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Holy Easter | Home » » Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church | | | | | | | Description: | | For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| N. T. Wright | | Hardcover:
| 352 pages | | Publisher:
| HarperOne | | Publication Date:
| February 05, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0061551821 | | Product Length:
| 9.1 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.3 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.1 pounds | | Package Length:
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140 of 143 found the following review helpful:
N.T. Wright At His BestMar 10, 2008
By Jonathan Pedrone
N.T. Wright has written another brilliant work echoing he previously published masterpiece on the resurrection. Wright's expounds on a Christian hope firmly rooted in the Biblical narrative that longs for new creation.
In a world where the radio orthodoxy of Christianity espouses a gospel of fire insurance, Wright correctly and articulates a gospel and hope for so much more than disembodied bliss. "God's Kingdom in the preaching of Jesus refers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but to God's sovereign rule coming on earth as it is in heaven".
Our hope according to Wright is not "going to heaven when you die" but rather in life after life after death. We hope not for an escape from this earth, but to the glorious day when God will make all things new.
Readers of this book may find the lack of eschatological certainty within the book frustrating. In a Christian sub-culture where end-times charts and elaborate explanations of the book of Revelation are the norm, Wright is careful to show that Christian eschatology is not about a certitude of specific events yet to come, but rather a hope for a renewed earth. Eschatology must be viewed as sign posts guiding our way through a fog rather than a detailed map.
Wright's comments in chapter 12 on the meaning of salvation are worth the price of the book, and his restatement of the doctrine of hell in chapter 11 is worth twice the price of the book. How we view the gospel, and the death and resurrection of Jesus greatly determines how our definition and the outworking of salvation.
In short, this is N.T. Wright at his best. A foremost expert on the resurrection of Jesus and the implications of Christ's defeat of death on eschatology and future hope, Wright has given us a clear, readable, and deeply Biblical picture of Christian hope.
192 of 204 found the following review helpful:
Hope-Inspiring, mostlyApr 26, 2008
By A. Blake White
I am hesitant to recommend Wright's work, especially to those not firmly grounded in the gospel, but this is a great book. I always find him insightful, but have some significant disagreements with him, especially concerning his views on Paul.
Wright states in the preface, "Most people, in my experience-including many Christan's-don't know what the ultimate Christian hope really is. Most people-again, sadly, including many Christians-don't expect Christians to have much to say about hope within the present world" (xi). Wright's aim in this book is to do his part to straighten this out.
Chapter 1 sets the scene by describing the broader world's confusion about hope, then describes three popular views about the afterlife in the world: annihilation, reincarnation, and ghosts and the possibility of spiritualistic contact with the dead (new age stuff).
Chapter 2 describes the reigning confusion about hope in the church, which has oscillated between seeing death as a vile enemy or a welcome friend. Wright blames Platonism's influence on the Christian faith for much of the confusion and reason why so many value the soul over the body. He is concerned that not many Christians understand biblical hope, and rarely think about it, much less live in light of it. The biblical vision of "heaven" is not souls flying off to a spiritual domain but resurrected bodies reigning with Christ on the new heavens and new earth. He then lays out the effects of the confusion in our hymns (the ultimate vision is not us going home up there but Christ coming here), our celebration of the Christian year (Easter should be celebrated more than Christmas), and funerals. The wider implications of our confusion about the future have to do with how we live here and now, and the way we look at earth and our actions here. If one thinks God is going to destroy this universe, why care about it now? Wright rightly argues that there will be both continuity and discontinuity between this earth and the transformed earth, so that what we do here matters enormously.
Chapter 3 was very helpful, laying out the Jewish and pagan historical setting and their beliefs about resurrection around the time of Jesus. This whet my appetite for his big book on resurrection. The early Christians modified the Jewish belief in at least 7 ways. Jews were looking for one big end-time resurrection event, not one man in the middle of history before all others. Here we have NT inaugurated eschatology. Christ's resurrection was the first fruits (the first of the harvest guaranteeing the rest) securing the resurrection of all who are incorporated into him by faith (although Wright might say baptism).
