A review by skitch41
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright

4.0

With each book of [ai:N.T. Wright|38932|N.T. Wright|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1294175870p2/38932.jpg][a:N.T. Wright|38932|N.T. Wright|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1294175870p2/38932.jpg]'s that I read, the more my faith in Christ grows. This is one of the best books you will find about the meaning of Christ's resurrection and on the Christian's belief (read hope) in the bodily resurrection at the End of Days when Heaven and Earth will be joined together and perfected. Mr. Wright does a fine job of dispelling the dualistic belief in separate spheres for heaven and earth that has infiltrated the Church and popular conceptions of Christian theology and brings us back to the original belief in the bodily resurrection. But more than that he ties belief in Christ's resurrection and the bodily resurrection of believers to the way Christians and the Church are to live and pursue it's mission as God's redeemed people and messengers in such a way that should quite nearly blow your mind! As I delved deeper into what Mr. Wright was saying and read the passages of the Bible that he cited, the more my faith, love, and hope seemed to increase. However, as much as I want to give this book five stars, there is something that holds me back. One of the problems Mr. Wright has in all of his works is that his rhetoric and passion are so great that his main argument can get consumed in it. For the first half of the book I wasn't totally sure what he was arguing other than that our popular conceptions of heaven and the resurrection were wrong. And I still don't fully understand what he was saying about the ascension of Christ at the end of the Gospel accounts and the beginning of Acts. Thus, even though this book is meant for a popular and not a scholarly audience, you may want to read slowly and carefully through each chapter before moving on. Still, like his book on basic Christian belief, [bc:Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense|69094|Simply Christian Why Christianity Makes Sense|N.T. Wright|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1170703202s/69094.jpg|66955][b:Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense|69094|Simply Christian Why Christianity Makes Sense|N.T. Wright|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1170703202s/69094.jpg|66955], this should be required reading for all Christians regardless of denomination.