One of the people that has spoken volumes into my life and ministry is Dallas Willard. This is probably one of the reasons why I am so drawn to the thoughts and writings of Gregory Boyd as he is also a student of Willard’s teachings on the Kingdom of God.
Boyd’s latest book, The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution
In the introduction, Pastor Boyd declares something so simple, yet misunderstood. It summarizes the core of Willard’s teachings:
This may surprise or even offend you, but Jesus is not the founder of the Christian religion. True, a religion arose centuries after he lived tht was called “Christian,” but…in many respects the very concept of a “Christian religion” is something of a myth when understood in the light of what Jesus was about.
Yes, you did read that correctly. Yes, I do believe it to be accurate theology. You see, Jesus was more than what we make him out to be. Jesus was more than a prophet…he was actually revolutionary! The Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah was not about religion. In fact, he showed time and time again that he was against religious acts (Luke 18:9-14; Matthew 6:5).
Jesus is known as a great story teller with a knack for sharing his truth in ways that caused people to think, rather than be spoon fed everything. It was unheard of in that day and even his own disciples questioned why he spoke in parables so often. It was all part of the revolution he was creating. A revolution against being religious. Boyd writes:
What Jesus was about had nothing to do with being religious. Read the Gospels! He partied with the worst of sinners and outraged the religious. This is what got him crucified.
What Jesus was about was starting a revolution. He called this revolution the Kingdom of God.
Imagine that! In reading the gospels, we find that in Luke 4:43 NIV Jesus states his purpose in coming to us was to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. This is such an amazing thing that Boyd describes the kingdom of God like this:
The Kingdom of God that Jesus established is centered on one thing, and one thing only: manifesting the beauty of God’s character and thus revolting against everything that is inconsistent with this beauty. The Kingdom is centered on displaying a beauty that revolts.
The kingdom really isn’t about religion after all. It’s about following Christ and all that is beautiful in God’s ways while we shed all that is ugly. As Boyd so perfectly summarizes, “The kingdom, in short, is a beautiful revolution.”
Related posts:
- The Myth Of A Christian Religion, Part 2
- The Myth Of A Christian Religion, Part 3
- America is not a Christian nation!
- Gregory Boyd on The Myth of a Christian Nation
- Gregory Boyd has it right!
Tags: dallas willard, gregory boyd, kingdom of god, the myth of a christian religion
Wonderful post, and a great mission for a church called Revolution. I might quibble with one point — you say, “It’s about following Christ and all that is beautiful in God’s ways while we shed all that is ugly.” — but isn’t it HE who sheds all that we see as ugly, not we?
Mark, thanks for the reply and the kind word. In response to your question, I would state more-specifically that it is God in us–his Holy Spirit–that allows us the strength, wisdom, ability, and righteousness to see through the ugliness. In fact, some of what we would consider ugly with our worldly eyes is deemed beautiful through godly eyes. The main point was intended to be that we should seek God and his kingdom and turn away from the things that don’t belong in that scenario.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Good thoughts on the book, I will have to take a read.