Tuesday, October 7, 2008

NT Wright - Surprised by Hope

Bishop Wright is an outstanding and highly regarded New Testament scholar who is well renowned for his books. This book is no exception. 

It is an brilliant work on the nature of Christian hope. He rethinks heaven, resurrection and the church's mission. Effectively he argues that there are two common models of looking at life:
1. All is going to pot and we're waiting for heaven
2. Human progress will make all things better and heaven is here

Wright pushes for a third, biblical option that there is a combination of both models inherent in the minds of the writers of the New Testament. This model is a 'now' and 'then' interpretation of our hope. Our hope is that Jesus is working here and now for the good of this world and he is working towards the new heaven and earth as spoken of in Revelation. 

It is an easy read for a theology work, it is firmly grounded in a solid interpretation of Scripture and is profoundly Christ centered. A really good read.

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