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The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society
“This book is an intellectual masterpiece; it is first rate scholarship – a theological and historical gem… it is the theological apologetic to act out God’s truth in every sphere of life in 21st century Britain and beyond… This book is changing lives.” Andrea Williams. CEO, Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre. “The most comprehensive and cogent argument for the perpetuity of God’s moral law as it relates to civil legislation written in 40 years… A breath of fresh air amid both the hermeneutical nihilism and pietism retreatism in the modern church… An intellectual for to be reckoned with.” Dr P. Andrew Sandlin, President Center for Cultural Leadership, California “Bold, provocative and illuminating, The Mission of God is a potential game changer for modern societies. It challenges the secular modus vivendi and summons the Christian church to applied biblical radicalism.” Jonathan Burnside, Professor of Biblical Law at the University of Bristol
868 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 10, 2014
194 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Boot
31 books77 followersRev. Dr. Joseph Boot (M.A., Ph.D.) is a cultural theologian, leading Christian apologist, founding pastor of Westminster Chapel in Toronto and founder of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity (EICC). Originally from Great Britain, he served with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries for seven years as an apologist based in Oxford England and Toronto Canada. Joe has spoken all over the world in 25 countries at numerous universities, seminaries, churches, colleges, and conferences from Eton College and Oxford University, to Forman University in Lahore, Pakistan. He regularly addresses pastors and Christian leaders as well as medical, legal, and business professionals in North America, Britain, and the Middle East and has publicly debated leading atheistic thinkers and philosophers in Canada and the United States.
Joe did his undergraduate studies in Theology (Birmingham Christian College, U.K), earned his Master’s degree in Mission Theology (University of Manchester U.K), and holds a Ph.D. in Christian Intellectual Thought (WTS, Florida USA). A contributing author to Thomas Nelson’s major Christian apologetics volume, Beyond Opinion, Joe’s other apologetic works include Searching for Truth (Crossway), Why I Still Believe (Baker), and How Then Shall We Answer (New Wine) which have been published in Europe and North America. His most recent book, The Mission of God, is a systematic work of cultural theology exploring the biblical worldview as it relates to the Christian’s mission in the world. Joe serves as Senior Fellow for the cultural and apologetics think-tank truthXchange in Southern California; is Senior Fellow of cultural philosophy for the California based Centre for Cultural Leadership and serves as faculty for both the Wilberforce Academy in Cambridge U.K and The Alliance Defending Freedom’s Blackstone Legal Academy in Phoenix Arizona. In 2011 Joe was recognized by Toronto’s Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection as ‘Best Preacher Apologist’ for his contribution to apologetic and expository preaching. Joe is general editor of the Ezra Institute’s Journal, Jubilee, serves as chancellor for Westminster Classical Christian Academy, and has regularly been heard on Toronto radio, and seen on Sun News Network. Joe lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife, Jenny, and their three children: Naomi, Hannah, and Isaac.
Joe did his undergraduate studies in Theology (Birmingham Christian College, U.K), earned his Master’s degree in Mission Theology (University of Manchester U.K), and holds a Ph.D. in Christian Intellectual Thought (WTS, Florida USA). A contributing author to Thomas Nelson’s major Christian apologetics volume, Beyond Opinion, Joe’s other apologetic works include Searching for Truth (Crossway), Why I Still Believe (Baker), and How Then Shall We Answer (New Wine) which have been published in Europe and North America. His most recent book, The Mission of God, is a systematic work of cultural theology exploring the biblical worldview as it relates to the Christian’s mission in the world. Joe serves as Senior Fellow for the cultural and apologetics think-tank truthXchange in Southern California; is Senior Fellow of cultural philosophy for the California based Centre for Cultural Leadership and serves as faculty for both the Wilberforce Academy in Cambridge U.K and The Alliance Defending Freedom’s Blackstone Legal Academy in Phoenix Arizona. In 2011 Joe was recognized by Toronto’s Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection as ‘Best Preacher Apologist’ for his contribution to apologetic and expository preaching. Joe is general editor of the Ezra Institute’s Journal, Jubilee, serves as chancellor for Westminster Classical Christian Academy, and has regularly been heard on Toronto radio, and seen on Sun News Network. Joe lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife, Jenny, and their three children: Naomi, Hannah, and Isaac.
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April 13, 2021
Joseph Boot’s “The Mission of God” is an expansive, manifesto for the people of God to realize the Puritan vision for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Boot follows a neglected, but well-worn path, in attempting to re-cast a Christian vision for making disciples of all nations.
Boot’s central idea, is that the evangelical church has neglected biblical law, impoverishing the “gospel and the kingdom reign of God.” He argues that in neglecting the law of God, evangelicals instead “look to secular social and political theories, drawn from non-Christian philosophical ideas, to help define and accomplish the work of the kingdom of God rather than resting in and building upon the clear instruction of God’s word.” P. 36
This is worked out in manifold ways, which Boot goes to great lengths to demonstrate and rebut. He argues “for the necessity of a recovery of applied biblical faith to every area of life—a vision of human life and affairs that was…best exemplified so far in our history by the Puritans, prominent heirs of the Reformation.” P. 48 Boot argues that in the Puritans, we find “submission to God…in every…sphere of life. Their principle of interpretation was the hermeneutic of surrender, not suspicion, and God’s word was for them the final word in all things..” p. 63
Boot works all of this out as he explores the Puritan vision for the kingdom of God, including eschatology, missions, history, civics, justice, culture, education, family, apologetics, evangelism, and the church. If this sounds comprehensive and grand—it is. The book is long, though never tedious, and passionate without becoming didactic.
