Gregory A. Boyd
Encyclopedia
Gregory A. "Greg" Boyd is an evangelical
pastor, Christian theologian and author. He is Senior Pastor of the Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States and is President of Christus Victor Ministries.
(1982) and magna cum laude from Princeton Theological Seminary
(1987). He was Professor of Theology at Bethel University
for 16 years, where he continues to teach on an adjunct basis. His Princeton dissertation (published as Trinity and Process) was a critique of the process theology
of Charles Hartshorne
. Here, Boyd attempts to construct a philosophical theology that retains the positive features of a process worldview, while avoiding its unorthodox implications. Boyd is widely known for his award-winning book Letters From a Skeptic (1994). This book is a collection of letters written by Boyd and his father Edward, who was an atheist at the time. Through the course of their correspondence, Boyd addressed many of the perennial intellectual challenges to the Christian faith, which led to his father's conversion.
Boyd is also a former Oneness Pentecostal
, and wrote the book Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (1992), critiquing the movement's anti-trinitarian view of God
and other doctrines. Boyd is also known as an exponent of open theism
, which he explores in the book God of the Possible (2000). In essence, open theism is the view that the future is partly open, and therefore known to God partly as a realm of possibilities. Proponents of the conservative or traditional view of God
within the Baptist General Conference
, such as John Piper, tried unsuccessfully to have the rules of the denomination changed to exclude Boyd and other open theists.
Boyd was featured in a front-page New York Times profile in July 2006, after losing 20% of his congregation because he refused to lend his public support to conservative political causes, and directly challenged the highly politicized nature of much American evangelical Christianity. In his view, the "Kingdom of God" always looks like Jesus Christ
, and therefore cannot be associated with any particular political or nationalistic ideology. The congregational loss, as well as his view, stem from a 2004 sermon series that he spoke called "The Cross and the Sword." In the same vein, he authored the book The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (2006), in which he argues that a commitment to non-violence and to loving one's enemies lies at the heart of the teachings of Jesus. Boyd expressed these views when he was featured in the CNN
documentary God's Warriors
, hosted by Christiane Amanpour
, which aired in August 2007. In a more recent book, The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution (2009), he presents his understanding of what the Kingdom of Jesus is.
Boyd is well-known for his academic work on the topics of Satan and the demonic, the problem of evil, and "spiritual warfare." He is authoring a series of books, titled "Satan and Evil" (produced by InterVarsity Press), two volumes of which have already been published: God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict (1997) and Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy (2001). In between numerous other projects, he has been at work on the next installment of this series, tentatively titled The Myth of the Blueprint, which is now planned as a two-volume work with roughly 1,000 pages to each volume. Related to this, Boyd is a leading exponent of the Christus Victor
model of the atonement.
Boyd is also a notable figure in New Testament
scholarship and the Quest for the Historical Jesus
. He is critical of liberal scholarship as typified by the Jesus Seminar
as well as the individual work of scholars like John Dominic Crossan
and Burton Mack. In 2010, Boyd was listed as one of the twenty most influential Christian scholars alive today. He participates in numerous public debates, most notably with friend, critical Bible scholar
Robert M. Price
on the historicity
of the New Testament and related matters. His first book in this area was Cynic Sage or Son of God? (1995). More recently, his book (co-authored with Paul Rhodes Eddy), The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (2007) won the 2008 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (Biblical Studies category).
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
pastor, Christian theologian and author. He is Senior Pastor of the Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States and is President of Christus Victor Ministries.
Biography
Boyd was raised Roman Catholic, but became an atheist as a teen. In 1974, at the age of 17, he became a Christian. He graduated cum laude from Yale Divinity SchoolYale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
(1982) and magna cum laude from Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
(1987). He was Professor of Theology at Bethel University
Bethel University (Minnesota)
Bethel University is a Christian higher education institution with approximately 6,000 students from 36 countries enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult education programs...
for 16 years, where he continues to teach on an adjunct basis. His Princeton dissertation (published as Trinity and Process) was a critique of the process theology
Process theology
Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and further developed by Charles Hartshorne . While there are process theologies that are similar, but unrelated to the work of Whitehead the term is generally applied to the...
of Charles Hartshorne
Charles Hartshorne
Charles Hartshorne was a prominent American philosopher who concentrated primarily on the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He developed the neoclassical idea of God and produced a modal proof of the existence of God that was a development of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument...
. Here, Boyd attempts to construct a philosophical theology that retains the positive features of a process worldview, while avoiding its unorthodox implications. Boyd is widely known for his award-winning book Letters From a Skeptic (1994). This book is a collection of letters written by Boyd and his father Edward, who was an atheist at the time. Through the course of their correspondence, Boyd addressed many of the perennial intellectual challenges to the Christian faith, which led to his father's conversion.
Boyd is also a former Oneness Pentecostal
Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the nontrinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness...
, and wrote the book Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (1992), critiquing the movement's anti-trinitarian view of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and other doctrines. Boyd is also known as an exponent of open theism
Open theism
Open theism is a recent theological movement that has developed within evangelical and post-evangelical Protestant Christianity as a response to certain ideas that are related to the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology...
