81
" Paul... informs us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” From a Kingdom perspective, if it’s got “flesh and blood”—if it’s human—it’s not our enemy. To the contrary, if it’s got “flesh and blood” it’s someone we’re commanded to love and thus someone we’re to be fighting for—even if they regard us as their enemy.
We may profoundly disagree with their political, ethical, and religious views. We may find their lifestyle disgusting. They may in fact be criminals that need to be locked up behind bars. They may threaten us and our nation. Still, from a Kingdom perspective, our struggle is never against other humans. Our struggle is rather for them and against the evil that works to oppress both them and us. "
― Gregory A. Boyd , The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution
93
" Consider an analogy. When people get married, they know they may divorce their spouse in the future if they choose to. At the same time, they do not enter into the marriage with a fear that the marriage will dissolve. They know that it is up to them to enter into the marriage and, if they so choose, to dissolve the marriage. But for just this reason the conditional nature of marriage does not make them insecure. Of course, if the stability of a marriage were rooted in factors outside their control, they would indeed have cause to worry. As it stands, however, it is conditioned on their own will. Hence, there are no grounds for insecurity. The same thing is true of salvation. It is conditioned on nothing other than the will of the person. Finally, "
― Gregory A. Boyd , Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology
97
" Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. However, because this book is designed for an evangelical audience, which in principle holds that Scripture is the final arbiter of theological truth (sola scriptura), and because these essays are brief and introductory in nature, the emphasis in most essays is on defending each position biblically. We encourage teachers and students to integrate more thoroughly considerations of tradition, reason, and experience as they critically evaluate various positions. 5. "
― Gregory A. Boyd , Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology