Scan barcode
Reviews
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright
micklz24's review against another edition
5.0
This book is brilliant. N.T. Wright is brilliant. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
mdewit's review against another edition
4.0
For many it seems as if the world has lost its meaning. For some, human beings are seen as little more than small cogs in a large machine, propelled forward by the forces of evolution. For others, humans are the ultimate threat to a planet in crises. For others, it is a temporarily place where one only passes through towards a better place. Neither of these ideas leaves a sense of hope that transforms how human beings think and act in the current world. Christianity, at least the variety that is Biblical in its orientation, has a different answer. This book by Tom Wright (2007) provides a sound basis to expose such an alternative Biblical vision.
In a world challenged by far-reaching problems in time and scale, Tom Wright (2007) presents a theology of ultimate Christian hope, one that energises to tackle such problems as the ecological rises head-on in a confused world. Wright acknowledges that Christians themselves are very confused on the topic what the future will bring. He points out that the prevailing dualisms between heaven and earth are not Biblical, but Platonic in nature, and leads to a downgrading of our bodies and of created order in general (Wright, 2007:37). He further argues that heaven is not a future destiny, but a hidden dimension of our ordinary lives (Wright, 2007: 26).
Wright contrasts this confused, Platonic Christianity with one that firmly believes in the doctrine of resurrection. Resurrection, as a vital part of God’s new creation gives more value, not less, to the present world and to our present bodies (Wright, 2007:37). In contrast to a piety that sees death as a moment of “going home at last” or the time we are “called to God’s eternal place”, Wright states the transformative power of a belief in resurrection: Resurrection, by contrast, has always gone with a strong view of God’s justice, and of God as the good creator (Wright, 2007:38). Such a view goes with a robust determination to oppose justice and improve society.
The resurrection of Jesus is a matter of rediscovering hope (Wright, 2007: 87):
Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich, the powerful and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. The same worldview shift which is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus is the shift that will enable us to transform the world.
The ultimate future hope remains a surprise, but there is a powerful intermediate hope – the things which happen in the present time which implement Easter and anticipate the final day (Wright, 2007:41). Left to ourselves and without a belief in the resurrection, humankind lapses into a kind of collusion with entropy…the general belief that things may be getting worse but there’s nothing much we can do about them (Wright, 2007:41). Wright argues this is wrong. Christians have a major task in this world (Wright, 2007:41)
Our task…is to live as resurrected people in between Easter and the final day, with our Christian life, corporate and individual, in both worship and mission, as a sign of the first and a foretaste of the second.
So what is this future that God in planning for us? Wright argues that the biblical vision of the future world is a vision of the present cosmos renewed from top to bottom by the God who is both creator and redeemer (2007:93). Such a purpose stands in direct contrast to the myth of perpetual progress, originating in the liberalism of the Renaissance and Enlightment and aided with the projects of science, technology, economic progress, democratic freedom, education and hard work. But, according to Wright (2007:98) the world is still a sad and wicked place, not a happy upward progress towards the light. The myth of progress cannot work, it cannot stop evil, it would also not solve evil retrospectively (once Utopia would have been reached) thereby presenting a moral problem, and it underestimates the nature and power of evil itself and fails to see the importance of the cross (Wright, 2007:99). There is no such thing as an upward movement to the light, but a creator God going down into the dark, to rescue humankind and the world from its plight (Wright, 2007:99).
The biblical vision of future world is also in direct contrast to the negative myth telling humans to escape this wicked world. Such an idea is ontologically Platonic, viewing space-time-matter as a mess that should be avoided for the tidy, clean philosophical mind, which dwelt upon eternal realities (Wright, 2007:100). This Platonic idea entered Christianity through Gnosticism, a belief in an inferior and dark material world, but with some people who are meant for something else (Wright, 2007:101). The creation itself is perceived as the ‘fall’, as it produced matter, which is seen as the real evil (Wright, 2007:101). In this view, the purpose of being Christian is often seen as going to heaven when you die (Wright, 2007:103).
