At Least I Understand Some of It, Maybe

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A few things are striking me as I read N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope.

1.  I think I would be lucky to walk away with 50% comprehension.  I get the feeling that I may be becoming dumber as I read or at the very least I am grossly aware of my ignorance.

2.  If you aren’t familiar with the book essentially he is proposing that our notions of heaven are simply unBiblical and our view of life after death should be more centered in putting things to right/order/justice in a literal Kingdom of God on Earth.  One of the ways he addresses what he calls “rapture theology” is by referring to Jesus coming down to rapture everyone as a “spaceman” the thought of the Bishop of Durham referring to Jesus as a spaceman always makes me smile.

3. He also comments on heaven (in our Western perception) is really  the place where “God’s purposes for the future are stored up”  Not only is this thought challenging and refreshing but his subsequent illustration also brings a smile to my face.

“If I say to a friend. ‘I’ve kept some beer in the fridge for you,’ that doesn’t mean that he has to climb into the fridge in order to drink the beer.”

Understanding the cultural differences I still find it refreshingly to see the leading NT scholar use beer in an analogy that doesn’t condemn the beverage or the partaker(s)

August 19, 2009 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments

About Josh: Josh is a Rookie Pastor who works for a local church that he loves. He coordinates local lunch meet-ups with other Rookie Pastors in the Indianapolis area and loves to connect with other Rookie Pastors on and off line. It is his hope that Rookie Pastor will contribute to the health, longevity, and effectiveness of church leaders.

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  1. Top Books of 2010 « Josh Tandy - December 11, 2010

    [...] you are big time.  This is third in his trilogy of sorts rounding out what Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope started.  So what do you do in between baptism and the grave?  This book is an attempt to help [...]

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    [...] and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright If Death by Love illuminated the Cross, then Surprised by Hope puts a 5 million watt flood light on the Resurrection of Jesus and the future Resurrection of His [...]
  4. Monday Morning Quick Hits | Rookie Pastor - November 28, 2011

    [...] interview with N.T. Wright concerning his new book Simply Jesus. I read a lot of Wright and understand some of it, but in this book he returns to a common theme of speaking about the Kingdom in a full [...]
  5. Monday Morning Quick Hits | Rookie Pastor - January 30, 2012

    [...] Wright has put together a small group curriculum based on Surprised by Hope. Here is the [...]

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