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

Please do yourself a favor and disregard the majority of the negative reviews of this astonishing book.These only confirm the main premise of Mr Boyd's argument:a large number of American Christians have been mainlining juice from the fruit of the wrong tree for years now.Thus, they have lamentably and tragically and ironically allowed themselves to become a 'community of accusers,'whose perverse aim is the 'moralizing of life,' which is the total antithesis of what Jesus initiated!With this book as well as a previous one (The Myth of a Christian Nation),Mr Boyd is prophetically addressing serious flaws and downright sins in present-day churches.He makes the most compelling and scripturally persuasive case as towhat has turned so much of Christianity into an aggressive and cold-hearted pathogen amidst a culture thatdesperately needs Christ-like lovers--whose love is as reckless, extravagant and promiscuous as that of Jesus.I could refute many of the false arguments and objections raised below by quoting from the book.Instead I say: buy it and read it; this is a well-balanced argument and thoroughly faithful to the Spirit of the Word.It will answer much that has baffled you and confirm what you have known was not right in many a congregation.But I will address one legitimate observation:the seeming contradiction of a book that forbids judgement judging the judgmental attitude of others.Here's a quote from the book that I believe settles this issue:"Jesus' religious reputation was tarnished in the eyes of religious peoplebecause he did not honor many of the religious taboos of his days.Walking in unity with God, Jesus possessed a joyful freedom--indeed, a recklessness--that was scandalous to those whose worth was derived from their supposed ability to judge good and eviland their willingness to separate themselves as good apart from those they judged as evil..."But Jesus wasn't concerned about his reputation.He did what he was called to do and let others matters at the hands of his Father.Jesus came to heal the sick, not to placate the religious sensibilities of those who thought they were healthy.To heal the sick, you have to love the sick, which means you have to fellowship with the sick.And this means you have to ignore what those who (mistakenly) think they are healthy, think about you!"... Far from tiptoeing around them,Jesus sometimes seemed to go out of his way to confront religious leaders who lived from a variety of forbidden fruit.While he demonstrated only compassion toward ordinary folk,and especially toward those ostracized and/or judged by the religious establishment,Jesus publicly expressed anger toward self-righteous religious leaders--the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees.Though these people were 'the most moral of people, lived the best of lives,and were perfectly obedient and virtuous, they substituted their own morality for the living and actual Word of God [Jacques Ellul].'They were experts on eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil."Jesus aggressively intended to stop these leaders because they shut the door of God's gracious kingdom on people,placed heavy loads on people's shoulders, and lured people down their own path of destruction.With their highly refined moralism, they incarnated the serpent's lie about how to be God-like.Consequently, Jesus had to publicly confront these religious forbidden-fruit eaters..."It is important to notice that RELIGIOUS SIN IS THE ONLY SIN JESUS PUBLICLY CONFRONTED.The religious variety of the forbidden fruit is the most addictive and deceptive variety.Instead of acknowledging that the knowledge of good and evil is prohibited,religious idolatry embraces the knowledge of good and evil as divinely sanctioned and mandated.It gives the illusion of being on God's side even while it destroys life and hardens people in direct opposition to God."Religious sin is the most destructive kind of sickness...."Amen!

