Repenting of Religion
Turning from Judgment to the Love of God
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Boyd, pastoral theologian and author of Seeing Is Believing, presents a forceful, if one-sided, solution for Christians torn between judgment and acceptance. Drawing on biblical images including the Tree of Knowledge, the Samaritan woman at the well and Jesus' reputation as a "friend of sinners," Boyd argues that "the church must be the community of people who simply love as God loves." Christians who judge others are, in effect, eating forbidden fruit, labeling people as good or evil in exchange for a tainted boost of spiritual energy. Even in the context of church discipline with the best of motives, Boyd is skeptical about the benefits of confrontation and rebuke, decrying the "trust we have in our power of judgment rather than the power of God and his love flowing through us." Bucking evangelical convention is nothing new for Boyd, but his development of the biblical basis for his conclusions is less comprehensive than in most of his previous works. This is unfortunate considering that Boyd's proposals for the church such as treating homosexuality and overeating as essentially equivalent issues are already guaranteed to raise eyebrows among evangelical readers. While its message is engaging, this title incorporates more repetition and less nuance, more rhetoric and less practical pastoral guidance, than Boyd usually delivers.
Customer Reviews
One of the most important books for Christians to read
I've read and re-read this book. I even was a part of the congregation as Greg wrote this book and worked it out in sermon after sermon. Each reading shows me how much I've returned to get life from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and brings me back to the centrality of Christ and the desire to love as He does. It's a book that I will continue to return to time and again.