Review of "Benefit of the Doubt"

Even though I've only read two of Greg Boyd's books, the Minnesota pastor's cerebral yet entertaining writing style is fast making him one of my favorite authors.

In a style that is both methodical and approachable, Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty lays out Boyd's argument against "certainty-seeking" faith in favor of an "Israelite faith" that allows generous room for honest questioning and that lays hold of one thing: Jesus Christ crucified as the glorious center of Scripture, our faith and the universe. 

He uses logic, philosophy and biblical exegesis to make his case against a contract mindset that combs through scripture looking for legal loopholes and freebie promises to claim. In its place, Boyd presents a beautiful picture of a covenant faith that mirrors the Jewish practice of betrothal. 

This book is also full of stories from Boyd's own faith journey, from a dynamic initial salvation experience at a fundamental Pentecostal church to losing his faith in college to regaining his faith and going to seminary to a gradual paradigm shift in the way he looked at his faith. The final section of the book lays out a road map for exercising authentic faith in the face of the inevitable doubts that might pop up in a thinking Christian's mind while interacting with our increasingly global, scientifically advanced and pluralistic world.

This is a book I'd recommend to any Christians who have felt they couldn't fully commit to the entire belief package their church or denomination asserts or who have struggled with parts of the Bible or who have been afraid to let their mind even go to places of questioning for fear of judgement from other Christians or even God.

For example, if you believe the Bible is inspired by God, but have trouble reconciling the sometimes violent, vindictive portraits of God in the Old Testament with the humble servant Jesus of the New Testament, this book might be for you. If you sometimes wonder whether the stories in Genesis aren't 100 percent historical, this book might be for you. If you wonder how so many devout Christians can have such widely different sets of beliefs, this book might be for you. You might not expect or even agree completely with Boyd's conclusions from grappling with these same issues, but I think you'll find a wealth of freedom and grace to wrestle with God without fear of becoming untethered from Him. 

Review of "Letters from a Skeptic"

I love brainy books from time to time, and Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity by theology professor turned megachurch pastor Greg Boyd fits the bill. Not only is the book a compilation of apologetic essays from a very smart person, but a dual between Boyd and his then agnostic father Edward Boyd as they exchanged correspondence over a period of three years back in the early 1990s, culminating with the senior Boyd's joyful conversion at age 70!

These 30 letters were a quick and interesting read as Edward Boyd raises some of the most common criticisms to the Christian faith, while also revealing deep-rooted hurts from his past, including the premature death of Greg's mother.

The father and son touch on issues that anyone seriously considering or contending for the Christian faith should chew on: reconciling unthinkable human violence with an all-powerful and loving God and understanding why God gave humans free will, the nature and occupants of hell, the sometimes odd and mythical nature of many Bible stories, and how and why Christ's death is God's acceptable propitiation for mankind's sin. I suppose some Christians might find places to nitpick with some of the responses. For example, the younger Boyd is slightly open ended about whether Hell is eternal conscious torture or whether those sent there will eventually cease to exist and cites verses that could validate either view. This might bother some Christians who feel the strength and quality of their faith relies on their level of certainty on all matters of theology. I'm not one of them, so I found Boyd's answers to be sensitive, intellectual and nuanced in a way that really invited and encouraged faith.

Overall, the author's thoughtful responses encouraged me to test the rational ground on which I base my own faith, and it was exciting to watch Edward Boyd's gradual salvation unfold. Also valuable is the way the younger Boyd models a loving, respectful, hopeful attitude as he witnesses to his father, who in early letters expresses his disbelief that his Yale and Princeton educated son would "buy into" Christian beliefs. Whether or not they agree on all the minutia of his answers, I think all Christians can learn from Pastor Boyd's example and be encourage by the result.

As with many of the books I review and reflect upon in this blog, you can find the hard copy of Letters from a Skeptic at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library... as soon as I return it!