Wright contrasts this Platonic, Gnostic Christianity with the central Christian affirmation that what the creator God has done in Jesus Christ, and supremely in his resurrection, is what he intends to do for the whole world – meaning by ‘world’, the entire cosmos with all its history (Wright, 2007: 103).
This is real Christian hope. Wright identified three themes of large-scale Christian hope, namely the goodness of creation, the real and powerful nature of evil and the remaking of creation through redemption. There is no ontological distinction between an evil earth and a good heaven, but only an eschatological duality between the present age and the age to come (Wright, 2007: 107). Creation and redemption are both acts of God’s love for the world. The cross is where the goal of creation is brought back into harmony with the wise creator. Jesus will be the judge when he is present with us again, returning after his ascension to heaven. In His presence the dead will be raised and living believers transformed for the new heaven and new earth. The final marriage of heaven and earth will happen when all is consummated, this is when God will be all in all.
Wright further argues that the process of a new creation has already started with the death and resurrection of Jesus. A belief in the resurrection of the entire cosmos, including believers, leads to a view that work done in the present last into God’s future; it builds God’s kingdom. The followers of Jesus are agents of the transformation of earth; through Jesus’ work God’s kingdom has been launched on earth as in heaven (Wright, 2007:215). Building God’s kingdom is ultimately God’s work, and not in the hand of humans, but does not exclude humans who are intended to reflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God into the rest of creation in stewardship (Wright, 2007:105). God’s wise, creative, loving presence and power is not limited to the sole tasks to save souls or to help people enjoy fulfilling relationships with God, but to redeem the whole created cosmos, including space, time and matter.
Wright also emphasizes judgment and sin in his theology. Jesus is judge on His return, personally and visible (Wright, 2007:155). He will prepare the earth, so that His will happens on earth as in heaven. Wright (2007:191) states that judgment is necessary, unless we conclude that nothing is wrong or that God does not mind very much. The world is full of evil which consists in idolatry where humans worship elements of the natural world rather than God the creator Himself (Wright, 2007: 106).
It comes as no surprise than that Wright argues that a reflection on Christian ethics is crucial. How we think and act in this world lasts into God’s future. As agents of transformation reflecting God’s image in this world, human beings have a responsibility towards the Creator and the whole of His creation. Christian ethics is an expression of the hope we have through the resurrection of Jesus (Wright, 2007:242). It is a lifestyle that already celebrates and embodies the new creation, and needs to be fed by Christian spirituality as enabled by the Holy Spirit (Wright, 2007: 58). Followers of Jesus Christ are already joined to Him by the Holy Spirit (Wright, 2007:156), and it is to Him we turn in thinking and acting in an ethical way.
God’s future has already started on this earth. Wright calls for an inaugurated eschatology, a radical transformation of the way we behave, not only as individuals, but as a worldwide community, anticipating the eventual time when God will be all in all even though things will not be complete by then (Wright, 2007:233). He cites a few examples. Hopeful Christians cannot be content with major injustice, such as global debt, in this world. Hopeful Christians loath ugliness and revitalize aesthetic awareness and creativity (Wright, 2007:233), as beauty in creation points towards the beauty of God (Wright, 2007:234). If we cease to be surrounded by beauty we also cease to hope (Wright, 2007: 243). Hopeful Christians will also not stop in describing the world as it is or as it should be, but as in grace it one day will be (Wright, 2007:255). Hopeful Christians will not stop at ‘savings souls’ and guiding converts into a relationship with God, but help them find out where their contributions with Gods’ kingdom project may fit.
According to Wright the church has a major role to play. Ethical reflection in the present age and being agents of transformation reflecting God’s image is a large responsibility. Any individual cannot achieve more than fraction of this mission. The mission in the church needs to be shaped by a real hope of the new creation, firmly rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. The business of the church is not to save souls, but to take a stand against evil and to work with the good in this world. The church is the place where central aspects of Christian spirituality such as baptism, eucharist, prayer and scriptural teaching and hearing takes place. It needs to be holy, a community of saints and a place of love as a destiny. This does not exclude personal spiritual growth and ethical reflection, but re-emphasise the point that the new heaven and new earth will be there for a whole community of believers.