The bibliography is twenty-two pages long, so it is clear that Boot has read widely and is integrating a great many thinkers and ideas together. It becomes clear rather quickly, however, that R.J. Rushdoony features prominently in Boot’s argumentation. Two pages of the bibliography are Rushdoony works—a remarkably bold decision with Rushdoony never really having come into favor in evangelical circles. But Boot is not ashamed to lean upon him—even devoting an appendix to defending his use of Rushdoony.
As much as he quotes the controversial theonomist, Boot is integrating Rushdoony’s ideas, not uncritically adopting them. Boot is applying the Puritan vision, which he sees in Rushdoony, who he calls a modern-day Puritan, not simply re-packaging theonomy.
Those familiar with Rushdoony will recognize many of his ideas—not whether, but which; the inescapability of law being religious; the one and the many; the importance of the Council of Chalcedon; etc.
Boot recognizes the foe has created an alternate, statist vision for the world, and it is only Christianity armed with the whole counsel of God that can triumph over it. He writes, “any missiological vision which does not have in view the undermining of the pretensions of statism is deficient at best and working within a humanistic and statist paradigm at worst.” P. 147
In a prescient passage, he anticipates the statist response to a crisis, such as was accomplished through the statist responses to COVID-19. He writes, “Utopian power and control require the political use of coercion with the state, functioning as ‘man enlarged,’ being the sole source of law and sovereign authority. It further requires the manipulation of nature in terms of organizational ‘science’ to eliminate uncertainty and demonstrate this omni-competence. Such a vision if obviously dystopian since it requires totalitarianism.” He concludes, “Total power is then an essential requirement to bring about the new utopia which mankind is said to both need and be destined for. Even if most people don’t understand this destiny, the new philosopher kings, the elite social planners believe they understand, and more importantly, know what is best for the rest of us.” 169
Without the law of God as the standard, man creates a hell on earth to mete out human justice, since “God’s covenantal judgments in history are denied…man needs to create for himself a purely world-bound and temporal court for absolute judgment, and consign men to an immanent hell for disobedience.” P. 179
Christians typically prefer to lean upon natural law, in an effort to appeal to a more ‘neutral’ or “non-religious paradigm…for engagement with the ‘secular’ sphere.” But, as Boot observes, natural law falls apart “as soon as the religious consensus is lost, people’s vision of what ‘natural law’ is becomes totally disparate or is abandoned altogether.” P. 265 In arguing against natural law, he is, of course, following Rushdoony, who holds that “lasting personal, social and political liberty [is] not possible apart from orthodox Christianity and the upholding of God’s law.” P. 268
Lest he let his readers think that this vision is a novel, or perhaps even theocratic one, Boot shows how this was in fact the foundation for western jurisprudence—particularly in the English Common Law tradition—the foundation for the justice systems in Canada and the United States, not to mention others. It wasn’t even that long ago that laws against sexual deviancy, abortion, divorce, and more were all legislated and enforced!
Having abandoned biblical law, or at least a more faithful version of it than what remains today, we instead “coddle the criminal…and thereby show little care for the victim.” P. 344 But according to “biblical penology”, “the end in view” is “a vision of social peace, and hope for a godly culture that is surrendered to the righteousness and justice of a covenant-keeping God, whose great love is made manifest by the restitution effected by Christ’s redemptive work, and his grace expressed socially in a system of restorative justice where human flourishing within self-giving community can take place.” P. 354 That isn’t quite the theocratic tyranny that critics of theonomy would have you fear.
Naturally, Boot must answer the “two kingdom” theorists, who would have Christians stay out of the culture wars and focus on preaching the gospel. He again points out that the two kingdoms view is only tenable within the confines of a culture “already …under the influence of the gospel.” As the shared presuppositions begin to erode, so too does the culture. P. 382
Toward the end of the book, Boot asks the important question, “What happened? Where did the vital vision of… Puritan theologians for the church’s mission disappear to and why?” His first answer is the Enlightenment banished religion to the private sphere, “leaving the public sphere to reason.” He argues that some Christians have even followed this path. Others have followed the path of “pietism”—with their goal of “simply advancing [their] personal spiritual growth.” This group “divorces faith and reason, seeking to locate the faith essentially in human feelings and experience alone.” P. 526 But the “most popular response amongst Protestants has been the radical privatization of the faith”—what has become “’Christian’ political pluralism.” P. 527
But the answer, according to Boot, “is in fact a simple return to the whole council [sic] of God in Scripture and a revival of a Puritan theology of mission.” P. 531 For us, this means a return to the law of God and its application to the whole of life. This grand vision is a return to our roots—the roots that founded Christendom, and which in abandoning, has led to the near total ruin the west is currently undergoing. Whoever picks up the mantle of God’s authoritative law-word, will begin to build a new Christendom—hopefully built on a more solid foundation than the synergistic one built the first time. But build it they will, with the Word of God as the standard by which all things are measured.
