The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church

By Gregory A. Boyd

Just the title of this book sparks controversy. And the contents of the book are no different. Those who believe that the United States is a Christian nation or that our activities overseas are the will of God will find in this book someone who disagrees with them. Strongly.

Boyd compares the ‘Power Over’ kingdom of the world to the ‘Power Under’ kingdom of God throughout the book. In a ‘Power Over’ kingdom, one group exerts force over another group to have its own way. It uses violence, if necessary. He says, “Fallen humans tend to identify their own group as righteous and any group that opposes them as evil. If they were not evil, we tend to believe, no conflict would exist.”

A ‘Power Under’ kingdom, in contrast, is a kingdom like Jesus, where people who aspire to be like Jesus wash the feet of others and turn the other cheek. A ‘Power Under’ kingdom rules with love; Jesus loved others at any cost—therefore, that is how Christians should be.

Boyd compares the ‘Power Over’ and ‘Power Under’ kingdoms this way: “Not everything about the kingdom of the world is bad. Insofar as versions of the kingdom of the world use their power of the sword to preserve ad promote law, order, and justice, they are good. But the kingdom of the world, by definition, can never be the kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter that we judge it good because it stands for the principles we deem important—‘liberty, and justice for all,’ for example. No version of the kingdom of the world, however comparatively good it may be, can protect its self-interest while loving its enemies, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, or blessing those who persecute it. Yet loving our enemies and blessing those who persecute us is precisely what kingdom-of-God citizens are called to do.”

There’s more, lots more, in this little book. Though I don’t agree with everything Boyd writes, a good portion of what he says resonates as true, in my mind. (Dare I share exactly what I agree with?)

Aside from content, however, Boyd’s writing style and the set-up of the book were not perfect. I appreciated that Boyd wrote in layman terms; I didn’t feel bogged down with mystifying theological statements. However, Boyd references a lot of Bible verses to back up his opinions. I would have preferred him to put those into footnotes, but instead each reference is located behind the sentence it supports. Where there are multiple references per sentence, the flow of the narration was interrupted for me, as I scanned along a list of references to find the next sentence.

In addition, Boyd uses a lot of rhetorical questions to make his point. Though many of the questions are good and ones Christians should be asking themselves, whole paragraphs filled with nothing but rhetorical questions was overkill, in my opinion.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Boyd is not afraid of taking this touchy subject and going over it with a fine-toothed comb. When you read this book, expect to feel uncomfortable. Expect to disagree with Boyd in places. Maybe even expect to yell at Boyd while sitting on your couch at home. But also expect to reassess the values you hold dear.

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