Get Free Ebook God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict
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God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict
Get Free Ebook God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict
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About the Author
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
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Product details
Paperback: 414 pages
Publisher: IVP Academic (September 12, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0830818855
ISBN-13: 978-0830818853
Product Dimensions:
5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.1 out of 5 stars
64 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#328,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The message I took away from this book broke many of the stereotypes and misgivings I had picked up about Gregory Boyd. Having said that, what I know now about the man's theology is still only what I understand from this one book. I had almost stashed this copy away after so many negative reviews but I'm glad I didn't.I really liked how Boyd detailed his entire argument in the first chapter. He didn't let the reader linger for some surprise twist in his theology. He plugged methodically through almost every book of the Bible to support his thesis. The thesis is: our universe is in chaos. In international relations terms, there is spiritual anarchy. A true battle of offensive realism. There is one Almighty God but he wages battle against forces of evil in what Boyd calls a "warfare worldview". The worldview is apocalyptic and for almost every example of evil and pain on the earth there is spiritual counterpart to its struggle in the spiritual realm.Boyd confesses to his evangelical bias but at the same time bridges a gap between straight Biblical exegesis and extra-Biblical sources. If Boyd's use of cosmological beliefs in ancient civilizations in his Biblical interpretation seems a bit of a stretch the careful examination of spiritual warfare in scripture and Jewish tradition itself is more than enough to satisfy. But I wonder, many missioligists have entertained the idea that many cultures preserve a "redemptive analogy" within their belief systems. That is to say, many rituals of groups across the globe infuse the concept that humans are in need of redemption from some evil. If this is the case, is it not possible that instead of invention, diffusion from the Bible's story has evolved its way into literally hundreds of similar myths of cosmology (pg. 125)?Before I address the challenges of the thesis I find that the second half of the book is less controversial. Perhaps a general liberal bend in Christian theology might refuse the existence of demons and other forces of evil as directly and indirectly affecting physical, social, political and governmental havoc but to some extent this teaching appears alive and well in many churches. The hesitation for many people, and resistance to Boyd's thesis comes in calling ALL evil and bad things a direct result of demonic or spiritual intervention.Boyd recognizes that the full extent of his thesis has drastic implications on mainstream theology. The "warfare worldview" is counter to the classical-philosophical Christianity of Augustine and counter to the teachings out of the reformation to include Arminian doctrine. Boyd does not accept that all evil is under the control of God. Boyd's point is to explain how "bad things happen to good people" or in C. S. Lewis' terms "The Problem of Pain". Yes, God has used evil and its blinding pride for later good, as in the ultimate example of Jesus' death and resurrection, but this is not the norm. The norm in the "warfare worldview" is that the world is at war and evil forces can and do accomplish evil outside of the will of God.Eschatologically, God will win, as Boyd explains, but this does not ignore the introduction of some drastic theological revampments. Boyd's thesis calls for a review of our concept of: monotheism, omniscience, omnipotence, free will, corrupt political entities and the creation story itself. That is ALOT of ground to cover not to mention a huge cultural gap to cross within ANY Christian circle.Both Jewdism and Christianity went through scores of theologians and eras of debate to consolidate their various brands of theology. Boyd argues that Hellenistic philosophy has been a huge influence to both sets of doctrine. I add, to round out the Abrahamic faiths, Islam also went through a heated era of theological debate on the previous list of items. It too was greatly influenced by Hellenistic philosophy. Even though the Muslim world has a history of pagan and spiritual rituals I am not aware of a theological viewpoint in Islam that matches Boyd's thesis. Muslims do believe Mohammad was messenger to men and jinn (good or bad spirits) alike. But orthodox Islam would have a hard time discarding their total monotheistic, omnipotent and omniscient view of God.Of note, I don't see in Boyd's book an argument against politics. Boyd lists elements within structures that are evidence of evil influence like idolatrous nationalism, systematic political corruption, systematic racism and western materialism but never politics itself (pg. 273). Instead, I read that humans and governments can exercise love and justice as a battle against the influences of the evil spiritual realm.It could be that global Christianity has much to teach the Western church. A quick snapshot of the growing church in underdeveloped nations is enough to prove the spiritual battle that directly influences personal lives. Regardless of one's full acceptance of Boyd's thesis or not, the reaction of God's people should be the same: prayer, fasting, tapping into the power of the Spirit and exercising Biblical love and exhibiting the grace of Jesus. Boyd calls us from a theology of apathy to the sympathy of Jesus with revolt against the powers of evil (pg. 201). The picture of Boyd's warfare need not be scary, it should be inspiring, as he says.
Reading 20-30 books a year, I am familiar with good scholarship and writing when I encounter it. This is a stand-alone book on the top tier for certain.The story of Zosia in the opening chapter will stun and cause reflection in the most hard-hearted person out there, setting the stage for an exception treatise on spiritual activity beyond the veil.No stone seems to be left unturned as Boyd explores the nature of demonic activity through the Old and New Testaments.We in the Reformed camp will find only a couple of areas of tension in what is otherwise an exceptional work on the matter of Spiritual Warfare.
Throughout the scriptures we constantly add a warfare motif . The author accepts that and then shows the results of doing so. An excellent study sure to get you thinking and digging further in the scriptures. We are indeed at war.