This is one of the most important books written in the twenty-first century, as it advances the work of important twentieth-century thinkers, but more importantly, the Puritans of old, who sought to build God’s kingdom through his appointed means. May we, in this generation, join them!
Boot’s central idea, is that the evangelical church has neglected biblical law, impoverishing the “gospel and the kingdom reign of God.” He argues that in neglecting the law of God, evangelicals instead “look to secular social and political theories, drawn from non-Christian philosophical ideas, to help define and accomplish the work of the kingdom of God rather than resting in and building upon the clear instruction of God’s word.” P. 36
This is worked out in manifold ways, which Boot goes to great lengths to demonstrate and rebut. He argues “for the necessity of a recovery of applied biblical faith to every area of life—a vision of human life and affairs that was…best exemplified so far in our history by the Puritans, prominent heirs of the Reformation.” P. 48 Boot argues that in the Puritans, we find “submission to God…in every…sphere of life. Their principle of interpretation was the hermeneutic of surrender, not suspicion, and God’s word was for them the final word in all things..” p. 63
Boot works all of this out as he explores the Puritan vision for the kingdom of God, including eschatology, missions, history, civics, justice, culture, education, family, apologetics, evangelism, and the church. If this sounds comprehensive and grand—it is. The book is long, though never tedious, and passionate without becoming didactic.
The bibliography is twenty-two pages long, so it is clear that Boot has read widely and is integrating a great many thinkers and ideas together. It becomes clear rather quickly, however, that R.J. Rushdoony features prominently in Boot’s argumentation. Two pages of the bibliography are Rushdoony works—a remarkably bold decision with Rushdoony never really having come into favor in evangelical circles. But Boot is not ashamed to lean upon him—even devoting an appendix to defending his use of Rushdoony.
As much as he quotes the controversial theonomist, Boot is integrating Rushdoony’s ideas, not uncritically adopting them. Boot is applying the Puritan vision, which he sees in Rushdoony, who he calls a modern-day Puritan, not simply re-packaging theonomy.
Those familiar with Rushdoony will recognize many of his ideas—not whether, but which; the inescapability of law being religious; the one and the many; the importance of the Council of Chalcedon; etc.
Boot recognizes the foe has created an alternate, statist vision for the world, and it is only Christianity armed with the whole counsel of God that can triumph over it. He writes, “any missiological vision which does not have in view the undermining of the pretensions of statism is deficient at best and working within a humanistic and statist paradigm at worst.” P. 147
In a prescient passage, he anticipates the statist response to a crisis, such as was accomplished through the statist responses to COVID-19. He writes, “Utopian power and control require the political use of coercion with the state, functioning as ‘man enlarged,’ being the sole source of law and sovereign authority. It further requires the manipulation of nature in terms of organizational ‘science’ to eliminate uncertainty and demonstrate this omni-competence. Such a vision if obviously dystopian since it requires totalitarianism.” He concludes, “Total power is then an essential requirement to bring about the new utopia which mankind is said to both need and be destined for. Even if most people don’t understand this destiny, the new philosopher kings, the elite social planners believe they understand, and more importantly, know what is best for the rest of us.” 169
Without the law of God as the standard, man creates a hell on earth to mete out human justice, since “God’s covenantal judgments in history are denied…man needs to create for himself a purely world-bound and temporal court for absolute judgment, and consign men to an immanent hell for disobedience.” P. 179
Christians typically prefer to lean upon natural law, in an effort to appeal to a more ‘neutral’ or “non-religious paradigm…for engagement with the ‘secular’ sphere.” But, as Boot observes, natural law falls apart “as soon as the religious consensus is lost, people’s vision of what ‘natural law’ is becomes totally disparate or is abandoned altogether.” P. 265 In arguing against natural law, he is, of course, following Rushdoony, who holds that “lasting personal, social and political liberty [is] not possible apart from orthodox Christianity and the upholding of God’s law.” P. 268
Lest he let his readers think that this vision is a novel, or perhaps even theocratic one, Boot shows how this was in fact the foundation for western jurisprudence—particularly in the English Common Law tradition—the foundation for the justice systems in Canada and the United States, not to mention others. It wasn’t even that long ago that laws against sexual deviancy, abortion, divorce, and more were all legislated and enforced!
Having abandoned biblical law, or at least a more faithful version of it than what remains today, we instead “coddle the criminal…and thereby show little care for the victim.” P. 344 But according to “biblical penology”, “the end in view” is “a vision of social peace, and hope for a godly culture that is surrendered to the righteousness and justice of a covenant-keeping God, whose great love is made manifest by the restitution effected by Christ’s redemptive work, and his grace expressed socially in a system of restorative justice where human flourishing within self-giving community can take place.” P. 354 That isn’t quite the theocratic tyranny that critics of theonomy would have you fear.
