Every once in a while I will begin to read a book that makes me go, “Aha!”. A friend suggested I read Surprised by Hope by NT Wright. Aha! Like Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy, Surprised by Hope’s back cover does not strike one as especially brilliant or fresh, though you quickly realize what you’re reading will be discussed for years to come. In short, Wright reminds us what we are waiting for and what we should do until then. He pins his entire argument on the idea of physical resurrection and the remaking of the Creation.
This book liberates one from visions of sexless cherubs playing harps on cotton candy clouds as an image of the “after life.” In fact, the idea of an after life is very much challenged by this book. Wright focuses mostly on life after the afterlife, our bodily resurrection into new bodies where we will do new work on a new Heaven and new Earth that have become one.
In the meantime, we must do our part to fight for the Kingdom of Heaven advancing now. NT Wright stands at the end of the most gruesome century of genocide, war and environmental crimes proclaiming Ernest Hemingway’s famous words, “The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.” Wright challenges Christians to be the avant-garde in the Kingdom’s advance by doing God’s work in remaking government policies, remitting third world debt, being leaders in the arts and doing all of this by the power of the Spirit. Mr. Wright left me holding onto the hope for modern day miracles.
The power of the Holy Spirit to heal and to speak, as witnessed in Jesus’ ministry, the book of Acts and all throughout Church history was surprisingly absent from “Surprised by Hope”. Why hope in a God who will raise me from the dead one day but can’t work miracles in the present? I suspect if Christians take up Mr. Wright’s challenge to reaffirm their hope in a God who wants to advance his Kingdom in the present they will be surprised by hope and many will be surprised by the Holy Spirit’s untamed approach to making it so.
“Surprised by Hope” leaves the arguments of modern and post-modern where they belong, in the library, and revitalizes the intellect with the idea of taking action in love. In love with God, in love with His destiny for the world, and in Love with the human race which He has set all His affection on. Aha!
Surprised by Hope
Every once in a while I will begin to read a book that makes me go, “Aha!”. A friend suggested I read Surprised by Hope by NT Wright. Aha! Like Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy, Surprised by Hope’s back cover does not strike one as especially brilliant or fresh, though you quickly realize what you’re reading will be discussed for years to come. In short, Wright reminds us what we are waiting for and what we should do until then. He pins his entire argument on the idea of physical resurrection and the remaking of the Creation.
This book liberates one from visions of sexless cherubs playing harps on cotton candy clouds as an image of the “after life.” In fact, the idea of an after life is very much challenged by this book. Wright focuses mostly on life after the afterlife, our bodily resurrection into new bodies where we will do new work on a new Heaven and new Earth that have become one.
In the meantime, we must do our part to fight for the Kingdom of Heaven advancing now. NT Wright stands at the end of the most gruesome century of genocide, war and environmental crimes proclaiming Ernest Hemingway’s famous words, “The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.” Wright challenges Christians to be the avant-garde in the Kingdom’s advance by doing God’s work in remaking government policies, remitting third world debt, being leaders in the arts and doing all of this by the power of the Spirit. Mr. Wright left me holding onto the hope for modern day miracles.
The power of the Holy Spirit to heal and to speak, as witnessed in Jesus’ ministry, the book of Acts and all throughout Church history was surprisingly absent from “Surprised by Hope”. Why hope in a God who will raise me from the dead one day but can’t work miracles in the present? I suspect if Christians take up Mr. Wright’s challenge to reaffirm their hope in a God who wants to advance his Kingdom in the present they will be surprised by hope and many will be surprised by the Holy Spirit’s untamed approach to making it so.
“Surprised by Hope” leaves the arguments of modern and post-modern where they belong, in the library, and revitalizes the intellect with the idea of taking action in love. In love with God, in love with His destiny for the world, and in Love with the human race which He has set all His affection on. Aha!