Chapter 4 covers the Easter accounts in the gospels. Here Wright makes the case for the resurrection historically and apologetically. Ultimately, there is a clash of worldviews but all the evidence points to the fact that Christ has been raised. How will you respond? Chapter 5 covers God's future world and describes two worldly alternatives to hope: evolutionary optimism (the myth of progress that cannot deal with the rampant evil in the world) and souls in transit (with a negative view of all things material - Platonic & Gnostic - the "just passin' through' mindset). The next chapter lays out the Christian view of the future world, which is opposed to both. The fundamental structures of hope are the goodness of creation, the nature of evil, and the plan of redemption. God has raised Christ and has promised to not only raise us, but redeem the whole cosmos (Rom 8.18-25).
In chapter 7, Wright lays out the biblical teaching on the ascension, cosmology, and concludes with a brief comment on the second coming and the unfortunate effects of the "highly distorted" interpretations of dispensationalism (119). In chapter 8, he tackles the second coming, focusing on the son of man sayings, parousia (coming), and attention to 1 Thess 4.16-17, 1 Cor 15, & Phil. 3. Wright sees the son of man coming sayings as being fulfilled in A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem. The next chapter focuses on the coming of Jesus as judge. God in Christ will set the world to rights. Chapter 10 is on the future resurrection in Scripture. In order to distinguish his view from the popular view, he calls the resurrection "life after life after death" (148). Here he rightly focuses on 1 Cor 15. Our future bodies will be physical, and entirely animated by the Spirit. He closes the chapter by answering the practical questions of who, where, what, why, when, and how of the resurrection.
Chapter 11 answers the question of "Where are the dead now?" Wright knocks down the belief in purgatory, and also explains paradise, or the intermediate state. If we die before the Lord returns, we go to paradise, to be with the Lord until he returns to the earth to raise our bodies and renew the cosmos. Wright then argues against universalism, against annihilationism, and for a novel view of hell, where basically the person who was once human, become "ex-human." Chapter 12 deals with the practical implications of hope. He writes of the significance of our work here and now. He also says we should rethink what we mean by salvation by making it broader: "Salvation, then, is not 'going to heaven' but 'being raised to life in God's new heaven and new earth" (198). He closes the chapter with a theological and practical exposition of the kingdom of God.
Chapter 13 is about building for the kingdom. As mentioned, there will be continuity but we aren't told what this will look like. He seeks a middle way between the social gospel advocates and fundamentalists. He mentions the work of justice, beauty, and evangelism. The following chapter goes to the biblical roots for reshaping the church's mission looking primarily at the Gospels, Acts, and Paul. His exposition of Luke 24 is great. Wright concludes with a chapter on living for the future with the redeeming of space, time, and matter. "The mission of the church is nothing more or less than the outworking, in the power of the Spirit, of Jesus's bodily resurrection and thus the anticipation of the time when God will fill the earth with his glory, transform the old heavens and earth into the new, and raise his children from the dead to populate and rule over the redeemed world he has made" (265). He ends the book with 6 aspects of resurrection and spirituality (new birth and baptism, Eucharist, prayer, Scripture, holiness, love) and an appendix consisting of 2 Easter sermons.
80% of this book is excellent. Wright has immersed himself in the story of Israel and the sources of the 1st century. His writing style is excellent. The truth and glory of the resurrection needs to be emphasized more and more in our churches. Our people need to be a people characterized by hope, which motivates mission. God's people also ought to be holistic. Wright is right that the Christian mission consists of more than 'saving souls.' It is at this point however that I take issue with the book. The section on hell is far from the biblical text. It seems strange to me that with his knowledge of the text he can say that "Jesus simply didn't say very much about the future life" (177). Christ spoke more of hell than anyone else in the NT. Wright lacks categories for sin, and wrath. Dehumanization does not do justice to Scripture's teaching on final judgment. I agree that some verses speak metaphorically, but one cannot escape the conclusion that hell will consist of physical and psychological torment, an element that Wright's doctrine of hell certainly misses. He caricatures the traditional view, and waxes eloquent on his own view. This may also feed his de-emphasis on evangelism and 'saving souls.' But if all sinners will face is sub-humanity, the urgency of sharing the gospel decreases significantly. He seems more excited about political engagement than pointing sinners to Christ, who saves from the coming wrath (1 Thess 1.10). Wright is certainly on a program to move away from the individualism of modernity, but we ought not go further than the text. God is concerned with individuals as well as corporate structures.