In an age of financial, economic and ecological crises Tom Wright presents us with a magnificent book that brings meaning to the concept of a living Christian hope. The book energises and makes an appeal to transform into action. It is a timely book and one I recommend it without hesitation.
In a world challenged by far-reaching problems in time and scale, Tom Wright (2007) presents a theology of ultimate Christian hope, one that energises to tackle such problems as the ecological rises head-on in a confused world. Wright acknowledges that Christians themselves are very confused on the topic what the future will bring. He points out that the prevailing dualisms between heaven and earth are not Biblical, but Platonic in nature, and leads to a downgrading of our bodies and of created order in general (Wright, 2007:37). He further argues that heaven is not a future destiny, but a hidden dimension of our ordinary lives (Wright, 2007: 26).
Wright contrasts this confused, Platonic Christianity with one that firmly believes in the doctrine of resurrection. Resurrection, as a vital part of God’s new creation gives more value, not less, to the present world and to our present bodies (Wright, 2007:37). In contrast to a piety that sees death as a moment of “going home at last” or the time we are “called to God’s eternal place”, Wright states the transformative power of a belief in resurrection: Resurrection, by contrast, has always gone with a strong view of God’s justice, and of God as the good creator (Wright, 2007:38). Such a view goes with a robust determination to oppose justice and improve society.
The resurrection of Jesus is a matter of rediscovering hope (Wright, 2007: 87):
Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich, the powerful and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. The same worldview shift which is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus is the shift that will enable us to transform the world.
The ultimate future hope remains a surprise, but there is a powerful intermediate hope – the things which happen in the present time which implement Easter and anticipate the final day (Wright, 2007:41). Left to ourselves and without a belief in the resurrection, humankind lapses into a kind of collusion with entropy…the general belief that things may be getting worse but there’s nothing much we can do about them (Wright, 2007:41). Wright argues this is wrong. Christians have a major task in this world (Wright, 2007:41)
Our task…is to live as resurrected people in between Easter and the final day, with our Christian life, corporate and individual, in both worship and mission, as a sign of the first and a foretaste of the second.
So what is this future that God in planning for us? Wright argues that the biblical vision of the future world is a vision of the present cosmos renewed from top to bottom by the God who is both creator and redeemer (2007:93). Such a purpose stands in direct contrast to the myth of perpetual progress, originating in the liberalism of the Renaissance and Enlightment and aided with the projects of science, technology, economic progress, democratic freedom, education and hard work. But, according to Wright (2007:98) the world is still a sad and wicked place, not a happy upward progress towards the light. The myth of progress cannot work, it cannot stop evil, it would also not solve evil retrospectively (once Utopia would have been reached) thereby presenting a moral problem, and it underestimates the nature and power of evil itself and fails to see the importance of the cross (Wright, 2007:99). There is no such thing as an upward movement to the light, but a creator God going down into the dark, to rescue humankind and the world from its plight (Wright, 2007:99).
The biblical vision of future world is also in direct contrast to the negative myth telling humans to escape this wicked world. Such an idea is ontologically Platonic, viewing space-time-matter as a mess that should be avoided for the tidy, clean philosophical mind, which dwelt upon eternal realities (Wright, 2007:100). This Platonic idea entered Christianity through Gnosticism, a belief in an inferior and dark material world, but with some people who are meant for something else (Wright, 2007:101). The creation itself is perceived as the ‘fall’, as it produced matter, which is seen as the real evil (Wright, 2007:101). In this view, the purpose of being Christian is often seen as going to heaven when you die (Wright, 2007:103).
Wright contrasts this Platonic, Gnostic Christianity with the central Christian affirmation that what the creator God has done in Jesus Christ, and supremely in his resurrection, is what he intends to do for the whole world – meaning by ‘world’, the entire cosmos with all its history (Wright, 2007: 103).
This is real Christian hope. Wright identified three themes of large-scale Christian hope, namely the goodness of creation, the real and powerful nature of evil and the remaking of creation through redemption. There is no ontological distinction between an evil earth and a good heaven, but only an eschatological duality between the present age and the age to come (Wright, 2007: 107). Creation and redemption are both acts of God’s love for the world. The cross is where the goal of creation is brought back into harmony with the wise creator. Jesus will be the judge when he is present with us again, returning after his ascension to heaven. In His presence the dead will be raised and living believers transformed for the new heaven and new earth. The final marriage of heaven and earth will happen when all is consummated, this is when God will be all in all.
