We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
“For many…the American flag has smothered the glory of the cross, and the ugliness of our American version of Caesar has squelched the radiant love of Christ.” [Quotes]
“This myth harms the church’s primary mission. For many in America and around the world, the American flag has smothered the glory of the cross, and the ugliness of our American version of Caesar has squelched the radiant love of Christ. Because the myth that America is a Christian nation has led many to associate America with Christ, many now hear the good news of Jesus only as American news, capitalistic news, imperialistic news, exploitive news, antigay news, or Republican news. And whether justified or not, many people want nothing to do with any of it.”
Boyd, Gregory A. The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church, p 13. Zondervan. Emphasis added.
Related Reading
The Problem with Mixing Church & Government
Image by fusion-of-horizons via Flickr Some people insist that the only reason that neither Jesus nor anyone else in the first several centuries of the church tried to dominate the political system of their day was because they were a small minority of people living in a nondemocratic and hostile environment. By contrast, the argument goes,…
Why do you have such a pessimistic view of government?
Question: I’m a Christian and serve as a servant in government and I find your book The Myth of a Christian Nation, as well as some of your sermons on Christians and politics, highly offensive. I find that while governments sometimes harm people, they also do a lot of good. The American government in particular…
Quotes to Chew On: The Church vs. Religion
“It’s time for the Church to free itself from the religious holiness of the Pharisees and begin to manifest the holiness of the Kingdom. It’s time for us to realize that our calling is to serve people sacrificially–including prostitutes, tax collectors, and enemies–rather than judging them. It’s time we ceased getting Life from the rightness…
America on Thin Ice
by: Greg Boyd I was fascinated by Congress’s Impeachment Trial. After all available witnesses had testified and all the available evidence had been presented, not one mind on either side of the aisle had changed. Worse, it seemed perfectly obvious to most members on both sides that the other side was not operating with a…
Rekindling an Old Debate: How to be a Christian Citizen
Back in 2008 Greg joined Shane Claiborne and the now deceased Chuck Colson with host Krista Tippet on NPR’s On Being program to debate what it means to be a Christian citizen. Given the current political climate and a renewed interest in this conversation NPR decided to re-release it. If you’d like to view the discussion…
The Life and Death of MLK and What it Might Have to Say to Us
Tony Fischer via Compfight Here is an EXCELLENT reflection from Jonathan Martin in answer to a question that was posed to him on how he reconciles his rejection of the politics of this world with the social justice work of MLK. This is a must read. From the article: So to come to the question,…