Also, I certainly don't agree that Jesus never spoke of his second coming. Although difficult in places, the eschatological discourses of Jesus cannot be limited to the destruction of Jerusalem. The new perspective comes out in places as well. In the chapter on judgment, he writes that God's verdict will be on the basis of the "entire life led" which is another way of saying by obedience or works. I want to agree with Wright that obedience is absolutely necessary for salvation, but the basis of our salvation is Christ crucified and risen. Our obedience flows from a salvation given to faith in Christ. Finally, if one did not know better, you'd think that he was the first one who is actually teaching the biblical view of heaven as a new earth. Certainly, many Christians are confused on this issue but there have been many theologians before Wright teaching resurrection and a new earth (not least the Dutch Reformed tradition: Berkouwer, Bavinck, Hoekema, Berkhof, & Randy Alcorn and David Lawrence).
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 The Title's True! This is a Surprising Book about the Core Hopes -- and the Crucial Work -- of ChristianityApr 29, 2008
By David Crumm
"Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine"
Friends call him "Tom" -- and, at this point, Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright has friends around the world, eagerly looking for his next visit and his next book. There's an air of C.S. Lewis about the bishop of Durham.
Nearly a decade ago, he became a sensation among American journalists for touring the country with Marcus Borg, the two of them cast as a pair of dueling Bible scholars and co-authors of a still very popular book, "The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions." What drew headlines coast to coast was that, in each city along their tour, the crowds were larger than anyone envisioned. I recall reporting on this myself, double checking to make sure the claims were true -- that thousands of people, rather than hundreds, were hungry to hear truly gifted scholars debate details of Jesus' life and ministry.
That year, Borg played the provocateur, skeptical about many traditional claims concerning Jesus. However, since that time, Borg's own path has veered right into what he calls "The Heart of Christianity" and his recent books are read by thousands of regular churchgoers across the U.S.
That year, Tom Wright played what I can best describe as the C.S. Lewis role. In many of Tom's books, he even writes in Lewis' nuts-and-bolts voice and measured cadence. Many Americans may have forgotten the role Lewis played as a Christian titan in the popular media of his era. In his heyday, before "The Chronicles of Narnia" eclipsed everything else he wrote, Lewis was famous as "a Christian apologist," meaning that he'd go anywhere and stand toe to toe with anyone to defend his orthodox view of the faith.
The truth about this more recent pairing is that Wright and Borg both studied at Oxford and both share a passion for grappling with both the latest historical research into the biblical record -- and a passion for stirring up the church into a vigorous force for change in the world. The two "foes" still disagree on many points, but they're getting closer and closer to an all-out, rabble-rousing appeal to the Christian church to rise up, take a daring step away from its all-too-individualistic focus on saving "my" soul. They both want to see Christians creatively dive into the work of healing this broken world.
What's Tom saying now that's so daring and urgent?
There's no way to fully capture a book so full of fascinating insights as "Surprised by Hope" in just a couple of lines. But, hey, I'm a trained journalist, so I'm going to try. Before we turn to our Q and A with Tom himself, here are a few lines from his new book that I think suggest the daring voice that speaks from this volume.
By the time these lines appear in Tom's book (around page 200), he already has argued that Christians have a sadly muddled view of what the Bible and classical Christianity teach about resurrection, heaven and the mission of the church. One core stone in that foundation is that we are called, not to focus on escaping from evil bodies and an evil Earth into a heavenly realm -- but, instead, we are called to work with God to heal and renew his Creation in a glorious new way.
Tom writes: "As long as we see salvation in terms of going to heaven when we die, the main work of the church is bound to be seen in terms of saving souls for that future. But when we see salvation, as the New Testament sees it, in terms of God's promised new heavens and new earth and of our promised resurrection to share in that new and gloriously embodied reality ... then the main work of the church here and now demands to be rethought in consequence."
Then, a little more than a page later, Tom links this argument with the New Testament in this way: "For the first Christians, the ultimate salvation was all about God's new world, and the point of what Jesus and the apostles were doing when they were healing people or being rescued from shipwreck or whatever was that this was a proper anticipation of that ultimate salvation, that healing transformation of space, time and matter. The future rescue that God had planned and promised was starting to come true in the present.
"We are saved not as souls but as wholes."
For many readers, it's time to rethink our assumptions about what Tom Wright is saying. I actually finished reading Tom's new book with a grin.