Wright further argues that the process of a new creation has already started with the death and resurrection of Jesus. A belief in the resurrection of the entire cosmos, including believers, leads to a view that work done in the present last into God’s future; it builds God’s kingdom. The followers of Jesus are agents of the transformation of earth; through Jesus’ work God’s kingdom has been launched on earth as in heaven (Wright, 2007:215). Building God’s kingdom is ultimately God’s work, and not in the hand of humans, but does not exclude humans who are intended to reflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God into the rest of creation in stewardship (Wright, 2007:105). God’s wise, creative, loving presence and power is not limited to the sole tasks to save souls or to help people enjoy fulfilling relationships with God, but to redeem the whole created cosmos, including space, time and matter.
Wright also emphasizes judgment and sin in his theology. Jesus is judge on His return, personally and visible (Wright, 2007:155). He will prepare the earth, so that His will happens on earth as in heaven. Wright (2007:191) states that judgment is necessary, unless we conclude that nothing is wrong or that God does not mind very much. The world is full of evil which consists in idolatry where humans worship elements of the natural world rather than God the creator Himself (Wright, 2007: 106).
It comes as no surprise than that Wright argues that a reflection on Christian ethics is crucial. How we think and act in this world lasts into God’s future. As agents of transformation reflecting God’s image in this world, human beings have a responsibility towards the Creator and the whole of His creation. Christian ethics is an expression of the hope we have through the resurrection of Jesus (Wright, 2007:242). It is a lifestyle that already celebrates and embodies the new creation, and needs to be fed by Christian spirituality as enabled by the Holy Spirit (Wright, 2007: 58). Followers of Jesus Christ are already joined to Him by the Holy Spirit (Wright, 2007:156), and it is to Him we turn in thinking and acting in an ethical way.
God’s future has already started on this earth. Wright calls for an inaugurated eschatology, a radical transformation of the way we behave, not only as individuals, but as a worldwide community, anticipating the eventual time when God will be all in all even though things will not be complete by then (Wright, 2007:233). He cites a few examples. Hopeful Christians cannot be content with major injustice, such as global debt, in this world. Hopeful Christians loath ugliness and revitalize aesthetic awareness and creativity (Wright, 2007:233), as beauty in creation points towards the beauty of God (Wright, 2007:234). If we cease to be surrounded by beauty we also cease to hope (Wright, 2007: 243). Hopeful Christians will also not stop in describing the world as it is or as it should be, but as in grace it one day will be (Wright, 2007:255). Hopeful Christians will not stop at ‘savings souls’ and guiding converts into a relationship with God, but help them find out where their contributions with Gods’ kingdom project may fit.
According to Wright the church has a major role to play. Ethical reflection in the present age and being agents of transformation reflecting God’s image is a large responsibility. Any individual cannot achieve more than fraction of this mission. The mission in the church needs to be shaped by a real hope of the new creation, firmly rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. The business of the church is not to save souls, but to take a stand against evil and to work with the good in this world. The church is the place where central aspects of Christian spirituality such as baptism, eucharist, prayer and scriptural teaching and hearing takes place. It needs to be holy, a community of saints and a place of love as a destiny. This does not exclude personal spiritual growth and ethical reflection, but re-emphasise the point that the new heaven and new earth will be there for a whole community of believers.
