June 30, 2008

Surprised by Hope

On Saturday, my wife needed to do some research so we dropped off the boy at his grandparents for a few hours and went down to the Nashville Public Library. It was the perfect place to enjoy and finish up N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.

There is nothing I could say in this post to describe the gist of Wright's thinking. Every paragraph carries a big punch of theology. However, I did come away from the book with a refreshing set of thoughts on the subject of eschatology. I have not really done an in-depth study on death and what might happen to a person when he or she dies, and I'll admit I still haven't after reading Wright's book. Still, I feel like his book was a solid foundation to build on for more study on the topic. The way he presents his argument is phenomenal. It would take me years to even be at a point to dispute any of his research and thinking on life after death.

N.T. Wright certainly ranks among the brightest theological minds today. As a friend of mine says, "C.S. Lewis is a brilliant writer and good theologian while N.T. Wright is a brilliant theologian and a good writer."
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3 comments:

Phil said...

So, does thinking about eschatology differently change anything else about how you think of faith and following Jesus?

1/7/08
Anonymous said...

Not to sound stupid here, but I would be interested if you expanded on this "eschatology"subject.

Again, I don't want to sound stupid, so please overlook my questions - but would you have an url that explained eschatology in an EASY to understand way? I mean, for me it's confusing...what exactly do you believe?

I mean - you believe at any time you can just be sweeped away into heaven?

What's all that about the "new heaven" and "new earth"?

I guess there's a new heaven before you get pulled up there?

And what's all that about the 144,000 jews? What's that about?

I think the whole thing seems to be quite complex including the sequence of events - it's just confusingly intricate.

If you don't want to talk about it that's ok. But I have tried to google some of those things that I hear people talk about and I just get more confused by the massive amount of differing results. I've never seen a sight that spoke of these things in just basic, simple terms (like maybe a beginners lesson).

It doesn't matter, it's unimportant and I've never lost sleep over it. I just thought I would poke in on this post and give my 2 cents worth again :)

blessings,
sarah

1/7/08
Ben said...

@ Phil: That's tough to answer. I think after reading Wright's study, I am beginning to think differently about how I live out my faith. However, because I still have a lot to digest, it is a slow process. I certainly can tell how Wright's view causes one to think more seriously about the good you do here on earth. Perhaps, it isn't only to convert (evangelism) people...good question.

@ Sarah: It can be very complicated. Basically it is a study of "end times". That however can be taken to mean, the end of the world, the end of time, or the end of an event. It varies depending on who you talk to and their interpretation. It's not an easy study in my opinion. However, if you happen to read Wright's book I would be curious to hear your thoughts. Wright does discuss the view of Jewish views of "resurrection" (not necessarily the resurrection of Christ") during the first century.

Your questions...well that is why I enjoyed Wright's book. He begins to address some of them. However, if you wanted to know more, let me know. I can put you in touch with a gentleman who is a genius and has a wonderful grasp of the Jewish perspective on all of this. His wife is a Messianic Jew.

1/7/08

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