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Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright
gbdill's review
2.0
I absolutely love N.T. Wright's theology, his blogs, writings, video messages, and audio clips. But, I have yet to read an N.T. Wright book that I have been able to finish. They start out good and then they simply get boring: heavy with theology, jargon, and stuff that just doesn't seem important and are negligible to me. In "Surprised by Hope" Wright starts out by vividly exploring what it means to bring God's kingdom to earth and how the message of Jesus wasn't about escaping to a future hope (heaven), but a hope that exists now... on earth, through God's kingdom that will be realized in a New Jerusalem when Jesus will come and reign. Then, he totally goes off in a different direction and detailed tangents about the historical understandings of the resurrection and the meaning of Easter. I just lost interest. I wish I could stay engaged in the content of his books, but I can't. And, I was told this was arguably his best work. Sorry, but once again I am disappointed. For now, I will give his books a rest.
christopherchandler's review
5.0
Pound for pound probably my favorite book by Wright. He does a great job of offering answers while knowing when to say we simply don't know. For people curious about what scripture says about life after death and resurrection this is a great place to start.
taylor_hohulin's review
4.0
Great book exploring what the hope of resurrection means for Christians today. I realized partway through that I already believed all of the things Wright was putting forward, but I wasn't putting quite as much weight on them. This is a great exploration of why resurrection matters and on how losing focus on it makes so many other aspects of Christianity seem pointless.
Great read. Difficult read, thanks to Wright's ridiculously long sentences, but a great read nonetheless.
Great read. Difficult read, thanks to Wright's ridiculously long sentences, but a great read nonetheless.
ehays84's review
5.0
For now, I will just post this: if I could recommend one book of theology for Christians to read, this would be it. So important in helping us get it right on how to think about the Kingdom of God, and to fix our pop-culture understandings of heaven and hell. Read this book along with Love Wins and The Great Divorce (although Love Wins does not really belong in the same sentence as the other two even though I think it is fairly good myself).
In brief, Wright convincingly argues that a true New Testament understanding of heaven is one that focuses on the kingdom of God that we are already a part of here on earth. Heaven is not spoken of as some sort of physical space where we go when we die. Being a part of the kingdom of heaven means living as Christ's disciples to work for the redemption of the world here and now, just as we will do in the New Heavens and New Earth at the Resurrection. Along with this, we should really stop saying "so and so went to heaven" when they die. Let us be Bible believers here, and just say "so and so went to be with Jesus" because that is what we know from the New Testament. Let us also stop all of the arguing about where people go when they die, and live now like we trust in God's promises for us when we die and like we want to be a part of how he is already working here and now.
In brief, Wright convincingly argues that a true New Testament understanding of heaven is one that focuses on the kingdom of God that we are already a part of here on earth. Heaven is not spoken of as some sort of physical space where we go when we die. Being a part of the kingdom of heaven means living as Christ's disciples to work for the redemption of the world here and now, just as we will do in the New Heavens and New Earth at the Resurrection. Along with this, we should really stop saying "so and so went to heaven" when they die. Let us be Bible believers here, and just say "so and so went to be with Jesus" because that is what we know from the New Testament. Let us also stop all of the arguing about where people go when they die, and live now like we trust in God's promises for us when we die and like we want to be a part of how he is already working here and now.
allisonjpmiller's review
4.0
I've read some eye-opening and incredibly helpful books on theology before - but this has probably been the most challenging. There was a point where I struggled with the conventional (but ultimately inaccurate) perspectives Wright was making me let go of, but his insight has been invaluable for me when it comes to marrying the tension between the physical world and the spiritual one, our present and our future, the way we are now and the way we will be. It's precisely where these things intersect that Christ met the world, and it's there that I want to live. A wonderful resource, well-researched and backed by Scripture at every turn. If I can accuse Wright of anything, it's of being occasionally too long-winded - but that's excusable, as certain readers are probably reeling so much at points that they need the repetition.
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book a lot.
"New Testament" Wright is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!
This was a very good read and gave me lots of understanding and analysis on the Bible.
Would recommend!
4.7/5
"New Testament" Wright is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!
This was a very good read and gave me lots of understanding and analysis on the Bible.
Would recommend!
4.7/5
vanitar's review
5.0
Excellent book on bodily resurrection and outlining what Scripture actually says about death and what happens after. Refreshing and filled with hope not only for the future but also for the present. Loved the practical application of what this means for us as the church today and to see how the things we do in pursuit of justice, beauty and evangelism are not wasted.