Greg Boyd's new book

[t_trumbull]

Has anyone read Boyd’s newest work, the Crucifixion of the Warrior God? I’ve had friends and family, all Protestant, telling me I really need to read it. I have read some of his older works, some of which were okay and other not/ I am rather hesitant to read this.

Boyd has tried to play the whole “Constantine changed Christianity” myth at times in the past, a myth that is not hard to disprove if you bother to do a little research and read the Church Fathers (All of whom are in the public domain and available online) that lived before, during and after the Emperor’s reign.

I will be honest and admit that the title annoys me a little as well. I’m a big believer in not judging a book by its cover but at the same time a title can be very revealing. And knowing that Boyd is an open theist adds to my hesitation.

On the other hand part of me really wants to read it, if only to use when talking with friends and family. I am secure enough in my faith that I do not think Boyd will really change my thoughts much. Its more am I prepared for the, at times probably vehement, disagreements I’m going to have with the book.

If anyone has read it, or has any thoughts I’d love to hear them. Been dealing with the whole Constantine myth and “Christians should all be pacifists because the early church was” stuff lately.

 

[Wesrock]

I’m reading through the description on Amazon, and the title seems intentionally provocative.

Developing a theological interpretation of Scripture that he labels a “cruciform hermeneutic,” Boyd demonstrates how the Bible’s violent images of God are reframed and their violence subverted when interpreted through the lens of the cross and resurrection. Indeed, when read in this way, Boyd argues that these violent depictions bear witness to the same self-sacrificial nature of God that was ultimately revealed on the cross.

…Boyd’s proposal is to bring these two poles into a cruciform hermeneutic. The old approach of Marcion doesn’t resolve the problem, and neither do dismissals of the Old Testament in favor of the New nor do question-betting theological explanations help. What Greg Boyd does in The Crucifixion of the Warrior God is nothing less than a stunning re-imagination of how to read the Bible afresh through the cross of Jesus."

The eye roll is because Catholic theologians have been interpreting the Old through the New in this way for nigh on 2,000 years. You can’t interpret the OT without looking at it through the crucifixion and resurrection. It seems like some sections of Christianity have just forgotten that.

I can’t vouch for what’s in the book. The description itself sounds like it’s okay with some highlights of Catholic teaching, though the devil may be in the details. It may even do a great job of making the point for a contemporary audience. But it’s not really “new.”