Having recently read this book, I came here to see, after the fact, what others had to say. I was surprised to find one commentor from Australia unreasonably denegrate the book and Boyd, and then state it was un-Scriptural (or un-Biblical). So much for common Biblical sense - not that I'm judging the person, or anything...Greg Boyd found his way into my realm of thinking with 'God of the Possible'. It was an astonishingly simple statement of the 'openness' position. While I did not agree with everything he stated there, his attitude was a welcome change in conservative evangelical theology.I have since read other of his works, but none have affected me the way this one (Repenting of Religion) has, striking on an area that I myself have been guilty of, recgnizing it as a widespread issue, especially in conservative evangelical circles, and moreso in the Fundamentalist camp.Thre are those who have recognized the failures in Christianity and are re-thinking. They dare to walk contrary to the well-established theologies and traditional-think. They look for a new approach, a different way. The Emergent movement is an example, and while I have serious differences of opinion, I understand their motivation, and pray that they will re-center and progress through this orientaion period to a useful move along God's path. The Church needs bold thinking to redirect it to the path Jesus intended when He set it up. Clearly it is failing on many fronts.Boyd addresses one of the glaring inconsistencies in the Church, turning people away by a self-righteous attitude of judgementalism. Imagine, the very God who loves us so much is misrepresented by His own Church, focusing on judgerment rather than love. Instead of welcoming all comers with open arms and a smile, encouraging them to consider the love God has for them in Jesus, they chase them off, hurting many so that they are turned off of Christianity. Dread stuff.We will answer to God Himself for this, and the leadership will stand at the head of the line to give account.God is love and intends for us to share in that, and to share that love with others, encouraging them to share in Gods love themselves.While some may gainsay this most appropriate work, I whole-heartedly support and recommend it, and pray that Boyd will persevere in addressing other relevant and pressing issues for today's Christian.The greatest ommandment, love the Lord your God.., and the second is just as important, love your neighbour: on these hang ALL the Law and the prophets.Thanks, Greg.

Let us lIve in God's love and see others as of great worth, because they are created In th the image of God.

After reading all of the negative reviews, and after reading the book for myself, I have to strongly disagree with the negatives out there.Boyd makes it clear that love and judgement cannot co-exist...WITH HUMANS. God however is allowed and the ONLY one that can judge.If you wonder about the verse where Paul tells church people to "kick out" people from the church who still sin, Boyd clearly addresses this and doesn't discredit the scripture at all.The supreme commands for us humans are to Love God and love your neighbors (all humans). All else is subordinate to those, or rather reflections of those commands. Judging others fits no where in there.This is a great book, kind of repetitive, but that I guess is necessary to beat it in our heads to stop being religous, judgemental, legalistic, and wake up to the love, life and freedom that Christ death on the cross offers us.I would have liked to see a few more modern day examples to cooralate this teaching with how we handle life. It has some but I would like to have had a few more.Read this before you read Myth of Christian Nation, because that book branches out or rather grows out of the teaching of this book.AWESOME JOB GREG!

Greg Boyd at his best - a great view of the two trees in the garden of Eden and what impact it has had on us eating from the wrong tree. This theologian has a large vision - one in which the church is full of people demonstrating the outrageous love of Jesus instead of being judgemental. He weighs up what the knowledge of good and evil really is and its full impact on us as human beings, then helps us to see a practical way forward. This book is theology, but it is also intensely practical. A great book for people who treat their Bibles with respect and have a high view of God.

This book is phenomenal. I took two books with me on holiday this summer (this and 'the Shack') and loved both. The title grabbed me because Repentance and Religion have been two of my theological preoccupations in the past 3 years.Boyd's writing is engaging (like his preaching I've discovered) passionate, clear and theologically precise. He builds on Bonhoeffer's ethics and his explanation of Bonhoeffer's understanding of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil, is accessible for lay readers without being superficial in any way.It was refreshing to read a theological book, which wasn't arguing a case in a debate, as much as bringing God's people back to biblical truth, about God's love and our call to live in line with it. He's provocative and some will react, but I believe this book has something profound to teach us and it shines some biblical light into the C21st church.This is essential reading for every Christian, I'm taking our staff team through it and we're excited by what we're re-discovering.His interpretation of Genesis 3, is particularly helpful. If I had any critique, I'd ask for more stories, this isn't heavy on illustrations, but it is packed with life changing truth. I'm buying it for all my pastor friends' birthdays in the coming months!

Such a great book. A real mind change approach to life. Learned a lot and changing my attitude towards people from judging them to loving them.

This book has made me to go back at the first love when I discovered God and wanted just to have a relationship with Him and I didn't care about the name of my church or my church's ethics.

arrived as expected