In an age of financial, economic and ecological crises Tom Wright presents us with a magnificent book that brings meaning to the concept of a living Christian hope. The book energises and makes an appeal to transform into action. It is a timely book and one I recommend it without hesitation.
jjones217's review against another edition
5.0
Great book! Reminded me that the end goal of Christianity is not getting to heaven but the resurrection and new heaven and new earth
ivantable's review against another edition
3.0
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is no esoteric subject. The first thing Wright sets out to do is expose the false notion of death as merely a menacing foe that the Christian surrenders to rather than conquering. He does this by examining popular literature and hymnody and noting the underlying view of the afterlife. (An example is the hymn, “How Great thou Art.” In the final stanza it affirms: “When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, / And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.” Wright argues that it would be better if it read, “And heal this world, what joy shall fill my heart.”) No doubt death brings all sorts of grief, but it is a triumphant grief. Wright explains, “Frankly, what we have at the moment isn’t … ‘the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead’ but the vague and fuzzy optimism that somehow things may work out in the end.” Wright convincingly argues for a more thoroughly biblical view which translates not into a “piety that sees death as the moment of ‘going home at last,’ … [which] has no quarrel with power-mongers who want to carve up the world to suit their own ends” but as a “robust determination to oppose [injustice].”
As the book progresses, Wright shows the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example, the presence of the women as the principal witnesses in the gospel narratives would only remove credibility, not add it the patriarchal world of the first century. Moreover, the resurrection is “not an absurd event within the old world but the symbol and starting point of the new world.” This new world-birthing event is neither antihistorical nor antiscientific; it is rather undergired by the reality of in-breaking of God into human history. That said, objective historical epistemology cannot be the final verdict on the resurrection; true knowledge must go, at times, beyond it. Wright proposes an epistemological triad: faith (Thomas), hope (Paul), and love (Peter); the greatest of these is love. “Love is the deepest mode of knowing because it is love that, while completely engaging with reality other than itself, affirms and celebrates that other-than-self reality.” Therefore belief in the resurrection, though corroborated by historical epistemology, must go beyond and acknowledge that knowing is a gift from God.
As the argument of the book begins to unfold, Wright presents the two most popular conceptualizations of the cosmic future. On the one hand, there are those who believe in “evolutionary optimism.” This worldview, birthed by the Renaissance, fueled by the Enlightenment, and cresting with Darwin, has long maintained the idea that the universe is gradually becoming a better place and Utopia is around the corner.
And then on the other hand, there are those who have quite the pessimistic view of the world and see souls as merely “in transit,” awaiting heaven. Wright sees this as a dreadful dualism; neither belongs within Christian thinking. A biblical understanding admits the goodness of creation (the original intent of God’s creation) and the nature of evil (not in creation itself but when creatures idolatrously hold up anything other than God as supreme). These two realities then lead into a third one: the plan of redemption (the good creation will be restored and evil will be vanquished). After exploring various New Testament metaphors delineating the Christian hope, Wright summarizes the real Christian hope: “What creation needs is neither abandonment nor evolution but rather redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”
Wright notes the disinterest and even condemnatory attitude many people (including a large number of professing Christians) have towards all things material and earthly. He clearly shows how Platonic influences have so commandeered popular Christian thought regarding heaven and the resurrection—many conceptualize a heaven where all souls (with no bodies) are simply floating around for all eternity. Wright contends that the biblical picture is of heaven coming to earth. The rumor is that Wright does not believe in heaven; this isn’t so. Wright admits the existence of a heaven, but he, like Scripture, does not see it as the ultimate destination of believers. On the contrary, the resurrection of Jesus Christ ushers in the glorious hope that Christians will ultimately dwell upon the “new heavens and the new earth,” enjoying resurrection bodies in correspondence to that of Christ’s. Hence Wright presents the real hope as not life after death but life after life after death.
The idea of “souls in transit”-awaiting-heaven is so embedded in the church that many Christians, Wright argues, abandon concern for things of this life (e.g., social justice, third world debt, etc.). Wright’s expounds more in the last third of the book.
At this point in the discussion, Wright addresses perhaps the most debated theological discussion among current New Testament scholarship: the nature of justification. The importance of such a doctrine for Wright’s point is that justification by faith “is what happens in the present time, anticipating the verdict of the future day when God judges the world. It is God’s advance declaration.” This anticipated hope, with its cosmic implications, dispels the dualistic views mentioned above. Moreover, this view generates a desire to build for the kingdom without falling into either side of the proverbial ditch on the road.
Moving onward, Wright has constructed a robust, biblical framework of the resurrection; it is at this juncture where he is then able to go into the specifics of such grand a mystery: who, where, what, why, when, and how.