Naturally, Boot must answer the “two kingdom” theorists, who would have Christians stay out of the culture wars and focus on preaching the gospel. He again points out that the two kingdoms view is only tenable within the confines of a culture “already …under the influence of the gospel.” As the shared presuppositions begin to erode, so too does the culture. P. 382
Toward the end of the book, Boot asks the important question, “What happened? Where did the vital vision of… Puritan theologians for the church’s mission disappear to and why?” His first answer is the Enlightenment banished religion to the private sphere, “leaving the public sphere to reason.” He argues that some Christians have even followed this path. Others have followed the path of “pietism”—with their goal of “simply advancing [their] personal spiritual growth.” This group “divorces faith and reason, seeking to locate the faith essentially in human feelings and experience alone.” P. 526 But the “most popular response amongst Protestants has been the radical privatization of the faith”—what has become “’Christian’ political pluralism.” P. 527
But the answer, according to Boot, “is in fact a simple return to the whole council [sic] of God in Scripture and a revival of a Puritan theology of mission.” P. 531 For us, this means a return to the law of God and its application to the whole of life. This grand vision is a return to our roots—the roots that founded Christendom, and which in abandoning, has led to the near total ruin the west is currently undergoing. Whoever picks up the mantle of God’s authoritative law-word, will begin to build a new Christendom—hopefully built on a more solid foundation than the synergistic one built the first time. But build it they will, with the Word of God as the standard by which all things are measured.
This is one of the most important books written in the twenty-first century, as it advances the work of important twentieth-century thinkers, but more importantly, the Puritans of old, who sought to build God’s kingdom through his appointed means. May we, in this generation, join them!
August 29, 2017
The problem with most contemporary thought regarding missions is the tendency towards a truncated view of God’s plan for the world and Christians’ role within it. The strong focus on the salvation and transformation of individuals, and not so much on how this transformation can be externalized to communities and nations as well—a phenomenon which one Christian thinker refers to as a “flight to the interior.” This means that social thought has become monopolized by those who hold to non-Christian philosophies, who then get to frame the terms by which social thought is discussed. Even those Christians who try to articulate a social vision inadvertently borrow from these philosophies, rather than drawing from the resources of the Christian worldview.
It is good, then, that Dr. Joseph Boot has provided us in The Mission of God a comprehensive, well thought out treatise on how God’s plan does not just involve the salvation of individuals, but the transformation of the world to one that is characterized by godliness. He describes the purpose of the book as follows:
"I have endeavoured in the following pages, to further biblical faith and life through what I hope is an engaging analysis of key themes in contemporary missiology through a reformed, puritan lens. This is done, not simply out of an academic interest in missiological concerns, but because I genuinely believe that the core elements of Puritan thought must be restated with relevance in our time, as central to both the recovery of the church, and the Western world itself from the brink of disaster – a cultural auto-homicide" (p. 17).
In producing this treatise, Boot does not weave entirely news idea out of thin air, but draws upon historic Christianity, especially the Puritan movement that sprung out of the Protestant Reformation. He shows that Christianity provides a coherent social vision, that it alone can provide a stable foundation for society, and how our present societies will not be able to sustain themselves if they abandon those foundations.
The book is divided into two parts: Part One is “The Mission of God: Studies In A Biblical Perspective.” Here, Boot shows that Reformed Christianity did in the past provide a coherent framework for organizing a nation and its institutions. This framework has largely been abandoned in recent centuries as a result of the Enlightenment, as well as because of the rise of aberrant theological ideas such as Dispensationalism, which replaced the old optimistic Reformed outlook with a pessimistic one which mitigates the impetus for social transformation because the focus is instead turned to the removal of believers from this earth via a “secret rapture.” Those who still hold to some sort of Christian social vision do not rely on Biblical Law as their standard for justice, but impose extraneous ideologies to the scriptures. The most noteworthy (and radical) example given by Boot is “Liberation Theology,” which reinterprets the Bible in terms of Marxist class conflict and socialist redistribution. Against this, Boot proposes that Biblical Laws be taken in their own terms, and must be regarded not merely as the ethical code of a bygone era but as having continual relevance to the present day. The idea of the continuity of Old Testament Civil Law may be controversial in a modern Christian context that emphasizes grace over law, but Boot shows that, contrary to modern day mischaracterizations of the Law as being harsh and draconian, it provides the only reasonable standard for justice.
Part two of the book is called “The Reign of God.” Here, Boot fleshes out how a Biblical worldview applies to different areas of life. He speaks of the importance of God’s Word in framing a proper perspective on family life, as well as on the education of children. He shows how secular societies replace the family with the state in the rearing of children. This secular statism seeks to undermine the primacy of the family and fill the vacuum with its own institutions, contrary to Biblical law. He also speaks on Christian apologetics and the need to align our presuppositions with the Christian worldview, showing how modern philosophy short-circuits that a priori commitment by forcing us to commit to human autonomy. Finally, he speaks on evangelism and the church, showing their importance in God’s mission to transform the nations and bring them to obedience to Christ.
In the end, Joseph Boot shows the importance of the Christian faith and its social and ethical implications for bringing hope and justice to the world. All who seek the salvation of every nation, tribe and tongue should heed the biblical principles and injunctions he lays out throughout the book. As he writes towards the end:
"Through faith in Christ, this law and gospel is hope and victory for time and eternity. It is a covenant of hope that must be shared and declared, defended and lived. Christ promised that he would build his church, and hell itself would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). We must again in the Western world recover the vital mission of the church that sees its calling as applying the reign of Jesus Christ in all creation" (p. 470).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand our ethical and social responsibilities in light of the Christian faith, whether they are active in the realms of commerce, politics, science, the arts, or pastoral ministry.
