Cross Vision Study Guide

Gregory A. Boyd, Deacon Godsey

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781506449487
• eBook ISBN: 9781506449494
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

In his revolutionary book Cross Vision, Gregory A. Boyd proposed his groundbreaking "cruciform hermeneutic," a way for Christians to make sense of the violence of the Old Testament by seeing it through the crucifixion of Jesus. Now Boyd has teamed up with pastor Deacon Godsey to develop this study guide for individuals and groups. Using this guide, readers can work through Cross Vision chapter by chapter, consider various stories from the Bible, and hear from Boyd about questions that have come up since he wrote the book. The Cross Vision Study Guide is an essential aid for anyone wrestling with depictions of a violent God, yet living with faith in a peaceful Christ.

1

Appendix 1: The Cruciform Hermeneutic in Summary

Cross Vision (CV) is a short summary overview of Greg’s larger work Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Interpreting the Old Testament’s Violent Portraits of God in Light of The Cross (CWG) in which Greg lays out his proposal for biblical interpretation called “the cruciform hermeneutic.” In CV it’s expressed as:

The Cornerstone	The Foundation of the Cross Vision Principles
The crucified Christ is the perfect revelation of God’s love and the key to interpreting the violent passages of God in the Old Testament	1. The cross is the definitive revelation of God 2. All Scripture is breathed by God, so nothing can be dismissed. 3. Our understanding of God’s “breathing” must be anchored in the cross. 4. All Scripture is interpreted through the lens of the cross 5. The cross reveals a God who will not coerce people into believing the truth.

In CV, the cruciform hermeneutic results in four cross-centered insights that help disclose how various violent portraits of God point to the cross. The chart below summarizes these insights and demonstrates how they are anchored in the cross.

The Heavenly Missionary and Divine Withdrawal	The Aikido Nature of God’s Judgment	The Cosmic Conflict between God and the Powers of Darkness	The Misuse of Divinely Given Supernatural Power
In the OT, God is like a “heavenly missionary” who willingly accommodates the limited perspectives of God’s people to maintain relationship with them until the full revelation of God in the crucified Christ takes place. The death of Christ on the cross reveals God stooping to accommodate our sinfulness and taking on its ugly appearance, despite Jesus’s beautiful innocence.	The judgment for sin is built into sin itself; God uses a form of “divine aikido,” withdrawing God’s protection to allow the self-destructive power of sin to run its course. The death of Christ on the cross reveals God withdrawing divine protection so sin and evil can run their full course and ultimately self-destruct.	Much of the OT language about violence must be understood in the context of the cosmology of the ANE with its historically rooted understanding of “spiritual warfare.” The death of Christ on the cross reveals God conquering the cosmic powers and doing so in a way that God’s cosmic enemies did not anticipate.	When God endows individuals with supernatural power, he does not control how this power gets used. And some biblical characters misused divine power. The death of Jesus on the cross only came about because Jesus fully submitted the use of his God-given supernatural authority to the Father’s will.

In CWG, the basic content is the same as the above, but the categories are presented as four specific cross-based principles (see diagram below): (1) The Principle of Cruciform Accommodation, (2) The Principle of Redemptive Withdrawal, (3) The Principle of Cosmic Conflict, and (4) The Principle of Semiautonomous Power.

Readers of CV who are looking for a broader, more academic discussion of each of these principles are encouraged to walk through CWG. I promise you, the challenge of engaging with that material is well worth the effort!

2

Appendix 2: Truth Priorities

When considering the cruciform hermeneutic, it’s important to understand how much significance to give this type of approach. At Greg’s church (Woodland Hills) their teaching team uses the diagram below to help determine what level of priority (i.e., how much “weight”) to give various perspectives and ideas.

The center of this “truth priorities” diagram is the crucified Christ. Greg encourages believers to anchor their ultimate well-being—that is, their innermost need to feel worthwhile, significant, and secure—in the crucified Christ. Greg refers to this core need as the hunger for “LIFE.” So long as we rely on Christ alone for our LIFE, we could be mistaken about all our other beliefs, and it would not fundamentally alter our core well-being. Conversely, if we’re not relying on Christ to meet this core need, we will be tempted to get LIFE from the rightness of a multitude of other things we believe. This is religious idolatry, and it explains why so many people feel threatened when others challenge their beliefs.

The layer outside the crucified Christ contains the historic dogmas that have defined the historic orthodox church throughout history. These dogmas reflect what all Christians have in common regardless of what denominational tradition they come from and are largely (though not exclusively) summed up in the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed.

The next layer contains the various doctrines of the church, representing various interpretations of the dogmas and illustrating how followers of Jesus don’t always see eye-to-eye on some of the specifics of our shared Christian faith. For example, all orthodox Christians affirm the dogma that God providentially rules the world, but they espouse different doctrines regarding what this entails. Some believe God’s providence means that everything that happens is in accordance with God’s will, while others hold that God allows the free choices of angels and humans to affect what comes to pass.

The outer-most layer consists of all other theological opinions that individuals or groups have espoused on a variety of topics but that haven’t been made into a doctrine by any major Christian denomination. They illustrate the numerous ways people across the Christian spectrum have tried to wrestle with specific Scriptures and concepts, how to understand those ideas, and how to apply them to the Christian life. These are things that faithful Christians should feel free to disagree on and should never divide over.

When it comes to the cruciform hermeneutic, Greg specifically puts this method of interpretation in the category of “opinion.” As he has said, “This is my way of wrestling with a very difficult issue. There is no denomination that is formed on this approach, and we aren’t going to start one. I am offering this to people who are struggling with the violent passages of God in the OT. If it works for you, wonderful! If not, find something better and let me know about it!”

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Introduction
• The Problem and a Looking-Glass Solution
• Biblical, Historical, and Ancient Cultural Support
• The True Nature of God’s Judgment
• Seeing Something Else through the Looking-Glass Cross
• Appendix 1: The Cruciform Hermeneutic in Summary
• Appendix 2: Truth Priorities