I'm thinking: I'll bet there are a bunch of people out there for whom this is the first Tom Wright book they'll own. And, I'll bet there are some pulpits out there from which this is the first Tom Wright book that'll be quoted in a sermon.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Traditional Orthodoxy and EschatologyMay 26, 2008
By Michael Kear
Surprised by Hope by Bishop N. T. Wright is a defense of the traditional eschatology of the mainstream church. Wright is quite eloquent and I always learn something when I read his books. This one is no exception. Here Wright journeys through the good, the bad, and the ugly landscape of current eschatology and compares it with his take on the beliefs of the early Christian believers. From time to time on this journey he ventures briefly onto more progressive roads-less-travelled, but (frustratingly for me!) he always retreats back into the safe haven of traditional orthodoxy. Wright does envision a future with hope - a hope based squarely in the resurrection of Christ - but he comes short of embracing the radical hope of a complete and ultimate cosmic renewal and unity in Christ, saying, "One cannot forever whistle 'There's a wideness in God's mercy' in the darkness of Hiroshima..." (p. 180). Those who still espouse that particular "wideness" will be disappointed by Wright's theory of hell: one in which sinners are stripped of their humanity and become "beings that were once human but now are not" who are "beyond hope" and "beyond pity" existing forever in "an ex-human state... no longer [exciting] in themselves or others the natural sympathy some feel even for the hardened criminal" (p. 182-183). This, despite the book's title, is not the kind of hope that entails the glorious vision of God as "all in all".
There are hints of Jurgen Moltmann in Wright's thoughts and concepts, but the hope which surprises him is not nearly as startling and comprehensive as that put forth by Moltmann. Consider this from Moltmann's The Coming of God: "True hope must be universal, because its healing future embraces every individual and the whole universe. If we were to surrender hope for as much as one single creature, for us God would not be God." (p. 132). The parts of the book that reflected Moltmann were the most enjoyable to me.
Let me also add that one of my concerns in this book is Wright's caricature of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. It is either a caricature or Wright does not fully understand Teilhard. Chardin comes across in this book as something of a secular progressive who was looking starry-eyed into a glorious future accomplished by a godless evolution alone. This is simply not what Teilhard taught or believed.
Having mentioned a couple of my concerns, let me happily say that there are some great concepts and paragraphs throughout the book - too many for me to quote here. But I will indulge you with one on the subject of what Wright calls collaborative eschatology: "Because the early Christians believed that resurrection had begun with Jesus and would be completed in the great final resurrection on the last day, they believed that God had called them to work with him, in the power of the Spirit, to implement the achievement of Jesus and thereby to anticipate the final resurrection, in personal and political life, in mission and holiness. It was not merely that God had inaugurated the 'end'; if Jesus, the Messiah, was the End in person, God's-future-arrived-in-the-present, then those who belonged to Jesus and followed him and were empowered by his Spirit were charged with transforming the present, as far as they were able, in light of that future" (Page 46).
My take on the book is that it is very well written, it is a joy to read, and it will be especially appreciated by those who want to see an outstanding apologetic on orthodox amillennialism from a perspective they may not have encountered before.
As an even more hopeful companion to this volume, I would highly recommend William H. Willimon's newest book, Who Will Be Saved? (ISBN-10: 0687651190).
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
"...because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!"Mar 04, 2010
By George
To be honest, I have shied away from N.T. Wright for some time, having heard talk of tension and controversy. But browsing in my local library, I decided to take the plunge. Once again, I am happy I did! N.T. Wright does exactly what he intends: stand the hope of bodily resurrection and the new creation before his readers and ask where that hope leads us. Though Wright seems to think he will be met with controversy for this statement of hope, I found myself in general agreement, almost amazed that his view needed defending within the church!
Surprised By Hope is written as a corrective against "popular" Christian thought on heaven, the "afterlife", our mission and our place in the world. Wright shows with great clarity that our hope for the future is not in a distant heaven, but in a new creation. He declares again and again the goodness of God's creation, which though marred, he intends to restore and remake. He calls us to a life of action, that sees every Christlike deed as an act of building for the kingdom, something that will last, and not be wasted. Thus, rather than being highly cerebral, Wright tries at every turn to remind the reader that what he is saying has implications for the here and now.
Heaven and paradise, hell, purgatory - all are covered in his attempt to elucidate eschatology for the reader. Purgatory is rejected powerfully. Hell is handled with some kid gloves. And heaven and paradise are described in depth as the temporary residence on the road to resurrection for those who are part of the new creation. Some within his own tradition may find his handling of these three startling. I did not. However, I know there are many in my own local body who would be much more taken aback. In the end, the new creation, the merger of heaven and earth once sin and death are once and for all dealt with in full (Christ's resurrection a precursor to this) provide the backdrop for this and the rest of the book.