It is good, then, that Dr. Joseph Boot has provided us in The Mission of God a comprehensive, well thought out treatise on how God’s plan does not just involve the salvation of individuals, but the transformation of the world to one that is characterized by godliness. He describes the purpose of the book as follows:
"I have endeavoured in the following pages, to further biblical faith and life through what I hope is an engaging analysis of key themes in contemporary missiology through a reformed, puritan lens. This is done, not simply out of an academic interest in missiological concerns, but because I genuinely believe that the core elements of Puritan thought must be restated with relevance in our time, as central to both the recovery of the church, and the Western world itself from the brink of disaster – a cultural auto-homicide" (p. 17).
In producing this treatise, Boot does not weave entirely news idea out of thin air, but draws upon historic Christianity, especially the Puritan movement that sprung out of the Protestant Reformation. He shows that Christianity provides a coherent social vision, that it alone can provide a stable foundation for society, and how our present societies will not be able to sustain themselves if they abandon those foundations.
The book is divided into two parts: Part One is “The Mission of God: Studies In A Biblical Perspective.” Here, Boot shows that Reformed Christianity did in the past provide a coherent framework for organizing a nation and its institutions. This framework has largely been abandoned in recent centuries as a result of the Enlightenment, as well as because of the rise of aberrant theological ideas such as Dispensationalism, which replaced the old optimistic Reformed outlook with a pessimistic one which mitigates the impetus for social transformation because the focus is instead turned to the removal of believers from this earth via a “secret rapture.” Those who still hold to some sort of Christian social vision do not rely on Biblical Law as their standard for justice, but impose extraneous ideologies to the scriptures. The most noteworthy (and radical) example given by Boot is “Liberation Theology,” which reinterprets the Bible in terms of Marxist class conflict and socialist redistribution. Against this, Boot proposes that Biblical Laws be taken in their own terms, and must be regarded not merely as the ethical code of a bygone era but as having continual relevance to the present day. The idea of the continuity of Old Testament Civil Law may be controversial in a modern Christian context that emphasizes grace over law, but Boot shows that, contrary to modern day mischaracterizations of the Law as being harsh and draconian, it provides the only reasonable standard for justice.
Part two of the book is called “The Reign of God.” Here, Boot fleshes out how a Biblical worldview applies to different areas of life. He speaks of the importance of God’s Word in framing a proper perspective on family life, as well as on the education of children. He shows how secular societies replace the family with the state in the rearing of children. This secular statism seeks to undermine the primacy of the family and fill the vacuum with its own institutions, contrary to Biblical law. He also speaks on Christian apologetics and the need to align our presuppositions with the Christian worldview, showing how modern philosophy short-circuits that a priori commitment by forcing us to commit to human autonomy. Finally, he speaks on evangelism and the church, showing their importance in God’s mission to transform the nations and bring them to obedience to Christ.
In the end, Joseph Boot shows the importance of the Christian faith and its social and ethical implications for bringing hope and justice to the world. All who seek the salvation of every nation, tribe and tongue should heed the biblical principles and injunctions he lays out throughout the book. As he writes towards the end:
"Through faith in Christ, this law and gospel is hope and victory for time and eternity. It is a covenant of hope that must be shared and declared, defended and lived. Christ promised that he would build his church, and hell itself would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). We must again in the Western world recover the vital mission of the church that sees its calling as applying the reign of Jesus Christ in all creation" (p. 470).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand our ethical and social responsibilities in light of the Christian faith, whether they are active in the realms of commerce, politics, science, the arts, or pastoral ministry.
July 7, 2016
This is hands-down the best book I've ever read! It is a reminder of the full orbed worldview and life view that Christ's Kingdom is to be advanced in all areas of life, whether that be personal, family, church, and even *gasp,* civil government. The book delves into the misleading and damaging views the church has adopted and highlights the incapacitating nature of these views to the advancement of Christ's Kingdom in a culturally transformative way. Just read it! Every Christian needs to read it!
December 30, 2021
600 pages of the true Puritan/Biblical worldview... it's excellent. Highly recommended.
May 20, 2020
A masterpiece. Joe Boot gives a thorough examination of every day cultural matters, demonstrating the authority of the Bible applying to every area of life. Boot starts with a fantastic introduction on Puritan theology and then does a deep dive into cultural philosophy and practical theology. He tackles the dangers of dualism, God’s victory in history, God’s Law applied today, marriage, Christian education, apologetics, evangelism, as well the major theological errors the church has bought into including social justice, two kingdom theology, dispensationalism, and much more. This is a massive work that covers a lot of information in one volume. My only major critique is it could’ve been trimmed down in a few places. I’m confident this book will be one of my favorite reads of 2020. Highly recommend!
