Simply Christian [Paperback]

Tom Wright has a grand vision for Christianity. It is not

primarily one of going out and bringing people into the

church. It is not primarily about faith as assent to a

system of propositions describing correct belief about God

and our salvation. It is about God's great rescue mission

that started through creating a people Israel, and climaxed

in the appearance of Jesus as God amongst mankind. It is

about his death and rising from the dead as the first born

of a new redeemed creation, so that we could all share in

that resurrection and the resulting new creation life, and

take part in our great God given task of putting creation

to right. Tom Wright does seek to point people outside the

church towards faith in God, but his principle burden is

present such a vibrant vision of active faith that people

will find themselves summoned to rise from beneath their

pall of inaction, so that they will be inspired to take

part in the great rescue mission.

This is not the easiest book to read. Neither is it a book

which Christians can pick up to be comforted in their

certainties. It does read like a professor trying to bring

down his thoughts to an everyday level, sometimes he is

more successful, sometimes less so.

What this is not is the vision of someone trying to

undermine the historic Christian Faith, as some reviews

here have alleged.

On the theme of Justification by Faith Tom Wright says -

P178 `we can't ever earn God's favour by our own moral

effort'

P179 `This, by the way, is what St Paul meant when he spoke

of `justification by faith'. God declares that those that

share this faith are `in the right'.

On the incarnation he says -

P100 (of early Christians) `they remained firmly within

Jewish monotheism; and yet they said, from very early on,

that Jesus was indeed divine'

In another place he repeats his favourite illustration of

this in which Paul takes the Shema, the great Jewish Prayer

proclaiming the unity of God, taken from Deuteronomy 6:4,

and puts Jesus into it beside God the Father in 1

Corinthians 8:6 (page 145)

This isn't a new `Mere Christianity', but it is a valuable

vision of the Christian faith at the start of the 21st

century.

A friend used to tell the story of being lost in rural Ireland on holiday. Stopping a local farmer, he asked the way to Dublin. The farmer replied, "Well now, if I were trying to get to Dublin, I wouldn't start from here."

The genius of this book, which I have found enormously helpful in clarifying what I think about Christianity, is that it starts from where I and, I suspect, many others Westerners find themselves. This is not a book which requires you to be on the wavelength of the already-committed Christian or to be familiar with her in-house vocabulary. The author is clearly used to addressing a wider audience.

I have to confess that I have little patience with the religious jargon or party-politics of the kind found in some of the other reviews on this page. As I try to understand what Jesus may have to say to me about God, I find the in-fighting of his followers over the precise meaning of words like "atonement" or debates about whether the Reformers or the Roman Catholics have it right, profoundly unhelpful and unattractive. Such discussions do not make me want to go searching for God if I have to do so in the company of those who enjoy splitting theological hairs or putting each other down.

Tom Wright, however, caught my attention immediately not only with his crystal-clear prose and fresh, provocative imagery but with the insight that the reader will know what he means when he speaks of the Echoes we have all heard which speak to us of the greater reality for which we are all looking. In the four short, brilliantly crafted and memorable chapters which make up Part 1, he explores four areas of human experience which preoccupy many of us: the search for justice in a world which seems incapable of providing it; the widespread interest in "spirituality" which has many of us caught up in wild goose chases; the universal need to live in relationship with others, with the created order and, Wright would add, with God; and the puzzle of beauty, what it might be and why it fascinates us. The first part of the book essentially asks the question, "Do these experiences ring bells with you?". Inevitably, the answer is "Yes", and the reader is then drawn into a explanation of why this might be so from a Christian perspective which is always illuminating, sometimes erudite, never patronizing. Parts 2 and 3 take a fresh look at the historical Christian faith under headings with which most Christians, from the evangelical to the orthodox, would be familiar and comfortable. They include "Jesus, Rescue and Renewal", "Living By the Spirit", "Prayer" and "Believing and Belonging".

One of the marks of a great teacher is the ability to simplify and distil complexity without becoming simplistic or imbalanced. Tom Wright has this gift in abundance. One senses the depth of his scholarship on every page and respects him for it, but the text which emerges from the depths of his experience is attractive and accessible enough to hold even a teenager's attention. One might almost say that, like many popular airport novels, this is a "page turner". Once hooked, you want to know what comes next.

The overview that he is able to offer of the key components of Christian belief is impressive. If nothing else (and it is a great deal else) this would make a first-rate revision course in Christian basics for jaded believers in need of refreshment. And for those who may have been misled without realising it. I have been a Christian for 35 years, have belonged to a number of different churches and have read countless books about the Christian faith; but I have been startled to discover in these pages that I hold assumptions which shouldn't be there. I am grateful to have been put right by a man who really knows what he's talking about and can demonstrate it with wisdom and gentleness from a deep knowledge of Scripture, theology and church history. If I may use a Wright-like image, the experience of reading this book has been, for me, a little like sitting in the chair at the optician's while he places a series of lenses in front of my eyes. As lens after lens is applied and adjusted, eventually the furniture in his office comes into clear focus and I see it and him as they were meant to be seen, without the blur.

If you are looking for a book which has a chance of reigniting your hope that the church may have something to say to the world after all, as long as it scratches where people are itching and speaks to them in a language that they understand, this may well be it. On the other hand, if you are trying to sort out which of the scandalously numerous Christian denominations has cornered the correct interpretation of this or that verse of the New Testament, you may be disappointed. There is an absence of bigotry here, as one would expect of a book written by a thoughtful disciple of Jesus. As the author Anne Rice has written, "This is a book about Christ that is full of the spirit of Christ himself".

Alot of the reviews you read of this book on Amazon.co.uk deal with a controversy surrounding the academic research Tom Wright has engaged in that has very little to do with this book. If you are:

a) a Christian who wants to understand the grand narrative of Christianity better and get a better handle on Scripture

b) a non-Christian who wants to educate themselves on what Christianity actually is

c) a new Christian who is grappling for somewhere to hold on to

then this book is ideal. It may not be quite as earth-shattering as Mere Christianity but the comparison stands because over the coming years who knows what influence this book might have?

All the complaints about this book are about the Bishop's academic research into the Jewish context Jesus and his followers lived in and the controversy has to do with a historical question to do with Pharisees and reformer, theological terms like imputed or vindicated and a section of evangelical Christianity that feels very threatened. For most of you considering this book, it is all over your head. Its an academic discussion that has become a popular one because of the very huge success Wright has had in making his case. His writing, even his scholarly efforts (which are published as NT Wright) are accessible to any interested reader. Some people have started with an interest and ended up having nightmares which is unfortunate for them. But their reviews of this book are unduly clouded by these tangential concerns.

This book, taken on its own, independent of any furore surrounding Tom Wright, is a superb introduction to Christianity. He has an easy to read style that can sometimes come across as patronising but once you find your rythym with him you will see he is just guiding you along with care. This is as innovative an approach to explaining Christianity as Lewis' "Beyond Personality" approach was with the famous Mere Christianity. I think it is as well adjusted for Wright's day as Lewis' was in his own.

The great strength of this book is that it takes you from discussions about the seemingly meaningful echoes we all experience in our life that seem to point to something more right through into the complete Biblical story and crucially out again to how it relates to our lives today. It is very readable. You could discuss it in a group setting. You can understand it without any introduction or support. It is well worth the money and the time. I hope you buy it and I hope you enjoy reading it!