Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God

by Gregory A. Boyd

Publisher:

Baker

, 2004

Overview

We human beings are burdened by our tendencies to harshly judge others and ourselves. Unfortunately for believers, this bent is as prevalent in the church as in the world. Pastor and author Gregory A. Boyd calls readers to a higher standard through understanding the true manner in which God views humanity: as infinitely worthwhile and lovable. Only an attitude shift in how we perceive ourselves in light of God’s love can impact how we relate to people and transform our judgmental nature. Believers wrestling with the reality of God’s love and Christians struggling with judging in the local church will appreciate this examination of how we move from a self-centered to a Christ-centered life.

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Key Features

• Explores the true manner in which God views humanity
• Examines how we move from a self-centered to a Christ-centered life
• Focuses on how we perceive ourselves in light of God’s love

Contents

• Dancing with the Triune God
• Life “in Christ”
• The Center Is Love
• Becoming the Center
• Love and Religion
• Love and Judgment
• The Lie about God
• The Lie about Us
• The Curse
• Reversing the Curse
• Confronting Pharisees
• Love, Confession, and Accountability

Top Highlights

“The thesis of this book is that love is the central goal of creation and thus of the Christian life, and that its main obstacle is our getting life from our knowledge of good and evil—from our judgment.” (Page 18)

“Indeed, the goal is nothing less than for us to participate in the very love that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share throughout eternity.” (Page 17)

“Since then I have become convinced that the central goal of the Christian walk is to learn how to abide in this place, to remain awake to this truth, to walk in this experience.” (Page 15)

“How can I, right here and right now, affirm the unsurpassable worth of this person for whom Christ died?” (Page 55)

“There is a kind of love that is universal and unconditional, however. It is the kind of love referred to by the word agape. This love is not a feeling one has, though certain feelings often follow from it. It is rather a commitment one makes, a stance one takes toward another, and an activity one does.” (Page 24)

Praise for the Print Edition

Repenting of Religion is anything but another run of the mill evangelical book; it is radical and revolutionary. Some will call it dangerous and heretical. One thing is certain: it will make readers think critically about some traditional evangelical habits of the heart.

—Roger E. Olson, professor of theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University

This book demonstrates with both subtle and compelling biblical evidence that the local church is called to be God’s community of redemption rather than the exclusive clique of rejection it has often become. The argument constitutes a convincing commentary on the Apostle’s radical claim that we cannot glorify God unless we accept others as Christ has accepted us. This is a prophetic call to repentance addressed to judgmental church leaders and to self-righteous congregations who curse the weak rather than bring healing to God’s broken, hurting world.

—Gilbert Bilezikian, professor emeritus of biblical studies, Wheaton College

Mere Christianity is religionless, Boyd rightly says. It is about dancing with the triune God. And, since it’s all about mercy, let’s love one another and stop judging, as if it were just another religion.

—Clark H. Pinnock, professor emeritus of systematic theology, McMaster Divinity College

Product Details

• Title: Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God
• Author: Gregory A. Boyd
• Publisher: Baker
• Print Publication Date: 2004
• Logos Release Date: 2011
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Love › Religious aspects--Christianity; Judgment › Religious aspects--Christianity; Christian life
• ISBNs: 9781441220196, 9780801065064, 0801065062, 1441220194
• Resource ID: LLS:FC1DEF6E8FC3CCA90C2E3CA2A2C426C6
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:55:14Z

About Gregory A. Boyd

Gregory A. Boyd (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is a pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previously, he was a professor of theology at Bethel University, also in St. Paul. His books include Recovering the Real Jesus in an Age of Revisionist Replies, Letters from a Skeptic, God of the Possible, Repenting of Religion, Seeing is Believing, Escaping the Matrix, The Jesus Legend, Myth of a Christian Nation, Is God to Blame, God at War and Satan and the Problem of Evil.