December 9, 2016
Definitivamente, este foi o melhor livro que li em 2016 ― e o melhor da pena de Boot, um teólogo e filósofo cristão dos nossos tempos com impressionante erudição. O livro lida com diversos aspectos da realidade (cultura, justiça, apologética, história, penologia, etc.) à luz da cosmovisão bíblica. Uma simples olhadela no sumário é suficiente para constatar a abrangência da obra. Com certeza visitarei _The Mission of God_ diversas vezes ao longo dos anos, principalmente enquanto preparo a tradução a ser publicada pela Editora Monergismo.
October 3, 2018
What a powerful, mind and heart shaping book. It was so refreshing but also very convicting to catch a fresh vision of the kingdom of God. The Kingdom is Jesus' unstoppable mission to redeem and heal us, and extend the realization of His merciful Lordship over every area of life. We have such a kind, gentle, but relentless King. I'm so grateful for his love and power, and re-motivated to stay faithful to His claim on my life because of the thorough and well articulated clarion call this book provided. You need to read this book.
May 15, 2021
As a book it is too long, poorly edited, and rambling.
As an argument it is incoherent and all over the place - the nuggets are buried amongst either small deserts or fragrant mistakes. Flagrant ones too.
As an exercise in trying to do theology or intellectual pursuit it is infuriating. Boot is remarkably uncharitable to fellow believers, and is willing to condemn some for the same sort of ‘mistake’ he dedicates an appendix to attempting to clear his hero of.
A very disappointing book, which I intend to review at length. If I can find the motivation.
As an argument it is incoherent and all over the place - the nuggets are buried amongst either small deserts or fragrant mistakes. Flagrant ones too.
As an exercise in trying to do theology or intellectual pursuit it is infuriating. Boot is remarkably uncharitable to fellow believers, and is willing to condemn some for the same sort of ‘mistake’ he dedicates an appendix to attempting to clear his hero of.
A very disappointing book, which I intend to review at length. If I can find the motivation.
August 2, 2018
Dr. Boot offers 600+ fantastic pages of biblical worldview. Every Christian should read this work. Culture is inescapable and retreat to Christian ghettos is not an option. The crowns rights of King Jesus extends to every fabric of the universe. Chapter 12 - Let My Children Go: The Christian Mandate to Educate is one of the most important chapters that we must all take careful note. Get it, read it, shared it.
November 4, 2024
This is a review of the second edition. If you’re interested in picking up a copy of this book, I suggest waiting a little longer for the 10th Anniversary Edition to be released.
There was one book I was most looking forward to reading this year, and it’s this one. In this work, Dr. Boot reflects the validity, and necessity, of the Church re-adopting the Puritan worldview in an increasingly post-Christian West. The Puritans are well known and loved for carrying on the principles of the Reformation, particularly in their writings concerning the doctrines of grace and personal piety. However, what they aren’t appreciated for as much are their robust applications of Scripture in matters of civil government and culture.
The Mission of God is a reflection of the importance of Biblically-founded lawmaking and culture building in furthering the growth of Christ’s Kingdom on earth through the Church. I cannot recommend it enough.
There was one book I was most looking forward to reading this year, and it’s this one. In this work, Dr. Boot reflects the validity, and necessity, of the Church re-adopting the Puritan worldview in an increasingly post-Christian West. The Puritans are well known and loved for carrying on the principles of the Reformation, particularly in their writings concerning the doctrines of grace and personal piety. However, what they aren’t appreciated for as much are their robust applications of Scripture in matters of civil government and culture.
The Mission of God is a reflection of the importance of Biblically-founded lawmaking and culture building in furthering the growth of Christ’s Kingdom on earth through the Church. I cannot recommend it enough.
June 10, 2025
Stunning book. We Christians need to understand that the gospel is not simply about individual salvation, but that Christ's kingship is over all. A great book to help overcome some of the unhelpful dualistic thinking we have fallen into. Some particularly good stuff on the Law and I also found the chapters on family and education, although to be honest, the whole book is littered with my highlighting! I certainly intend to read this again in the near future.
Completed again on September 12 2021. Having read this again, I look back and see how transformative it has been in my thinking.
Completed again on September 12 2021. Having read this again, I look back and see how transformative it has been in my thinking.
February 27, 2020
Joseph Boot argues strongly for the enduring cultural significance of the Christian worldview as he charts a path forward for Christians to continue the cultural work God has for the world. This is a doozy of a book to get through but Boot's writing style is clear and easy to follow. That being said, be prepared to have this by your nightstand for weeks to come.
August 14, 2021
A big fat red pill for 21st century evangelicalism. This is probably one of the top 5 most important books I've ever read.
Building on the work of Rushdoony, Van Til, and Bahnsen, Boot describes where we are as a society, how we got here, where we're going, and how to get there in light of the fact that Christ is king over every inch of life.
Building on the work of Rushdoony, Van Til, and Bahnsen, Boot describes where we are as a society, how we got here, where we're going, and how to get there in light of the fact that Christ is king over every inch of life.
October 17, 2020
Literally the best book I have ever read outside the Bible. Every Christian needs to read this book. It’s long but it’s packed with straight truth. It’s a eye opening blessing especially in a time like this.
February 21, 2020
Not for the faint of heart. Prophetic in it’s time.