Wright observes a disconnect between orthodoxy and the outward engagement in orthopraxy. He proposes a theological framework of the resurrection which undergirds and compels the church’s mission in the present: “resurrection doesn’t mean escaping from the world; it means mission to the world based on Jesus’s lordship over the world.” As such, the kingdom of Christ has already been established, having been inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection; and thus it summons Christians to engage the world in politics, social justice, and the arts.
The application in the very last chapter is helpful and enlightening. While not all might agree, it at least serves as food for thought. The Easter event strikes at six various categories. 1) The new birth and baptism, as part of Wright’s sacramental theology, serves a meeting place where heaven and earth are joined together—baptism is not just a “signpost” to the new birth but serves as a “gateway” into family membership. 2) The Eucharist brings the past and the future into the present. In partaking of the elements, Christians are reminded of the great deliverance and the future hope of the new creation. 3) Prayer thus is neither nature mysticism (reveling in the transporting delight of creation) or pagan petition (cold, distant deities), but rather a vibrant and dynamic relationship. “Transcendence, intimacy, celebration, covenant: those are the roots of biblical prayer.” 4) The fundamental story of Scripture is creation and new creation. Believers are therefore enjoined to become part of ushering in the new creation and, in the process, be transformed. 5) Believers are galvanized in their pursuit of holiness as they come to grips with the future reality of the new creation. How can a Christian not be enamored by the thought of the future hope and not seek to live in light of such joyous thought? And, 6) love stand the climax of the Christian hope and therefore it is the ultimate destiny of each believer, not merely a present duty.
Assessment?
This work is a defense of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the death. But he does not stop there; he shows the urgency of how the resurrection shapes and informs Christian hope. Wright is all but echoing the apostle Paul who made clear that the resurrection of Christ is the defining and crucial element of Christianity; without the resurrection there is no Christian hope and belief in Christ would be nonsensical and worthy of pity.
Wright takes on the modern challenges and offers an eye-opening biblical portrait of the real hope believers have. That said, the phrase “go to heaven” is not necessarily a wrong or an biblically-shallow concept. I think Wright, in providing a helpful corrective against the Platonic dualism, might overextend himself and minimize a clear biblical teaching of entering God’s kingdom, of “going to heaven” (e.g., Matt 5:20; Mark 9:47; John 3:5; Acts 14:22). Furthermore, Scripture presents heaven as a place different and separate from earth (e.g., John 1:51; Acts 1:10; Col. 1:5). Obviously, as noted already, Wright agrees with this, yet it seems he exaggerates his thesis and questions hymnody and popular thinking that is not necessarily myopic in its scope or invalid in its biblical emphasis.
The last point of reflection is the articulation of the gospel and justification by Wright. He views future judgment according to works as the actual basis of Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. I find this troubling for many reasons.
While much book is gained from this book, there are certain elements that cause concern. In short, this book should be read with discernment.
[I originally wrote this review in 2010]
As the book progresses, Wright shows the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example, the presence of the women as the principal witnesses in the gospel narratives would only remove credibility, not add it the patriarchal world of the first century. Moreover, the resurrection is “not an absurd event within the old world but the symbol and starting point of the new world.” This new world-birthing event is neither antihistorical nor antiscientific; it is rather undergired by the reality of in-breaking of God into human history. That said, objective historical epistemology cannot be the final verdict on the resurrection; true knowledge must go, at times, beyond it. Wright proposes an epistemological triad: faith (Thomas), hope (Paul), and love (Peter); the greatest of these is love. “Love is the deepest mode of knowing because it is love that, while completely engaging with reality other than itself, affirms and celebrates that other-than-self reality.” Therefore belief in the resurrection, though corroborated by historical epistemology, must go beyond and acknowledge that knowing is a gift from God.
As the argument of the book begins to unfold, Wright presents the two most popular conceptualizations of the cosmic future. On the one hand, there are those who believe in “evolutionary optimism.” This worldview, birthed by the Renaissance, fueled by the Enlightenment, and cresting with Darwin, has long maintained the idea that the universe is gradually becoming a better place and Utopia is around the corner.
