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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
I’d recommend this book to pretty much any Christian (or non Christian, now that I think about it). This is an amazing discussion on real, Biblical Christian beliefs about life after death. Is our faith about going to heaven after we die? No, it isn’t. N.T. Wright shows that the Christian Faith is ultimately about our promised earthly resurrection and the restoration of the earth upon Jesus’ return, and he does this in a way that everyday lay readers will be able to easily grasp. N.T. Wright is a great writer, and his style is witty and enjoyable. Could not recommend enough.
UPDATE—I think this book should be required reading for the church. Re-reading it for the first time since it came out in 2008, I'm struck both by how much of my life and ministry work is shaped by these arguments and by how a 3-star review of this back sat on my goodreads all this time without anybody arguing with me over it.... =)
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Original review from younger me afraid of being accused of being too liberal for reading Tom Wright:
Most Christians, if asked “What happens when you die?” would state emphatically that they will go to heaven to be with God, thanks to the sacrifice of Christ. N.T. Wright challenges that notion and proposes instead a return to the New Testament idea of bodily resurrection as a part of God’s restoration of all creation at the end of the age.
Wright contends that many Christians cling to “going to heaven when you die” as an escape from the world instead of embracing a theology of resurrection that sees Jesus’ resurrection as the first fruit of God’s ultimate redemption and the church’s mission as proclaiming Christ’s dominion over all. In short, he firmly believes that we are “saved to” service for the glory of God as much as we are “saved from” sin.
The book is divided into three parts. The first discusses the muddle of beliefs about life after death in the world and explains that Christ’s resurrection is the breaking forth of God’s kingdom on earth.
The second section delves into our future hope, specifically, how Christ’s resurrection paves the way for our life in His kingdom.
In the final third of the book, Wright spells out his vision for the mission of the church. He is at his finest as he attempts to ground the church’s efforts in the present day (from evangelism to social justice, art, and conservation) solidly in resurrection theology and liberate them both from modernist progressivism (which places the emphasis on the work instead of God) and traditional evangelicalism (which sees such work only as an addendum to saving souls for heaven).
Most readers will find Wright’s work engaging and, at times, controversial. His willingness to turn traditional understanding on its ear is as troubling as his reliance on the Scriptures is reassuring. What he succeeds quite admirably in doing, however, is to drive readers back to the Word of God to see for themselves how Christ’s resurrection demands so much more from believers than passive longing for heaven
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Original review from younger me afraid of being accused of being too liberal for reading Tom Wright:
Most Christians, if asked “What happens when you die?” would state emphatically that they will go to heaven to be with God, thanks to the sacrifice of Christ. N.T. Wright challenges that notion and proposes instead a return to the New Testament idea of bodily resurrection as a part of God’s restoration of all creation at the end of the age.
Wright contends that many Christians cling to “going to heaven when you die” as an escape from the world instead of embracing a theology of resurrection that sees Jesus’ resurrection as the first fruit of God’s ultimate redemption and the church’s mission as proclaiming Christ’s dominion over all. In short, he firmly believes that we are “saved to” service for the glory of God as much as we are “saved from” sin.
The book is divided into three parts. The first discusses the muddle of beliefs about life after death in the world and explains that Christ’s resurrection is the breaking forth of God’s kingdom on earth.
The second section delves into our future hope, specifically, how Christ’s resurrection paves the way for our life in His kingdom.
In the final third of the book, Wright spells out his vision for the mission of the church. He is at his finest as he attempts to ground the church’s efforts in the present day (from evangelism to social justice, art, and conservation) solidly in resurrection theology and liberate them both from modernist progressivism (which places the emphasis on the work instead of God) and traditional evangelicalism (which sees such work only as an addendum to saving souls for heaven).
Most readers will find Wright’s work engaging and, at times, controversial. His willingness to turn traditional understanding on its ear is as troubling as his reliance on the Scriptures is reassuring. What he succeeds quite admirably in doing, however, is to drive readers back to the Word of God to see for themselves how Christ’s resurrection demands so much more from believers than passive longing for heaven
It helped me grapple with the unknown and how little we really do know yet at the same time live hopeful of our future and our ability to bring the Kingdom now.
I'm marking this book as finished, but it's the kind of book you never really "finish." Important to consult over and over, especially as a corrective to our culture's watering down of the powerful hope of resurrection. The orthodox message is so much more attractive than the sentimental or the cynical alternatives.
This book changed my whole paradigm of the Christian life. Wright does a beautiful job of positioning the work of Christ around the miracle of the resurrection. Taking a closer look at what you really believe, this book has the potential to completely rework what you thought you knew about our true purpose on the earth. By focusing our lives around what Christ has done and His resurrection and our subsequent (future) resurrection, it sets the correct lens for how we view and interact with this world and the anticipation of the world to come.
God, I needed this book when I first read it. Wright answers so many questions my teachers had mostly sidestepped, either out of ignorance or apathy, when I was growing up. Having been so thoroughly shaped by this book then, it isn't as impactful now, but that's okay. I also, appropriately enough, see more clearly the places where his application trails off, leaving others to do what he "hasn't the space here to do." Good work, all. Let's continue it in the full faith that none of it is vain.
Clears up so much of the fog and confusion. I really was surprised. And it's the hope that's surprising and wonderful.
Coming soon to a church near me: a post Easter sermon series based on this fabulous book.
This book brought up new theology that I hadn’t known before and I really enjoyed it.
For any serious student of Christianity, this one is not worth reading. A really, really, hackneyed, pointless attempt to force physical resurrection of Jesus into being an historical reality. If you think the actual, historical, physical resurrection of Jesus is the actual point of Christianity, you will spend your entire life, spinning your wheels, trying to make a fact out of an absurd tale. If you can live with the mythos of the resurrection and accept the mysterious, your faith has a chance to be about something other than pre-Enlightenment creedal statements. That's all the time I'll waste reviewing this one. It sucks.