A Brief Review of Gregory Boyd's "The Myth of a Christian Nation"

I purchased this book after a friend recommended it to me, though I can't recall exactly when. It's been in one or another of my reading piles for quite some time. I purchased the book because of the recommendation, the reviews on Amazon, and the importance of this issue. What is the proper relationship between Christian faith and the State? 

Jacques Ellul addressed this issue in his False Presence of the Kingdom (1963), though he was not writing about American Christianity specifically. In The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (2005), Gregory A. Boyd critiques Christian nationalism in America in the 21st century. Like Ellul, Boyd, a theologian, pastor, and former Oneness Pentecostal who became an Anabaptist-influenced evangelical, argues that the kingdom of God is fundamentally distinct from earthly political kingdoms. Drawing from Jesus' teachings—especially the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7)—he contends that Christians err when they seek to wield "power over" others through politics, as this mimics the world's coercive methods rather than Christ's "power under" model of sacrificial love and service.

The book was sparked by a 2004 sermon series at Boyd's church (Woodland Hills in St. Paul, Minnesota), where nearly 1,000 members left after he refused to endorse Republican politics or display patriotic symbols. What put him in hot water was his belief that a "significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry." For some, the endgame is "taking America back for God."

When I think of the merger of Church and State, the Crusades testify that this is folly. And when I think of the Inquisition, it brings to mind a maxim that my mother was fond of saying: "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

Boyd suggests that Christians should engage society through personal ethics, not legislation; vote as informed citizens but avoid conflating faith with party loyalty. Boyd critiques both left and right for using God to justify agendas. 

The author's primary thesis is that political power corrupts the gospel's radical message, turning Christianity into a tool for control rather than transformation. 

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." It would help us much to spend time seriously thinking about what that means. Paul himself wrote, "My citizenship is in heaven," though on one occasion he appealed to Caesar (as a legal Roman citizen) to avoid an unjust trial in Jerusalem. 

Not everyone will agree with Boyd's arguments. Some might suggest he's overly simplistic. As the saying goes, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This are some who most definitely believe that abstaining from politics will cede ground to evil.

A portion of the book addresses our founding, noteworthy as we prepare to celebrate our 250th birthday. The founders did not revolt from England to form a "Christian nation." Though the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians and Deists, they deliberately built a secular republic with no religious test for office. 

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Returning to False Presence of the Kingdom (1963) Ellul critiqued the modern tendency—especially among well-intentioned Christians—to confuse human social action with the work of God’s Kingdom. Ellul warned that when Christians look for the Kingdom in their own accomplishments, they mistake activism for revelation, effectiveness for faithfulness, and political wins for spiritual reality—thus obscuring the true Kingdom that only God can bring.

Related Links 

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

False Presence of the Kingdom
Imaginary Interviews: My Visit with Leo Tolstoy