Myths and Movements

"So you see, the Kingdom has nothing to do with religion- Christian or "otherwise. It's rather about following the example of Jesus, manifesting the beauty of God's reign while revolting against all that is ugly. It's a beautiful revolution that we're all invited to join. But to do so, we've got to lose our religion." 

 "The Kingdom's revolt against religion, including the Christian religion, is on a totally different level. It is a revolt against all attempts to get Life from particular beliefs -- including true ones. For where God truly reigns over an individual or a community, their only source of Life is God, not the rightness of their beliefs."

Myth of a Christian Religion, by Gregory A. Boyd, is not just another book. It is a call to a new movement in Western Christianity. I've read most of Boyd's writings but this work cuts like a knife through the thick layers of self-righteous noise in the Church. That which looks and acts like Jesus is Christian. Period. This is WWJD tattooed on our foreheads. If you desire to read this book for what Boyd really intends then you are being invited to a revolution of monumental proportions. 

Boyd is only the messenger, however, for this is truly a word from God. And it is no less important than God's demand to Pharaoh himself -- "Let my people go!!" 

Writes Boyd: 

"Church history is full of people being tortured and put to death for such heresies as not acknowledging the authority of the Church, baptizing wrongly, and denying the Trinity. Yet we don't have any record of anyone so much as having their hand slapped for embracing the worst heresy imaginable -- namely, failing to love and do good to one's enemies, as Jesus commanded. That leaves me speechless!"

THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS

Having just finished this book last night I found myself speechless many times over. Had a rough, yet divine start, however. I downloaded the audio version just before leaving for a trip last month, but only the first three chapters and about a quarter of chapter four made the download to my iPhone. Disappointed at first, I quickly began to recognize the possibility of God dealing with me. I finished the first three chapters and the action guides for each and was so overwhelmed that I went right back and listened to them again, and then a third time. While most of my friends were raving about the impact of chapter four, Revolt Against Judgment, I was required to read and re-read "Giant Jesus", Christ and Caesar", and "Revolt Against Idolatry" three times. After finishing the rest of the book I now understand why: If we do not grasp the depth of the premises in the first three chapters then we are destined to miss the call to arms in the rest of the book. This was further confirmed to me by how Boyd closes the book with "The Revolt Against Secularism," giving a clear call to abandon the Western scientific and material mindset in favor of what many would consider a more mystical, yet spiritual, and felt connection to God on a moment by moment basis. Amazing.

At one point in what I think is the crux of the first three chapters I was conflicted. Boyd writes, "If God's estimation of people is based completely on what he has done for people on Calvary, not on what people do for him, then religious people can no longer get Life from the fact that they are set apart from others because of their right beliefs and behaviors." Whoa! This is grace alone. Wait. No it's not. Yes it is. Wait. Ok... take a breath. "If God's estimation....of people .... is based completely..."    There it is!! That is the beginning of it all. There is absolutely nothing I can do to increase nor decrease God's love for me! God places value on us based on Calvary. Life comes from what God thinks of me and not from what I think, feel, do, or say. Life comes from Calvary alone. Life does not ever come from the rightness of my beliefs and behaviors. But far from relaxing into a Christian slumber of once saved always saved, Boyd make is clear that if we truly know the full value of God's estimation of us we will be moved to action. Accepting Calvary Love from God means only one thing: Revolution!!! Truly knowing what it means to be a citizen of His Kingdom causes a revolt against everything else which does not demonstrate Calvary Love. 

THE ACTION GUIDES

To me the action guides are by far the most important parts of each chapter. I can completely understand why Boyd is a fan of imaginative prayer: We westerners are brainwashed by secular thought, by the "Powers," and now more than any other time in history have great trouble embracing that other, spiritual, realm in practical and life-changing ways. It's one thing to believe in God's presence. It's quite another to practice it and actually feel God's presence moment by moment. So the Action Guides are of vital importance for they are the practice we all need. Without this practice this book is just another one to put on the shelf and call "great."

I was particularly moved by Boyd's invitation for me to "imagine you are dead." 'The nerve of the man!' I first thought, as my flesh recoiled. But the mental exercise of picturing only Christ in front of me, and feeling that nothing else in all the world matters but Him and this completion, is indeed life-changing. What do we have to worry about if we truly know our worth to the Father, and if we truly -- in Him -- live, and move, and have our whole being? Nothing.

THE PRESENT PERFECT

When I went to download the rest of the book I happened upon another of Boyd's books which he released about the same time. It is called "The Present Perfect." So I downloaded it as well. About half way through chapter 11 of Myth of a Christian Religion I decided to switch over to Present Perfect and see what that one was all about. 'Wow! This makes total sense!' I thought. 'I see where he's heading with this.' The Present Perfect is the FULL application of Myth of a Christian Religion. In fact, The Present Perfect is perhaps the full application of EVERY book Boyd has ever written. Writes the Amazon book reviewer: 

• Discover: * How to pray continually * What it means to 'take every thought captive' * How to wake up to God's ever-present love God is closer to you than the air you breathe. He is present in every given moment. Wake up to his presence! Turn off the mental chatter that keeps you from seeing his glory. Embrace the holy habit of inviting God's presence into your life, and be transformed! Wake Up to God's Presence! We long to be transformed. Yet our minds are filled with endless trivia and self-centered chatter. To-do lists. Worries about the past. Speculation about the future. We forget to live in the present moment ... and to invite God to be with us there.

I'll have to write another post once I finish Present Perfect but I can already tell you this is the COMPLETE action guide for Myth of a Christian Religion as well as his other books. 

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Together, all of Boyd's books are packed completely full of scripture and practical steps toward a life-changing walk with God and a revolutionary change for the Church. In this book Boyd brightly shines a spot light on the myths of our modern thinking and the resulting shallow religion. But it is a Movement which God really wants, one which begins with every believer knowing our true worth and then letting that knowledge alter our lives in every possible way. Then, and only then, will the world take note of what a peculiar people we have actually become and turn their attention to the One True God who make us stand up and stand out in such an obvious way. 

There is much more to write about the ideas in this book, but I need some time to digest it some more before doing so. For now, however, I feel the full power and pounding heart of God with each call at the close of each chapter. 

Viva La Revolution!