation, which was written after the New York Times published a front-page cover article on Boyd's criticism of the Christian right. In 2010, Boyd was listed as one of the twenty most influential living Christian scholars. In addition to the New York Times, Boyd has also made appearances on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and The Charlie Rose Show.
Greg Boyd
Evangelicals typically ground the credibility of their faith on the inspiration of the Bible. If they were to become convinced that the Bible was not inspired, their faith would crumble. I think this posture is as unwise as it is unnecessary. I want it to be clear at the start that I fully embrace Scripture as the “God-breathed” (theopneustos) Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16), and I believe that, if properly defined, it is “infallible.” I also believe that Scripture should be the foundation of what we believe. But I think it’s very mistaken to make Scripture the foundation of why we believe.
If the reason you believe is anchored in your confidence that Scripture is “God-breathed,” then your faith can’t help but be threatened every time you encounter a discrepancy, an archeological problem, or a persuasive historical-critical argument that a portion of the biblical narrative may not be historically accurate. Your faith may also be threatened every time you encounter material that is hard to accept as “God-breathed” — the genocidal portrait of Yahweh I discussed in my previous blog, for example. When biblical inspiration is made this important, people are forced to go to extreme and sometimes even silly lengths to explain each and every one of the “encyclopedia” of “difficulties” one finds in Scripture (I’m alluding Gleason Archer’s apologetic book, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties).
As has happened to so many others, throughout my seminary training this foundation became increasingly shaky and eventually collapsed. I know a number of former-evangelicals who completely lost their faith when they experienced this. One is Bart Ehrman, who I’m sure many of you recognize as one of Christianity’s most well-known contemporary critics. He and I were in the doctoral program at Princeton Seminary at the same time, and we fell through our crumbling Scriptural foundation at roughly the same time and for many of the same reasons. But while Bart gradually fell into agnosticism, I fell onto a different and much more firm foundation. I fell into Christ. -Greg Boyd; ReNew; Why Christ, not Scripture, is Our Ultimate Foundation 8.3.23
If the reason you believe is anchored in your confidence that Scripture is “God-breathed,” then your faith can’t help but be threatened every time you encounter a discrepancy, an archeological problem, or a persuasive historical-critical argument that a portion of the biblical narrative may not be historically accurate. Your faith may also be threatened every time you encounter material that is hard to accept as “God-breathed” — the genocidal portrait of Yahweh I discussed in my previous blog, for example. When biblical inspiration is made this important, people are forced to go to extreme and sometimes even silly lengths to explain each and every one of the “encyclopedia” of “difficulties” one finds in Scripture (I’m alluding Gleason Archer’s apologetic book, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties).
As has happened to so many others, throughout my seminary training this foundation became increasingly shaky and eventually collapsed. I know a number of former-evangelicals who completely lost their faith when they experienced this. One is Bart Ehrman, who I’m sure many of you recognize as one of Christianity’s most well-known contemporary critics. He and I were in the doctoral program at Princeton Seminary at the same time, and we fell through our crumbling Scriptural foundation at roughly the same time and for many of the same reasons. But while Bart gradually fell into agnosticism, I fell onto a different and much more firm foundation. I fell into Christ. -Greg Boyd; ReNew; Why Christ, not Scripture, is Our Ultimate Foundation 8.3.23
April 27, 2023: 9 Marks: Book Review: Empires of Dirt, by Douglas Wilson
As our public discourse has become more polarized and politicized, calls for Christian nationalism have begun to resonate with well-meaning believers. Doug Wilson’s Empires of Dirt reads like a manifesto. His “Mere Christendom” is not as mere as it appears. Wilson begins by reminding us that public secularism is not religiously neutral. “Soft socialism” has advanced its own salvation narrative (8, 9). American Zionism and Exceptionalism were idols. And compassionate conservatism was never a convincing stand-in for Christianity. But raw secularism looks like the last man standing in the public square, and it leaves the state (apparently) answerable to no one. Whither then a Christian public theology? |
Wilson first dismisses radical Anabaptist separation of church and state as pessimistic (Hauerwas, Willimon) and pacifist (Greg Boyd). Since “Christ already humiliated the principalities” (80) in binding Satan. Wilson says, “This should have obvious political implications” (81), one of which is Christian nationalism. Buttressed by an ecclesial application of Psalm 2 and Revelation 19:15, the church rules with the rod of iron, which is “the preaching and declaration of God’s gospel authority in this world” (89, 90). When kings kiss the Son, they lead their nations—as nations—to espouse Christian views and virtues, and nations become disciples as national people units (95, 259). |
Greg Boyd
It’s a wonderful thing to know that God is love (1 John 4:16), but this information will not significantly impact us until we can intimately grasp and savor the truth that God loves us individually. It’s a wonderful thing to know that Jesus died for the world, but this information will not significantly impact the way that we experience ourselves and the world until it becomes vivid, experiential, and personalized. I need to be able to savor in a concrete way the truth that Jesus died for me, that he loves me to this unfathomable degree, and that I am completely forgiven. This involves the imagination.
