Wright, NT - Surprised by Hope

[Eric Frey]

Has anyone reviewed this yet? I thought I'd seen it discussed on here, but now I can't find it. Perhaps it was before the crash? I finished it last week, and it was definitely a "MUST READ"!!! It is foundationally an ecclesiology but looks at topics such as death, life after death, resurrection, the kingdom of God, and the community we are called to be in this world. It is a huge life-changer for sure.

[Billie Goodson]

It was reviewed B.C. I have the book, but have yet to read it... It is the "next" book on my shelf to be read. Other books just keep jumping in line ahead of it. Wright is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors although his writings take a while for me to read.

[Hans Deventer]

Billie is right. The reviews have been lost. So if you can write a new one, please do, Eric!

[Susan Unger]

It is on my list of summer books to read. Said pile is quite large but this topic sounds very interesting.

[Ryan Scott]

I'd say, outside scripture itself, this is probably the most important book for a Christian to read right now.

[John Reilly]

I have the book, in fact i have several of N.T Wright's books. I will work on a review but after New England District assembly, which is June 13-16. Everyone is invited. Come and see us!!! Jim Chabott will buy everyone lunch.

[Susan Unger]

I have the book, in fact i have several of N.T Wright's books. I will work on a review but after New England District assembly, which is June 13-16. Everyone is invited. Come and see us!!! Jim Chabott will buy everyone lunch.

If he's buying, and bringing snow with him, it would be well worth the trip for me :)

[Peggy Gray]

I am almost half done reading this book. I got off to a bit of a slow start, distracted by his style of writing. I am at best average academically, so it's not a breeze for me--I have to stop and look up some of the theological terms you folks use with such ease...and pause every few sentences to chew on things. :smilies0717:

That said, I went into this book with well-established (over 40 years in the church) beliefs concerning "heaven", "hell", "life after death", and so on. I've tried very hard over the years not to be tossed to and fro by every new wave or idea that hits the book stores, but to hold firm. "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." (I know, I know)

While each time I pick up the book and my highlighter, I do so with eager anticipation, it's also quite, well, unsettling after all these years to be confronted with things which now I'm beginning to think should have been obvious.

Are most of my favorite songs about heaven, some of which my mother and grandmother sang, just theological bunk? He used one of my favorite gospel songs as an example of Christian hymns that wander off into Gnosticism!

Did we REALLY used to hand tracts to strangers and initiate the conversation with, "If you died tonight, do you know you'd go to heaven?"

Was I feeding my children folk theology when I said, "Grammy's in heaven now"?

Why, in 40 years, has no one ever taught/preached/suggested these things to me? Why have I never seen them for myself and wondered, "How can these verses possibly be consistant with my pereception of life after death?"

As I said, I've not finished the book. And I'm not quite ready to say, "I was wrong". But I'm close. And that's kind of scary.

[Ryan Scott]

Yeah, it's quite a ride, Peggy. For me it was a bit of relief. I'd been thinking this direction myself through my own study of scripture and history, but it seemed like I was venturing into strange, foreign territory. It was nice to pick up a book like this from a respected, mainstream scholar and see the tradition behind it.

[Susan Unger]

I am almost half done reading this book. I got off to a bit of a slow start, distracted by his style of writing. I am at best average academically, so it's not a breeze for me--I have to stop and look up some of the theological terms you folks use with such ease...and pause every few sentences to chew on things. :smilies0717:

That said, I went into this book with well-established (over 40 years in the church) beliefs concerning "heaven", "hell", "life after death", and so on. I've tried very hard over the years not to be tossed to and fro by every new wave or idea that hits the book stores, but to hold firm. "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." (I know, I know)

While each time I pick up the book and my highlighter, I do so with eager anticipation, it's also quite, well, unsettling after all these years to be confronted with things which now I'm beginning to think should have been obvious.

Are most of my favorite songs about heaven, some of which my mother and grandmother sang, just theological bunk? He used one of my favorite gospel songs as an example of Christian hymns that wander off into Gnosticism!

Did we REALLY used to hand tracts to strangers and initiate the conversation with, "If you died tonight, do you know you'd go to heaven?"

Was I feeding my children folk theology when I said, "Grammy's in heaven now"?

Why, in 40 years, has no one ever taught/preached/suggested these things to me? Why have I never seen them for myself and wondered, "How can these verses possibly be consistant with my pereception of life after death?"

As I said, I've not finished the book. And I'm not quite ready to say, "I was wrong". But I'm close. And that's kind of scary.

I can appreciate your struggle, Peggy. His writing style is hard to get used to. I am familiar with the words but his writing style is different than mine. In Challenge of Jesus, it seemed like he took his own sweet time to get to the point which drove me nuts. Hopefully, How God Became King won't be so meandering. After I am done with that book, I plan on getting to Surprised by Hope along with some Nazarene and Lutheran books on the subject.

And I can also appreciate the challenge of sorting through one's beliefs and realizing a lot of them must go. Thankfully, I have several non-Nazarene friends so have had an inkling that others interpreted passages differently than my church did to help soften the blow. But for those who've had no such inkling, I imagine it would be very difficult.

[Doug Ward]

Peggy, it is not about being wrong or right, but seeing your initial beliefs being shaped and reformed to better align with Scripture and theology. After N.T. Wright, I can never read "the meek will inherit the Earth" the same again. It is now infused with meaning. Then when I go to Romans 8 and Revelation 21, well, one could get excited. Embrace the change!

[Peggy Gray]

I'm giving this book 4 stars out of a possible 5, because I'm not sure if I'm quite on board with about 10% of it, and there's another 10% where I have no idea what he's talking about.

[Steve Malcolm]

I love this book. It helped give form to some vague ideas that I couldn't quite articulate. If you have the time, his giant tomes on the death and ressurection of Jesus are well worth it.