Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Is America a Christian Nation?

Happy New Year everybody! Not only is it a new year, but it’s an election year which means we’re going to get more than our fill of politics in 2008 (well, at least I am). If you’ve been watching the news, then you are aware that faith continues to be a key issue in the presidential primaries. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee stood by several comments during a speech he made at a Southern Baptist Convention in 1998 that said he planned to “take this nation back for Christ.”

It’s statements like this that motivated Greg Boyd to write the book, The Myth of a Christian Nation. I read this book last summer and it is absolutely one of my favorite books. Boyd devotes an entire chapter to “Taking Back America For God” and this chapter alone is worth the price of the book.


Here’s the book description from the back cover:

“When the kingdom of God is manifested, it will wear the face of Jesus Christ. And that, says the author Gregory Boyd, has never been true of any earthly government or power. Through close examination of Scripture and lessons drawn from history, Dr. Boyd argues that evangelical Christians who align themselves too closely with political causes or declare that they want to bring America ‘back to God’ are actually doing more harm—both to the body of Christ and society in general.

Boyd shows how Jesus taught us to seek a ‘power-under’ kingdom, where greatness is measured by sacrifice and service. There are no sides or enemies because we are meant to embrace and accept everyone. In The Myth of A Christian Nation, Dr. Boyd challenges readers to return to the true love of Calvary and the message of the cross—setting the ‘power-over’ politics of worldly government aside.”

I hope you’ll read this book. It’s an easy read and I guarantee that it will make you stop and think. If you’ve already read it, then feel free to post a comment and share your thoughts. The handful of people I know who have read this book have given it rave reviews. I think you will too. Pick it up at Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Christian-Nation-Political-Destroying/dp/0310267315/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199298068&sr=8-1

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