This is not about just reshaping Christian teaching so that it can match up better, so that our eulogies and funerary practices are more in line with scripture. It is about responding to the new creation initiated within us by the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself. While we will not remake the world into some idyllic Garden by our own action, we will bring God no glory, and will have quite missed God's point, if we get caught up in a "ticket to heaven" mentality and fail to live and grow as his new creation. Thus he will likely alienate those on both sides of the theological and political spectrum. The book is a call to be about more than just what is "spiritual", while not drifting away into a social gospel that is detached from the power of a risen savior:
"...the task of the church between ascension and parousia is therefore set free both from self-driven energy that imagines it has to build God's kingdom all by itself and from the despair that supposes it can't do anything until Jesus comes again. We do not "build the kingdom" all by ourselves, but we do build for the kingdom. Al that we do in faith, hope, and love in the present, in obedience to our ascended Lord and in the power of his Spirit, will be enhanced and transformed at his appearing (p. 143)..."
Wright makes many attempts at lightening the mood through humor (e.g. p. 207),and though not always accomplishing his objective, the intent is appreciated. In general, I found the tone of the entire book to be patient, allowing for questions as they might arise, yet unyielding and definitive when it came to the gospel. While coming from an entirely different tradition than my own, I felt like I was hearing a message from a long-time friend, one who felt comfortable pointing out misdirection knowing it would be received in love. Wright comes across as an authority, grasping the biblical data and able to handle it with great dexterity, and not just a scholar with an axe to grind. There is some disjointedness and repetition, due to the fact that this book is the collection and reworking of a number of lectures given by the author. But I did not find this a major distraction.
While there is much I agree with Wright in this book, there were a number of things that left me in a mood for quibbling. On page 216 (and then scattered, deliberately placed references throughout) he describes his intent to record his "conviction that [Third World debt remission] is the number one moral issue of our day." While it is his book, and he can freely record his conviction in whatever he sees fit, I know not nearly enough about the subject to either support or argue with him on the matter. I expect he intends it as an example of where our understanding of the new creation already begun should have real actionable results in the now, but without more discussion of why this example is fitting, I would have to say it is a failure to get his point across. It instead invites argument and debate.
Where he discusses the sacraments, especially the Eucharist in pages 273-276, I was unimpressed by the vague wording used. Though I see him aiming at redirecting us from understanding Communion as symbol-only, towards an actual, though "new creation", partaking of Christ, I don't think this was necessary or beneficial to the overall flow of the text. Once again, though it is related to the topic, his own particular view on the matter may cause more friction in getting the major theme of the book across since it is clearly much harder to swallow and not foundational to the topic (my opinion, of course).
I find myself in disagreement with Wright that, "during his earthly ministry Jesus said nothing about his return." (p. 125). While he does raise some interesting points, I am simply not convinced by his argument. His point is not to question the truth of the Christian claim of Jesus' return (as he makes very clear), but the idea that Jesus himself taught that he would. To be fair, his argument (p. 128) attempts to put Jesus' own statement regarding the "Son of Man" in the "proper" context of Daniel 7 and messianic expectation, and should be given some careful consideration before moving on. As well, his comments on parousia and royal presence are helpful to the overall flow of the book even if one does disagree with his original contention about Jesus' own teaching.
In discussing the destiny of those who are not a part of the "new creation" (pp. 182-183), discussing hell, he is by his own admission rather speculative. I'd have to say his speculations didn't help clarify anything for me. But such is the way with speculations, and his approach was certainly not combative in this instance.
A final point of interest, which at first I found a tedious stretch, was his noting that Jesus is mistaken for a gardener at the tomb. To Wright, this takes on nuance and meaning as Christ is the new Adam, the tender of God's creation (p. 210). And while I slightly rolled my eyes when I first read this comment (which was not the only mention of the idea), and am still rather guarded about putting much faith or credence in it, it is interesting. Wouldn't it be just like God - one more time to try to get his message across.
The book was very enjoyable to read, and its subject matter is essential for a proper view of our mission and God's purposes. It was handled by Wright in a slightly defensive way, but the defense is artfully as well as passionately given.
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