April 6, 2021
An examination of the history of Puritan thought in the Protestant tradition on the role of the church in society. Boot takes a strong position against Two Kingdoms theology, as he articulates it, that the church ought to isolate itself from the operations of the state and culture. In doing so, he analyzes the distinction between ceremonial and moral laws in the Hebrew scriptures. He affirms that while the ceremonial law is fulfilled in Christ, both Christ and Paul are clear that the moral law continues into the Church Age, and that in the Great Commission itself can be seen the seeds of Christian culture building, which necessarily has consequences for statecraft. As a result, he attempts to craft as strong a case as possible for a balanced, bottom-up theonomic vision of culture and government.
Simultaneously, he emphasizes the impacts of eschatological thought on the self-perception of the church and its mission in society, and therefore, argues for an optimistic postmillenalism. For this, he relies heavily on modern Puritan thinkers, primarily Rushdoony and Bahnsen, to make the case for a presuppositional apologetic against postmodernist relativism as well as the modern conception that theonomy only arises from "religious" institutions. Boot argues that all people are religious in the sense that, as Christians appeal to God as the final source of truth and morality, so too do all positions reduce to their own absolute appeals to right, wrong, and truth. Likewise, all governments are theonomic, whether they take their moral law from the absolute authority of God or from themselves as rulers and lawmakers. By making the case presuppositionally, he seeks to prove Christian theonomy as the ideal and, if the Great Commission is to be taken as a promise, the inevitable end of society.
Simultaneously, he emphasizes the impacts of eschatological thought on the self-perception of the church and its mission in society, and therefore, argues for an optimistic postmillenalism. For this, he relies heavily on modern Puritan thinkers, primarily Rushdoony and Bahnsen, to make the case for a presuppositional apologetic against postmodernist relativism as well as the modern conception that theonomy only arises from "religious" institutions. Boot argues that all people are religious in the sense that, as Christians appeal to God as the final source of truth and morality, so too do all positions reduce to their own absolute appeals to right, wrong, and truth. Likewise, all governments are theonomic, whether they take their moral law from the absolute authority of God or from themselves as rulers and lawmakers. By making the case presuppositionally, he seeks to prove Christian theonomy as the ideal and, if the Great Commission is to be taken as a promise, the inevitable end of society.
January 12, 2021
How often do you hear about a book and get an idea in your mind of what it will be? And how often does the book deliver on that idea, that ‘promise’? For me, the answer is rarely. But The Mission of God delivered. It was the book I was looking for.
The book is an argument for a whole Christian Worldview based on the scriptures and modeled on the thinking of the Puritans, advocating for a sort of ‘neo-Puritanism’ (the good kind, not the cliched stereo-types). In so doing, the book analyses our current culture and how we got here, specifically as modern Christians have neglected the the Law of God as revealed in scripture and believed the lie that there an neutral spaces in the world (like education or politics). In leaving those spaces, they have been filled and we are seeing the fruit now.
The two chapters on Statism (Government as god) and Utopianism (seeking perfection on Earth) are clear analysis of where we are today and what is happening in the culture around us. These chapters alone are worth the price of the book.
After the analysis, Dr. Boot discusses all aspects of a Christian Worldview: how the Law should be applied, education, evangelism, epistemology, etc.
Well worth the time.
The book is an argument for a whole Christian Worldview based on the scriptures and modeled on the thinking of the Puritans, advocating for a sort of ‘neo-Puritanism’ (the good kind, not the cliched stereo-types). In so doing, the book analyses our current culture and how we got here, specifically as modern Christians have neglected the the Law of God as revealed in scripture and believed the lie that there an neutral spaces in the world (like education or politics). In leaving those spaces, they have been filled and we are seeing the fruit now.
The two chapters on Statism (Government as god) and Utopianism (seeking perfection on Earth) are clear analysis of where we are today and what is happening in the culture around us. These chapters alone are worth the price of the book.
After the analysis, Dr. Boot discusses all aspects of a Christian Worldview: how the Law should be applied, education, evangelism, epistemology, etc.
Well worth the time.
February 11, 2022
From my published review (https://mereorthodoxy.com/puritans-an... ): I have made the case that Boot’s treatment of the relationship between Theonomy and puritanism is tenuous at best. What I have tried to do is show that Boot misrepresents the puritan tradition that he argues exemplifies the best approach to political theology. If, as he says, church and society need to return to the puritan heritage and that the best way to do that is through the twentieth-century Theonomists like Rushdoony, Boot is in serious trouble. The puritans were a diverse group, many of whom espoused ideas directly at odds with Boot’s objectives like the Arminians and Antinomians. The paragon of political social theory, Oliver Cromwell, is likewise problematic for Boot. If post-Enlightenment Christians are guilty of using pagan sources like natural law, the puritans are of no help, because they made use of such sources themselves for their political theology. Problems with The Mission of God go beyond Boot’s misunderstanding of the Reformed and puritan traditions, but I will leave it to others to critique those. Suffice it to say, if Boot is wrong on such a core element of his book, we should question the wisdom of using it as a guide for cultural analysis as a whole.