We need to imagine truth and savor it; only then can the flesh that holds us in bondage be broken. We need to see pictures of grace in our minds and savor them; only then can grace break our flesh-driven compulsion to perform. We need to engage imaginatively in the unconditional love of God; only then can it break our flesh’s need to hide.
When we do these things, we will find ourselves savoring wholeness and life, our new identity in Christ, rather than death and destruction.
--Greg Boyd; Seeing Is Believing: Experience Jesus Through Imaginative Prayer
We need to imagine truth and savor it; only then can the flesh that holds us in bondage be broken. We need to see pictures of grace in our minds and savor them; only then can grace break our flesh-driven compulsion to perform. We need to engage imaginatively in the unconditional love of God; only then can it break our flesh’s need to hide.
When we do these things, we will find ourselves savoring wholeness and life, our new identity in Christ, rather than death and destruction.
--Greg Boyd; Seeing Is Believing: Experience Jesus Through Imaginative Prayer
Sept 26, 2022: Scott E Olson: Relational Theology Yes; Panentheism No
Many 19th and 20th century Christian thinkers have contributed to relational theology including (among others) Georg Hegel, Horace Bushnell, I. A. Dorner, Emil Brunner, K. Kitamori, Juergen Moltmann, and Robert Jenson. Open theism is a type of relational theology and was promoted especially by Clark Pinnock, John Sanders and Greg Boyd (among others). Among Christian philosophers it (relational theology) has been embraced Keith Ward, William Hasker, Nicholas Wolterstorff and others.
Many 19th and 20th century Christian thinkers have contributed to relational theology including (among others) Georg Hegel, Horace Bushnell, I. A. Dorner, Emil Brunner, K. Kitamori, Juergen Moltmann, and Robert Jenson. Open theism is a type of relational theology and was promoted especially by Clark Pinnock, John Sanders and Greg Boyd (among others). Among Christian philosophers it (relational theology) has been embraced Keith Ward, William Hasker, Nicholas Wolterstorff and others.
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Dec 16, 2021: Premier Christianity: Greg Boyd: The progressive preacher on spiritual gifts, racism and Covid prophecy
Three years before the pandemic struck, Greg Boyd received an unusual prophetic word, which prompted him to move his church’s material online. We asked him about this seemingly unique warning about Covid-19, and how he feels about being labelled both ‘charismatic’ and ‘progressive’ Nov 5, 2015: Pangea Blog: Greg Boyd Gives 5 Bullet Points about Open Theism in the Bible
Greg does us all a favor by compiling this helpful list of how the Bible speaks to Open Theism. |
Mar 11, 2015: Youtube: Greg Boyd - Generic God Sermon Clip - ReKnew.org
"Let's all just get along." Is this what God and religion are really about? All we have to do is just be good to people? Almost all religions can agree on this, but it is a generic view of God. In this clip from Greg's latest sermon, he talks about this generic view of God and how that affects our pluralistic culture.
Dec 20, 2014: Worldview of Jesus: Greg Boyd’s World of Possibilities
Above is a video of Greg Boyd, a popular advocate for open theism, providing a brief summary of open theism and an explanation of why he finds it to be convincing. Boyd answers three questions, “What is Open Theism?”, “How is this relevant today?”, and “How does this help the believer?”
Nov 5, 2014: Eclectic Orthodoxy: Greg Boyd and C. S. Lewis on the Open Future
Greg Boyd just posted a short article on his blog: “Does the Open View Limit God?” His thesis is simply stated: open theists do not limit God, as they agree with classical theists that God knows everything that can be known; therefore the open God is properly described as omniscient.
"Let's all just get along." Is this what God and religion are really about? All we have to do is just be good to people? Almost all religions can agree on this, but it is a generic view of God. In this clip from Greg's latest sermon, he talks about this generic view of God and how that affects our pluralistic culture.
Dec 20, 2014: Worldview of Jesus: Greg Boyd’s World of Possibilities
Above is a video of Greg Boyd, a popular advocate for open theism, providing a brief summary of open theism and an explanation of why he finds it to be convincing. Boyd answers three questions, “What is Open Theism?”, “How is this relevant today?”, and “How does this help the believer?”
Nov 5, 2014: Eclectic Orthodoxy: Greg Boyd and C. S. Lewis on the Open Future
Greg Boyd just posted a short article on his blog: “Does the Open View Limit God?” His thesis is simply stated: open theists do not limit God, as they agree with classical theists that God knows everything that can be known; therefore the open God is properly described as omniscient.
