Introduction (Volume 2)

Introduction: Something Else is Going On

In this brief introduction to volume 2, Boyd creates a fictitious analogy and outlines the 4 principles of his cruciform thesis.

The analogy, which will be referred to throughout the book, involves Boyd seeing his good wife behaving badly. Rather than dismissing that it's her (clearly it is) or believing that she's changed (how could that be?), he believes his only viable option would be to hold fast to the faith he has in his wife and try to find some reinterpretation (what else is going on?) of what he has seen. Boyd acknowledges that analogies all break down, but he believes this one may prove helpful throughout volume 2.

The 4 principles Boyd will put forward are 1) The Principle of Cruciform Accmmodation (if God stooped and appeared ugly on the cross, then perhaps God stooped and became ugly in the Old Testament literature too). 2) The Principle of Redemptive Withdrawal (The Father didn't act violently toward Jesus, but simply withdrew His protective presence, so maybe in the OT we're not seeing actual divine violence but withdrawal). 3) The Principle of Cosmic Conflict (the violence carried out against Jesus was more than just human-- it was demonic-- so maybe there was demonic activity in the violent texts of the OT as well). 4) The Principle of Semi-autonomous Power (If, when God entrusts agents with authority, He doesn't meticulously control their use of that authority, this might explain some of the supernatural violence found in the OT text).

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I look forward to volume 2!