While reading God at War, one gets the distinct feeling that this is not the book Gregory Boyd wanted to write. He wanted to write a book presenting a fresh perspective on the problem of evil (which is, I assume, the next book he did write). This perspective is built on two foundational ideas: (1) angels and (especially) demons exist and (2) their choices and actions have a genuine effect on our world. The difficulty is that it would be hard to find a set of ideas that the majority of modern scholarship finds less plausible. Boyd is keenly aware that his basic premises have been (and largely still are) viewed with outright disdain and ridicule. Unfortunately, Boyd is not content to merely present a case for the intellectual viability of these ideas. Rather, he seems (consciously or not) insistent on turning that disdain and ridicule on his would-be detractors. This leads to a tone that is not always scholarly in nature. Reason gives way to rhetoric in ways that a scholar of this caliber should be able to recognize and avoid.Boyd's primary target in this book is what one could call a "meticulous control" worldview--a view that God is, in some way, behind everything that happens, and that every event is simply the unfolding of His greater plan. To dispute this worldview, Boyd takes us on a step-by-step tour through Scripture showing that the entire narrative is shot through with the idea that hostile forces bring about events that God does not desire. They are not necessary, and God would have preferred that they didn't happen at all. Why this is the case is a question left for a later book, but he makes a convincing argument that it is the case. Scripture paints a picture, not of a meticulously controlling God, but of a God at war.Since I happen to agree with Boyd's foundational ideas, the persuasive power of the book may have been lost on me. However, I particularly appreciated his material on the Old Testament. His discussion of ancient near-eastern worldview, and how it should inform our understanding of the Old Testament was wonderfully deep. He even got me to reconsider views I had previously decided against--such as some form of gap theory for Gen. 1:2, the relevance of the Watcher tradition for Gen. 6, and the nature of the "heavenly council." The scholarship is evident here, and the points are well-reasoned.That's why I was so disappointed in his discussion of the cross. Here, his primary concern is to show that the cross had truly cosmic consequences. However, to safeguard this conclusion, he feels the need to insist that the effects of the cross were first and foremost on the universe as a whole. The cross was Christ's cosmic victory over Satan. It redeemed the universe, and human salvation is simply a subsequent result of this victory. The main problem with this view (which Boyd seems completely unaware of) is that there is no discernable reason why Jesus dying on a cross constitutes a cosmic victory over evil. What is the connection? What is the mechanism whereby "death on cross" = "cosmic defeat of evil"?Boyd is afraid that, if the cross affects humankind, first and foremost, then its cosmic significance is lost. That is why he must argue "cross--universe--humankind." I do not believe this is the case. The creation mandate in Gen. 3 (that people "rule the earth and subdue it") can easily imply that humankind has an extremely significant role to play (something Boyd himself makes a big deal of in his Old Testament section). Now, let's say Satan's goal is to stop them from fulfilling this role. To do this, he accuses, tempts, etc. He leads them into guilt and then lays claim to them. In this instance the mechanism whereby the cross defeats Satan is clear. Jesus fulfills the requirements of the law. Anyone who personally appropriates his death on the cross is freed from Satan by the simple fact that they are not guilty. They owe nothing because the debt has been paid. Now, if humanity itself has a cosmic role to play, then the redemption of humanity can somehow relate to the subsequent redemption of all creation (which Rom. 8:19 seems, rather strongly, to imply). In other words "cross--humankind--universe" gives BOTH a cosmic significance to the cross and a rational mechanism whereby "cross = defeat of Satan." Boyd's discussion to the contrary makes this section of his book a rather unsatisfying culmination to an otherwise insightful work.At the risk of being too harsh on Boyd, I have to mention two burdens under which he labors in this book (and, I fear, his next one). First, he labors under the belief that his view would be more conducive to right decisions, attitudes, and actions than the opposing view. First of all, it is unwise to assume that, simply because you would act badly if you held certain views, that everyone who holds these views would. Maybe you are just a reprobate. Maybe if a person's beliefs do not provide motivation for right action, he or she will find motivation elsewhere. Specifically, a common concern is that folks who hold the meticulous control worldview have no reason to go out and try to make the world a better place. Everything is the way God wants it to be.I'll grant that this could be a problem for the meticulous control worldview. But the second problem Boyd has here is in assuming that the warfare worldview does not imply its own set of inappropriate decisions, attitudes, and actions. Sure, the meticulous control worldview could cause people to accept circumstances that need to be fought. However, the warfare worldview may lead people to fight circumstances that need to be accepted. Sometimes suffering IS God working in mysterious ways. Sometimes it is constructive. In fact, the warfare worldview seems to provide little motivation for finding the good in an otherwise bad situation. Which is better--a passive optimist or an active pessimist? Seems like a coin toss to me.Finally, Boyd labors under a burden shared by nearly all who write on the problem of evil. They want to say something to make it all better. And who doesn't? Who hasn't sat next to a grieving person and wanted to find the right words that could ease that person's pain? It's an understandable impulse.The problem of evil needs to be engaged on an intellectual level. It needs to be discussed and wrestled with, but we should have no illusions about the application of any conclusions we come to. When it comes to actual suffering, there is no theodicy that makes the hurt go away. There are no right words to say. A propositional answer is never an adequate response to a personal, emotional state. The only adequate response to suffering is the grief process itself. Anything else is academic.
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