, which he explores in the book God of the Possible (2000). In essence, open theism is the view that the future is partly open, and therefore known to God partly as a realm of possibilities. Proponents of the conservative or traditional view of God
Classical theism
Classical theism refers to the a form of Theism in distinction to modern ideas about God such as Theistic Personalism, Open Theism and Process Theism. Classical Theism began with the works of the Greek philosophers, especially Platonists and Neoplatonists and was developed into Christian Theology...
within the Baptist General Conference
Baptist General Conference
The Baptist General Conference is a national evangelical Baptist body with roots in Pietism in Sweden and inroads among evangelical Scandinavian-Americans, particularly in the American Upper Midwest. From its beginning among Scandinavian immigrants, the BGC has grown to a nationwide association...
, such as John Piper, tried unsuccessfully to have the rules of the denomination changed to exclude Boyd and other open theists.
Boyd was featured in a front-page New York Times profile in July 2006, after losing 20% of his congregation because he refused to lend his public support to conservative political causes, and directly challenged the highly politicized nature of much American evangelical Christianity. In his view, the "Kingdom of God" always looks like Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and therefore cannot be associated with any particular political or nationalistic ideology. The congregational loss, as well as his view, stem from a 2004 sermon series that he spoke called "The Cross and the Sword." In the same vein, he authored the book The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (2006), in which he argues that a commitment to non-violence and to loving one's enemies lies at the heart of the teachings of Jesus. Boyd expressed these views when he was featured in the CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
documentary God's Warriors
God's Warriors
CNN Presents: God's Warriors is a three-part CNN Presents documentary produced by Christiane Amanpour in which she examines the rise of religious fundamentalism as a political force in the world. The documentary was filmed in the United States, Europe and Middle East...
, hosted by Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
, which aired in August 2007. In a more recent book, The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution (2009), he presents his understanding of what the Kingdom of Jesus is.
Boyd is well-known for his academic work on the topics of Satan and the demonic, the problem of evil, and "spiritual warfare." He is authoring a series of books, titled "Satan and Evil" (produced by InterVarsity Press), two volumes of which have already been published: God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict (1997) and Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy (2001). In between numerous other projects, he has been at work on the next installment of this series, tentatively titled The Myth of the Blueprint, which is now planned as a two-volume work with roughly 1,000 pages to each volume. Related to this, Boyd is a leading exponent of the Christus Victor
Christus Victor
The term Christus Victor refers to a Christian understanding of the atonement which views Christ's death as the means by which the powers of evil, which held humankind under their dominion, were defeated...
model of the atonement.
Boyd is also a notable figure in New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
scholarship and the Quest for the Historical Jesus
Quest for the Historical Jesus
The quest for the historical Jesus is the attempt to use historical rather than religious methods to construct a verifiable biography of Jesus. As originally defined by Albert Schweitzer, the quest began in the 18th century with Hermann Samuel Reimarus, up to William Wrede in the 19th century...
. He is critical of liberal scholarship as typified by the Jesus Seminar
Jesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 critical scholars and laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute....
as well as the individual work of scholars like John Dominic Crossan
John Dominic Crossan
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American religious scholar and former Catholic priest known for co-founding the Jesus Seminar. Crossan is a major figure in the fields of biblical archaeology, anthropology and New Testament textual and higher criticism. He is also a lecturer who has appeared in...
and Burton Mack. In 2010, Boyd was listed as one of the twenty most influential Christian scholars alive today. He participates in numerous public debates, most notably with friend, critical Bible scholar
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
Robert M. Price
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price is an American theologian and writer. He teaches philosophy and religion at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, is professor of biblical criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute, and the author of a number of books on theology and the historicity of Jesus, including...
on the historicity
The Bible and history
The Bible from a historical perspective, includes numerous fields of study, ranging from archeology and astronomy to linguistics and methods of comparative literature. The Bible may provide insight into pursuits, including but not limited to; our understanding of ancient and modern culture,...
of the New Testament and related matters. His first book in this area was Cynic Sage or Son of God? (1995). More recently, his book (co-authored with Paul Rhodes Eddy), The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (2007) won the 2008 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (Biblical Studies category).
Books
- Trinity and Process: A Critical Evaluation and Reconstruction of Hartshorne's Di-Polar Theism Towards a Trinitarian Metaphysics (1992) ISBN 0-8204-1660-6
- Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (1992) ISBN 0-8010-1019-5
- Cynic Sage or Son of God? (1995) ISBN 0-8010-2118-9
- Jesus Under Siege (1995) ISBN 1-56476-533-4
- Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity (1994); reprint edition, 2008 ISBN 1-56476-244-0
- God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict (1997) ISBN 0-8308-1885-5
- God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God (2000) ISBN 0-8010-6290-X
- Satan & the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy (2001) ISBN 0-8308-1550-3
- Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2002) ISBN 0-8010-2276-2
- Is God to Blame?: Moving Beyond Pat Answers to the Problem of Evil (2003) ISBN 0-8308-2394-8
- Seeing Is Believing: Experience Jesus Through Imaginative Prayer (2004) ISBN 0-8010-6502-X
- Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God (2004) ISBN 0-8010-6506-2
- Escaping The Matrix: Setting Your Mind Free To Experience Real Life In Christ (with Al Larson) (2005) ISBN 0-8010-6533-X
- The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (2006) ISBN 0-310-26730-7
- The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2007) ISBN 0-8010-3114-1
- Lord or Legend?: Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2007) ISBN 0-8010-6505-4
- The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution (2009) ISBN 0-3102-8383-3
External links
- Articles and video of Boyd at Jesus Radicals
- Christus Victor Ministries website
- Greg Boyd's blog (Current Blog)
- Greg Boyd's blog (From 9-21-06 to 7-21-08)
- Greg Boyd's sermons