And then on the other hand, there are those who have quite the pessimistic view of the world and see souls as merely “in transit,” awaiting heaven. Wright sees this as a dreadful dualism; neither belongs within Christian thinking. A biblical understanding admits the goodness of creation (the original intent of God’s creation) and the nature of evil (not in creation itself but when creatures idolatrously hold up anything other than God as supreme). These two realities then lead into a third one: the plan of redemption (the good creation will be restored and evil will be vanquished). After exploring various New Testament metaphors delineating the Christian hope, Wright summarizes the real Christian hope: “What creation needs is neither abandonment nor evolution but rather redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”
Wright notes the disinterest and even condemnatory attitude many people (including a large number of professing Christians) have towards all things material and earthly. He clearly shows how Platonic influences have so commandeered popular Christian thought regarding heaven and the resurrection—many conceptualize a heaven where all souls (with no bodies) are simply floating around for all eternity. Wright contends that the biblical picture is of heaven coming to earth. The rumor is that Wright does not believe in heaven; this isn’t so. Wright admits the existence of a heaven, but he, like Scripture, does not see it as the ultimate destination of believers. On the contrary, the resurrection of Jesus Christ ushers in the glorious hope that Christians will ultimately dwell upon the “new heavens and the new earth,” enjoying resurrection bodies in correspondence to that of Christ’s. Hence Wright presents the real hope as not life after death but life after life after death.
The idea of “souls in transit”-awaiting-heaven is so embedded in the church that many Christians, Wright argues, abandon concern for things of this life (e.g., social justice, third world debt, etc.). Wright’s expounds more in the last third of the book.
At this point in the discussion, Wright addresses perhaps the most debated theological discussion among current New Testament scholarship: the nature of justification. The importance of such a doctrine for Wright’s point is that justification by faith “is what happens in the present time, anticipating the verdict of the future day when God judges the world. It is God’s advance declaration.” This anticipated hope, with its cosmic implications, dispels the dualistic views mentioned above. Moreover, this view generates a desire to build for the kingdom without falling into either side of the proverbial ditch on the road.
Moving onward, Wright has constructed a robust, biblical framework of the resurrection; it is at this juncture where he is then able to go into the specifics of such grand a mystery: who, where, what, why, when, and how.
Who? Every individual, but in a greater way those who are found in Christ and possess the Holy Spirit.
Where? As mentioned earlier, the ultimate destination is the new heaven and the new earth, when heaven will come to earth.
What? Though difficult to imagine, the resurrected body of Christ serves as a prototype. Our bodies will have passed beyond death and will no longer be susceptible to any disease, decay, or death.
Why? The purpose is not to sit around, bored through all eternity playing useless harps. The real reason will be to rule wisely God’s creation—“[t]here will be work to do and we shall relish doing it.”
When? It is impossible to know when the resurrection will happen, but let it be clear, it will take place and God’s Word shall come pass. And how? Simply put, by the Spirit.
Wright observes a disconnect between orthodoxy and the outward engagement in orthopraxy. He proposes a theological framework of the resurrection which undergirds and compels the church’s mission in the present: “resurrection doesn’t mean escaping from the world; it means mission to the world based on Jesus’s lordship over the world.” As such, the kingdom of Christ has already been established, having been inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection; and thus it summons Christians to engage the world in politics, social justice, and the arts.
The application in the very last chapter is helpful and enlightening. While not all might agree, it at least serves as food for thought. The Easter event strikes at six various categories. 1) The new birth and baptism, as part of Wright’s sacramental theology, serves a meeting place where heaven and earth are joined together—baptism is not just a “signpost” to the new birth but serves as a “gateway” into family membership. 2) The Eucharist brings the past and the future into the present. In partaking of the elements, Christians are reminded of the great deliverance and the future hope of the new creation. 3) Prayer thus is neither nature mysticism (reveling in the transporting delight of creation) or pagan petition (cold, distant deities), but rather a vibrant and dynamic relationship. “Transcendence, intimacy, celebration, covenant: those are the roots of biblical prayer.” 4) The fundamental story of Scripture is creation and new creation. Believers are therefore enjoined to become part of ushering in the new creation and, in the process, be transformed. 5) Believers are galvanized in their pursuit of holiness as they come to grips with the future reality of the new creation. How can a Christian not be enamored by the thought of the future hope and not seek to live in light of such joyous thought? And, 6) love stand the climax of the Christian hope and therefore it is the ultimate destiny of each believer, not merely a present duty.
