Renowned pastor-theologian Gregory A. Boyd proposes a revolutionary way to read the Bible in this epic but accessible study. His "cruciform hermeneutic" stands as a challenge to the field of biblical studies and to all thoughtful Christians. A dramatic tension confronts every Christian believer and interpreter of Scripture: on the one hand, we encounter Old Testament stories of God commanding horrendous violence. On the other hand, we read the unequivocally nonviolent teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Reconciling these two has challenged Christians and theologians for two millennia. Throughout Christian history, various answers have been proposed, ranging from the long-rejected explanation that these contrasting depictions are of two entirely different "gods" to recent social, cultural, and literary theories that attempt to dispel the conflict. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God takes up this dramatic tension and the range of proposed answers in an ambitious constructive investigation. Over two volumes, Gregory A. Boyd argues that we must take seriously the full range of Scripture as inspired, including its violent depictions of God. At the same time, he affirms the absolute centrality of the crucified and risen Christ as the supreme revelation of God. Developing a theological interpretation of Scripture that he labels a "cruciform hermeneutic," Boyd demonstrates how the Bible's violent images of God are reframed and their violence subverted when interpreted through the lens of the cross and resurrection. Indeed, when read in this way, Boyd argues that these violent depictions bear witness to the same self-sacrificial nature of God that was ultimately revealed on the cross. - Publisher
In an epic constructive investigation, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God addresses the tension between Scripture's violent depictions of God and the non-violent, self-sacrificial God that was supremely revealed on the cross. Over two volumes, author Gregory A. Boyd develops a theological interpretation of Scripture that he labels a "cruciform hermeneutic," and he argues that this cruciform way of reading Scripture reframes its violent divine portraits in a way that subverts their violence and that discloses how they bear witness to the revelation of God's non-violent love in the crucified Christ. --
Volume 1. The cruciform hermeneutic -- Part I. The centrality of the crucified Christ -- The faith of Jacob : wrestling with "strange" and "alien" portraits of God -- The true face of God : the absoluteness of the revelation of God in Christ -- Finding Jesus in the Old Testament : the Christocentric hermeneutic of the early church -- The cruciform center, part 1 : the cross as the supreme revelation of God -- The cruciform center, part 2 : the cross as the thematic center of the gospel -- Is the centrality of the cross thesis defensible? : responding to objections -- Part II. The problem of divine violence -- The dark side of the Bible : taking a hard look at scripture's "texts of terror" -- Wrestling with Yahweh's violence, part 1 : the dismissal solution -- Wrestling with Yahweh's violence, part 2 : the synthesis solution -- Part III. The cruciform hermeneutic -- A meaning worthy of God : the reinterpretation solution -- Through the lens of the cross : finding the crucified Christ in violent depictions of God -- Interpreting scripture as God's word : the cruciform hermeneutic and the theological interpretation of scripture
Volume 2. The cruciform thesis -- Part IV. The principle of cruciform accommodation -- The "masks" of a humble God : revelation and the eternal outpouring of the Triune God -- The heavenly missionary : Yahweh's accommodation of the law, nationalism, and violence -- Part V. The principle of redemptive withdrawal -- Divine Aikido : the cross as the revelation of God's "wrath" -- Crime and punishment : divine withdrawal and the self-destructive nature of sin -- Doing and allowing : the crucicentric significance of scripture's dual speech pattern -- A question of divine culpability : responding to objections to the principle of redemptive withdrawal -- Defending divine genocide : the inadequacy of traditional defenses of the conquest narrative -- When God's nonviolent plans fail : the cruciform interpretation of the conquest narrative -- Part VI. The principle of cosmic conflict -- The battle of the gods : cosmic conflict and the Old Testament -- Caught in the cross fire : cosmic conflict and the New Testament -- When hell breaks loose : redemptive withdrawal and cosmic conflict -- The dragon-swallowing dragon : examples of cosmic-level Aikido warfare -- Part VII. The principle of semiautonomous power -- Mauling bears and a lethal palladium : when divine power gets misused
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