August 12, 2021: Roger E Olson: Experiences of an Evangelical Theologian 8
One of my greatest achievements during my Bethel years was recruiting Greg Boyd to join our faculty----in the undergraduate Biblical and Theological Studies Department. The department chair handed me a pile of applications for an assistant professor position in theology. I went through them and picked out Greg's application as the obvious best choice for us. Of course, we did our due diligence and interviewed several candidates and gave them all fair hearings in interviews. However, Greg stood out as most qualified. I was delighted when he joined our faculty and soon he was publishing and making his mark on the evangelical world. Greg and I spent many hours together discussing theology and singing old gospel songs on road trips.
SATIRE: Oct 16, 2016: Daily Bonnet: DNA Testing Reveals Theologian Greg Boyd to be ‘90% Mennonite’ After sending away for one of those DNA home testing kits, Greg Boyd, renowned author and pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, discovered he was almost entirely Mennonite. The new improved test enable users to determine their theological DNA from a small amount of saliva.
One of my greatest achievements during my Bethel years was recruiting Greg Boyd to join our faculty----in the undergraduate Biblical and Theological Studies Department. The department chair handed me a pile of applications for an assistant professor position in theology. I went through them and picked out Greg's application as the obvious best choice for us. Of course, we did our due diligence and interviewed several candidates and gave them all fair hearings in interviews. However, Greg stood out as most qualified. I was delighted when he joined our faculty and soon he was publishing and making his mark on the evangelical world. Greg and I spent many hours together discussing theology and singing old gospel songs on road trips.
SATIRE: Oct 16, 2016: Daily Bonnet: DNA Testing Reveals Theologian Greg Boyd to be ‘90% Mennonite’ After sending away for one of those DNA home testing kits, Greg Boyd, renowned author and pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, discovered he was almost entirely Mennonite. The new improved test enable users to determine their theological DNA from a small amount of saliva.
Oct 9, 2014: ReKnew: Is God Trying to Tell Us Something Through Blood Moons?
This week we experienced the second of a series of four “blood moons.” If you’ve read John Hagee’s book Four Blood Moons: Something Is About To Change, you might be inclined to believe that God is sending us a message through these heavenly events. Greg begs to differ
Oct 8, 2014: ReKnew: Sermon Clip: God Doesn’t Speak Gibberish
This week we finish our short series on the spiritual gifts today with a sermon discussing the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. As the most controversial of the gifts, we will correct false beliefs and discover the Scriptural truths and blessing that come from speaking in tongues.
This week we experienced the second of a series of four “blood moons.” If you’ve read John Hagee’s book Four Blood Moons: Something Is About To Change, you might be inclined to believe that God is sending us a message through these heavenly events. Greg begs to differ
Oct 8, 2014: ReKnew: Sermon Clip: God Doesn’t Speak Gibberish
This week we finish our short series on the spiritual gifts today with a sermon discussing the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. As the most controversial of the gifts, we will correct false beliefs and discover the Scriptural truths and blessing that come from speaking in tongues.
Oct 2, 2014: Rethinking Hell: Episode 60: Withdrawing His Sustaining Hand, with Greg Boyd
Best-selling author, pastor, theologian, and President of ReKnew.org, Greg Boyd joins Rethinking Hell contributor Joshua Anderson to discuss the evolution of his understanding of hell, based on a Christocentric hermeneutic.
Aug 21, 2007: An Appraisal of Folly: An Answer to Greg Boyd’s Argument from Demonically-Influenced Infirmities
Read Boyd’s argument here. When people disagree over theological issues it seems like the opposing parties skip over the good points and focus only on the bad. I want to point out that I think Boyd has made a some good points about demons and their ability to influence the natural world. I also like his point that just because something can be explained scientifically does not rule out the supernatural aspect about it. That being said, I still have to take issue with Boyd’s hypothesis, and I will only relate a few observations in response.
Best-selling author, pastor, theologian, and President of ReKnew.org, Greg Boyd joins Rethinking Hell contributor Joshua Anderson to discuss the evolution of his understanding of hell, based on a Christocentric hermeneutic.
Aug 21, 2007: An Appraisal of Folly: An Answer to Greg Boyd’s Argument from Demonically-Influenced Infirmities
Read Boyd’s argument here. When people disagree over theological issues it seems like the opposing parties skip over the good points and focus only on the bad. I want to point out that I think Boyd has made a some good points about demons and their ability to influence the natural world. I also like his point that just because something can be explained scientifically does not rule out the supernatural aspect about it. That being said, I still have to take issue with Boyd’s hypothesis, and I will only relate a few observations in response.