Gregory A. Boyd (born June 2, 1957) is an American

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, and author. Boyd is Senior Pastor of Woodland Hills Church in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

and President of Reknew.org. He is one of the leading spokesmen in the growing Neo-Anabaptism movement, which is based in the tradition of Anabaptism and advocates

Christian pacifism Christian pacifism is the Christian theology, theological and Christian ethics, ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is inco ...

and a non-violent understanding of God. Boyd has also long been known as a leading advocate of open theism. In addition, he is known for his writings on the relationship between

Christianity and politics The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout the history of Christianity, as well as in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left. The ...

, including his best-selling book '' The Myth of a Christian Nation'', which was written after ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published a front-page cover article on Boyd's criticism of the

Christian right The Christian right are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation ...

. In 2010, Boyd was listed as one of the twenty most influential living Christian scholars. In addition to ''The New York Times'', Boyd has also made appearances on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, NPR, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and '' The Charlie Rose Show''.

Early life, education, and teaching career

Boyd was raised as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

but became an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

as a teenager. In 1974, at the age of 16, he converted to

Oneness Pentecostalism Oneness Pentecostalism (also known as Apostolic Pentecostalism, Jesus' Name Pentecostalism, or the Oneness movement) is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian branch of Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Christianity that emphasizes the absolute oneness o ...

, but later began questioning the movement's teachings. Finally, in late 1979, he became an orthodox

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. After earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in philosophy from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, he attended

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

, graduating ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1982. He then attended

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

, earning a PhD in 1987, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

''. While at Princeton he was a classmate of Bart Ehrman and a student of

Bruce Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of th ...

. Boyd was then Professor of Theology at Bethel University for sixteen years. He resigned after there was a dispute between himself and some of the professors there over his open theism advocacy. Greg Boyd now teaches at Bethel University on an adjunct basis. In 1992 Boyd co-founded Woodland Hills Church.

Thought

Boyd's Princeton dissertation (published as ''Trinity and Process'') was a critique of the

process theology Process theology is a type of theology developed from Alfred North Whitehead's (1861–1947) process philosophy, but most notably by Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000), John B. Cobb (1925–2024), and Eugene H. Peters (1929–1983). Process ...

of Charles Hartshorne. Here, he attempts to construct a philosophical theology that retains the positive features of a process worldview, while avoiding its unorthodox implications. Boyd is also a former Oneness Pentecostal, and wrote the book ''Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity'' (1992), critiquing the movement's anti-trinitarian view of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and other doctrines. Boyd is also known as one of the leading supporters of open theism, which he explores in the book ''God of the Possible'' (2000). In essence, open theism is the view that the future is partly open, and therefore known to God partly as a realm of possibilities. Proponents of the conservative or traditional view of God within the Baptist General Conference, such as John Piper, tried unsuccessfully to have the rules of the denomination changed to exclude Boyd and other open theists. He is widely known for his 1994 book, ''Letters from a Skeptic'', a collection of letters written by Boyd and his father Edward, who was an atheist at the time. Through the course of their correspondence, Boyd addressed many of the perennial intellectual challenges to the Christian faith, which led to his father's conversion. Boyd was featured in a front-page ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' profile in July 2006 after losing 20% of his congregation, which Boyd attributed to his refusal to lend his public support to conservative political causes and his claim that American evangelical Christianity was too politicized. In his view, the

Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

always looks like

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, whom Boyd describes as not seeking to maintain control or power over others, but instead self-sacrificially serving and loving them. Therefore, according to Boyd, the gospel cannot be associated with any particular political or nationalistic ideology. The congregational loss came after his 2004 sermon series called "The Cross and the Sword." As a result of the sermon series he authored the book ''The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church'' (2006), in which he argues that a commitment to non-violence and to loving one's enemies lies at the heart of the teachings of Jesus. Boyd further discussed these views in the

documentary '' God's Warriors'', which aired in August 2007. In a more recent book, ''The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution'' (2009), he presents his understanding of what the Kingdom of God is. In 2012 Woodland Hills Church began exploring