February 2, 2024
I love fiction, but really struggle to read nonfiction. However, after two restarts and five months, I finally made it through this book, and I can honestly say it was worth it. It does a fantastic job of explaining and boldly arguing not only the importance of judiciously applying the Bible to all of life, but how to go about it in a way that honors the living and written Word. The breadth and depth of this work is astounding, and I especially appreciate the faithful references to Scripture (although there were a few typos). I cannot say I am convinced by all of Boot's arguments, but they are all worth thinking about and carefully testing against what Christ has revealed through His Word. This was very convicting. I highly recommend.
July 28, 2024
This was quite a volume for me to complete. There were so many important ideas to interact with. The gospel is big, our God is big, Christ's kingdom is big. Let's not pretend otherwise.
"At the heart of a Reformed view of mission is the Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ and its extension throughout all creation."
"The Kingdom to which the Bible testifies involves a proclamation and a realization of a total salvation, one which covers the whole range of human needs and destroys every pocket of evil and grief affecting mankind. Kingdom in the New Testament has a breadth and scope which is unsurpassed; it embraces heaven as well as earth, world history as well as the whole cosmos."
- Johannes Verkuyl
Let's apply the reign of Christ in all creation.
"At the heart of a Reformed view of mission is the Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ and its extension throughout all creation."
"The Kingdom to which the Bible testifies involves a proclamation and a realization of a total salvation, one which covers the whole range of human needs and destroys every pocket of evil and grief affecting mankind. Kingdom in the New Testament has a breadth and scope which is unsurpassed; it embraces heaven as well as earth, world history as well as the whole cosmos."
- Johannes Verkuyl
Let's apply the reign of Christ in all creation.
May 11, 2021
This massive and extensive work lays out the thinking and biblical support for a theonomist point of view. Boot uses the Puritans as a pattern for how the mission of God (and thus the mission of the church) is to engage the culture and consecrate it. The means the whole of the Law is useful for the Christian and society and that the mission of the church is to preach Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The last part of the book is all about how this is worked out in modern times, including topics such as education and evangelism.
It is an interesting read that supports the view point in a robust manner.
It is an interesting read that supports the view point in a robust manner.
May 12, 2022
Amazing book. Truly, this theology is what can change a culture. We must look to Godly men like Dr. Boot who are lead by the Spirit, and listen to them when they tell us what it will take for things to change.
As goes the church, so goes the world, and the church is in shambles right now. However, if more of the church started to see themselves on Mission for God and His kingdom, then there could be lasting change.
I highly recommend this book, and would encourage you to take the time to read it and see what God is doing in this world.
As goes the church, so goes the world, and the church is in shambles right now. However, if more of the church started to see themselves on Mission for God and His kingdom, then there could be lasting change.
I highly recommend this book, and would encourage you to take the time to read it and see what God is doing in this world.
September 29, 2023
An updating of Kuyperianism and theonomy under the name "new Puritanism". Very systematic and nearly complete presentation and defense of the position, and thus could replace reading many other sources to get this understanding. It also updates the discussion to contemporary movements. It does not, however, address the basic faults of the position: the rejection of Reformed covenantal theology for a three-covenant (with the Common covenant added) system, the basis on Neocalvinist philosophy, and the Van Til-Bahnsen epistemology which is nothing like how really people have actual beliefs.
December 9, 2021
Good, even if you’re not post millennial
Rather than presenting a case for post-millennial theonomy this is just a good all round approach to applying the Christian worldview to a variety of areas of life. Boot presents a well reasoned argument through out. My only argument is that he seems at times to stretch the idea of extending the kingdom further than his arguments will take it.
Rather than presenting a case for post-millennial theonomy this is just a good all round approach to applying the Christian worldview to a variety of areas of life. Boot presents a well reasoned argument through out. My only argument is that he seems at times to stretch the idea of extending the kingdom further than his arguments will take it.
July 14, 2021
This is an essential read for the church today. If you’re a Christian wondering how the church could possibly overcome the cultural, political, and social obstacles that present themselves in the modern West, this book doesn’t provide all the answers, but it certainly guides in the right directions.
September 1, 2021
"The Mission of God" offers a much-needed eternal perspective of missiology, especially in light of the current reprobate culture. It reads almost like a modern rendition of Augustine's "City of God" combined with Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live?" but with more practical application. Highly recommended.
March 24, 2022
WHAT A BOOK! Every Christian should read this, to see a biblically faithful and exagetically based worldview defended. This is a highly important book for the church in the twenty first century and is a great defence of Christian Reconstructionism/new puritanism/ theonomic postmillenialism. Read this book!!
December 13, 2024
The Mission of God by Joe Boot: A Manifesto of Hope for Society was great. A timely book that addresses many theological, cultural, and social issues that need to be given a biblical response. For Christians beginning to seek a biblical response to many of the cultural issues of our day, this is a good start to the conversation.
December 25, 2022
Absolutely a great book that every thinking Christian needs to read. We live in a day of weak theology, compromised belief and inconsistent practice. May the Lord use this book to spark a rethink, a change in teaching and direction.
March 22, 2023
This was a great read. So well researched and deep in its scope of issues addressed. Take your time and read it closely.
With so many notes it would have been much easier on the reader to have footnotes. Unfortunately, I think the length might deter people from reading this important book.
With so many notes it would have been much easier on the reader to have footnotes. Unfortunately, I think the length might deter people from reading this important book.
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