Greg Boyd (theologian)
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| Gregory A. Boyd | |
| Residence | St. Paul, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.A. from the University of Minnesota, M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | pastor, author |
| Religious beliefs | Christian |
| Spouse(s) | Shelley Boyd |
| Website http://www.gregboyd.org/ |
|
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[1] and is President of Christus Victor Ministries.
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[edit] Biography
Boyd was raised Roman Catholic, but became an atheist as a teen. In 1974, at the age of 17, he committed his life to Christ. He graduated cum laude from Yale Divinity School (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 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 tried unsuccessfully to have the rules of the denomination changed to exclude Boyd and other open theists.[2]
In a New York Times profile in July 2006, Boyd said he had lost 20% of his congregation because he refused to lend his support publicly to conservative political causes.[3] 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 2003 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). Among other things, in this book he argues that a commitment to non-violence and to loving one's enemies lies at the heart of the teachings of Jesus. This was recently re-echoed in a June 2008 sermon titled "Rich Towards God."
Boyd was a former Oneness Pentecostal, and wrote the book Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (1992) critiquing the movement's anti-trinitarian view of God, as well as other doctrines. He charged Oneness denominations such as the United Pentecostal Church with legalism for their teachings on issues such as baptism and hair length.
He was featured in the CNN documentary God's Warriors, hosted by Christiane Amanpour, which aired in August 2007.[1]
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. He participates in numerous public debates, most notably with friend and religious skeptic Robert M. Price (who questions the very existence of a historical Jesus) on the historicity of the New Testament and related matters. His recent work (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).
[edit] 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
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Woodland Hills Church website
- ^ "Did Open Debate Help The Openness Debate?" Christianity Today, February 19, 2001
- ^ "Disowning Conservative Politics" New York Times, July 30, 2006
[edit] 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)