Anabaptism Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

and the possibility of affiliating with Mennonite Church USA and the Brethren in Christ. Boyd stated that "we've really been kind of growing in this direction since the church started, without knowing what Anabaptism was." During the exploration, leadership asked the congregation to read Stuart Murray's ''The Naked Anabaptist'', and the church has met with Anabaptist groups. He is also a notable figure in

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

scholarship and the Quest for the Historical Jesus. He is critical of liberal scholarship as typified by the

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...

as well as the individual work of scholars like John Dominic Crossan and Burton Mack. He has participated in numerous public debates, most notably with friend Robert M. Price and

Dan Barker Daniel Edwin Barker (born June 25, 1949) is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor ar ...

on the

historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity deno ...

of the New Testament and related matters. His first book in this area was ''Cynic Sage or Son of God?'' (1995). More recently, his book (co-authored with Paul Rhodes Eddy), ''The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition'' (2007) won the 2008 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (Biblical Studies category). He has written on, and advocates for, the doctrine of Christian conditionalism or annihilationism. He was also one of the most prominent supporters of Rob Bell's controversial book ''Love Wins'', offering an endorsement on the back of the book. Boyd appears in the 2012 documentary film '' Hellbound'', encouraging Christians to have a more open mind about heaven, hell, and salvation. Boyd is also a contributor to the BioLogos Foundation and has written extensively about reconciling Christianity and evolution.

God at War

Boyd has argued that if we assume that the Christian God is not absolutely all-powerful, it becomes logical that he is all-good. In his book ''God at War'', he elaborates on this God. Boyd contends that God is at war and sometimes fails, which explains outcomes that are calamitous for humans. Boyd is known for his academic work on the topics of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, the

problem of evil The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ...

spiritual warfare Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritual warfa ...

, and the

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

ic. He is authoring a series of books, titled ''Satan and Evil'' (produced by InterVarsity Press), two volumes of which have already been published: ''God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict'' (1997) and ''Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy'' (2001). In between numerous other projects, he has been at work on the next installment of this series, tentatively titled ''The Myth of the Blueprint'', which is now planned as a two-volume work with roughly 1,000 pages to each volume. Boyd is also a contributor to the 2012 book ''Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views'' (eds. J. Beilby and P. R. Eddy, Baker Academic). Related to this, Boyd supports the Christus Victor model of the atonement.

Personal life

Boyd is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and plays the drums. Boyd has grown children with his wife, Shelley, to whom he's been married for over thirty years.

Books

*''Trinity and Process: A Critical Evaluation and Reconstruction of Hartshorne's Di-Polar Theism Towards a Trinitarian Metaphysics'' (1992) *''Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity'' (1992) *''Cynic Sage or Son of God?'' (1995) *''Jesus Under Siege'' (1995) *''Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity'' (1994); reprint edition, 2008 *''God at War: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict'' (1997) *''God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God'' (2000) *''Satan & the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy'' (2001) *''Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology'' (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2002) *''Is God to Blame?: Moving Beyond Pat Answers to the Problem of Evil'' (2003) *''Seeing Is Believing: Experience Jesus Through Imaginative Prayer'' (2004) *''Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God'' (2004) *''Escaping The Matrix: Setting Your Mind Free To Experience Real Life In Christ'' (with Al Larson) (2005) *'' The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church'' (2006) *''The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition'' (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2007) *''Lord or Legend?: Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma'' (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) (2007) *''The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution'' (2009) *''Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now'' (2010) *''Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty'' (2013) *''The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Volumes 1 & 2'' (2017) *''Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence'' (2017) *''Inspired Imperfection: How the Bible's Problems Enhance Its Divine Authority'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Gregory A. 1957 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Protestant theologians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Anabaptists American Anabaptists American Christian pacifists American male non-fiction writers Anabaptist ministers Anabaptist theologians Anabaptist writers Annihilationists Bethel University (Minnesota) faculty Christian radicals Converts to Anabaptism Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism Former Roman Catholics Princeton Theological Seminary alumni University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Yale Divinity School alumni 20th-century Anabaptists