Assessment?
This work is a defense of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the death. But he does not stop there; he shows the urgency of how the resurrection shapes and informs Christian hope. Wright is all but echoing the apostle Paul who made clear that the resurrection of Christ is the defining and crucial element of Christianity; without the resurrection there is no Christian hope and belief in Christ would be nonsensical and worthy of pity.
Wright takes on the modern challenges and offers an eye-opening biblical portrait of the real hope believers have. That said, the phrase “go to heaven” is not necessarily a wrong or an biblically-shallow concept. I think Wright, in providing a helpful corrective against the Platonic dualism, might overextend himself and minimize a clear biblical teaching of entering God’s kingdom, of “going to heaven” (e.g., Matt 5:20; Mark 9:47; John 3:5; Acts 14:22). Furthermore, Scripture presents heaven as a place different and separate from earth (e.g., John 1:51; Acts 1:10; Col. 1:5). Obviously, as noted already, Wright agrees with this, yet it seems he exaggerates his thesis and questions hymnody and popular thinking that is not necessarily myopic in its scope or invalid in its biblical emphasis.
The last point of reflection is the articulation of the gospel and justification by Wright. He views future judgment according to works as the actual basis of Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. I find this troubling for many reasons.
While much book is gained from this book, there are certain elements that cause concern. In short, this book should be read with discernment.
[I originally wrote this review in 2010]
philippelazaro's review against another edition
4.0
“What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”
–N.T. Wright
Book No. 21 of 2018
Falling wayyy behind on my reading goals this year. I forgot how rich and dense N.T. Wright’s writing can be so it took me a good while to get through this, but I’m glad I did.
Many mentors I’ve had passed on helpful wisdom to me that came from this book. It’s amazing it took me as long to start reading it as it did. The big idea it instilled in me is that my faith isn’t an escapist one, where this world is disposable and Heaven is all that matters. Instead, the great hope for the future is one where the current, created world is revived and transformed.
The ideas in the book resonated with me greatly. The one thing I wish was a little different was that I wish it was a little more accessible. The ideas in it are just that important.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
–N.T. Wright
Book No. 21 of 2018
Falling wayyy behind on my reading goals this year. I forgot how rich and dense N.T. Wright’s writing can be so it took me a good while to get through this, but I’m glad I did.
Many mentors I’ve had passed on helpful wisdom to me that came from this book. It’s amazing it took me as long to start reading it as it did. The big idea it instilled in me is that my faith isn’t an escapist one, where this world is disposable and Heaven is all that matters. Instead, the great hope for the future is one where the current, created world is revived and transformed.
The ideas in the book resonated with me greatly. The one thing I wish was a little different was that I wish it was a little more accessible. The ideas in it are just that important.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
bzzzzzz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT. I want to re-read this again before Easter. I read half of this, then paused it for about four months—don't know why. I understand a lot more of the context now anyway, after what I've studied. Need to re-read. I want my brain to soak in this.
necessity325's review against another edition
2.0
Besides not agreeing with half of the theology in this book, this author does not write in a way which is orthodox logic. That being said there is a lot of good perspective to be gained from reading this book, just be careful not to let it destroy your mind, because it can.
bernieanderson's review
5.0
Pointed scholarship/practical application
Paradigm shifting in many ways. I found this to be incredibly encouraging and invigorating to my soul. A scholarly, Biblical theology to understanding and practicing the mission of the which in the modern age.
Paradigm shifting in many ways. I found this to be incredibly encouraging and invigorating to my soul. A scholarly, Biblical theology to understanding and practicing the mission of the which in the modern age.
camillefulwood's review against another edition
5.0
No book on this earth has single handedly changed my entire life like this book. I cannot recommend it enough. I have no words other than it is a must-read.