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What do Christians hope for? To leave this wicked world and go to 'heaven'? For the 'kingdom of God' to grow gradually on earth? What do we mean by the 'resurrection of the body', and how does that fit with the popular image of sitting on clouds playing harps? And how does all this affect the way we live in the here and now? Tom Wright, one of our leading theologians, addresses these questions in this provocative and wide-ranging book.
He outlines the present confusion about future hope in both church and world. Then, having explained why Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself, he explores the biblical hope for 'new heavens and new earth', and shows how the 'second coming' of Jesus, and the eventual resurrection, belong within that larger picture, together with the intermediate hope for 'heaven'.
For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise.Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation - and if this has already begun in Jesus' resurrection - the church cannot stop at 'saving souls', but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life - not only after death but before it.
He outlines the present confusion about future hope in both church and world. Then, having explained why Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself, he explores the biblical hope for 'new heavens and new earth', and shows how the 'second coming' of Jesus, and the eventual resurrection, belong within that larger picture, together with the intermediate hope for 'heaven'.
For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise.Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation - and if this has already begun in Jesus' resurrection - the church cannot stop at 'saving souls', but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life - not only after death but before it.
About the Author
Tom Wright, formerly Bishop of Durham, is now Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews. He is a regular broadcaster on radio and television, and the author of over forty books, including the For Everyone guides to the New Testament, the best-selling Simply Christian and Virtue Reborn; and the magisterial series entitled Christian Origins and the Question of God.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What are we waiting for? And what are we going to do about it in the meantime? These are the big questions Tom Wright asks right at the start of this wide-ranging examination of the classic Christian concept of hope. Characteristically thorough, but nevertheless crystal-clear throughout, Wright's book takes a critical look at an idea that, for Christians as much as for anyone else, has become rather `fuzzy'.
But if you thought Christian hope was simply a matter of clocking into heaven when you die (perhaps after a period of dutiful post-death `journeying' - the idea of purgatory being very much in vogue, it seems), Wright may make you think again. Master of the pithy phrase, he draws the reader's attention to "life after `life after death` " - for the ultimate reality is a new heaven and a new earth. And that has massive implications for our lives now: it means we are not `restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire', or planting roses in a garden about to be bulldozed: what we do now matters for all time and eternity. So we need to take this earth - its beauties, our bodies, justice, God's rule - with the utmost seriousness. And celebrate the person and the event that give it all value and undergird its hope - Jesus and his resurrection. In one of my favourite passages, Wright urges us to celebrate Easter right through to ascension, using the time to take up something new that might help us `wake up in a whole new way' - give us `a sniff of new possibilities, new hopes, new ventures' - and in doing so bring something of the real meaning of Easter.
The author's exploration of our future hope is carefully grounded in an analysis of what the resurrection meant for early Christians, and how they understood the future of hope - so much more than `heaven when you die'. All this, and a quick tour of (a Wright understanding of) heaven, hell, purgatory and the real meaning of the `rapture'.
`Surprised by hope' is a richly rewarding read - though not without its faults. Wright has much to say about the importance of the created order being redeemed and renewed, but he doesn't give many clear pointers as to what that might mean for us now, or refer us to the growing theological literature that does so. And though his stated aim is to set out some practical ways hope can come alive for individuals or communities that lack it, he concentrates less on the practicalities than on digging some really solid foundations from which they can rise. But these are minor blemishes. What endures from the book? A clear call to build for the kingdom - a job of work that draws on a hope for the present and the future, grounded in a past event of eternal importance. Time to stretch that canvas on a new frame, and bed those roses in...
But if you thought Christian hope was simply a matter of clocking into heaven when you die (perhaps after a period of dutiful post-death `journeying' - the idea of purgatory being very much in vogue, it seems), Wright may make you think again. Master of the pithy phrase, he draws the reader's attention to "life after `life after death` " - for the ultimate reality is a new heaven and a new earth. And that has massive implications for our lives now: it means we are not `restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire', or planting roses in a garden about to be bulldozed: what we do now matters for all time and eternity. So we need to take this earth - its beauties, our bodies, justice, God's rule - with the utmost seriousness. And celebrate the person and the event that give it all value and undergird its hope - Jesus and his resurrection. In one of my favourite passages, Wright urges us to celebrate Easter right through to ascension, using the time to take up something new that might help us `wake up in a whole new way' - give us `a sniff of new possibilities, new hopes, new ventures' - and in doing so bring something of the real meaning of Easter.
The author's exploration of our future hope is carefully grounded in an analysis of what the resurrection meant for early Christians, and how they understood the future of hope - so much more than `heaven when you die'. All this, and a quick tour of (a Wright understanding of) heaven, hell, purgatory and the real meaning of the `rapture'.
`Surprised by hope' is a richly rewarding read - though not without its faults. Wright has much to say about the importance of the created order being redeemed and renewed, but he doesn't give many clear pointers as to what that might mean for us now, or refer us to the growing theological literature that does so. And though his stated aim is to set out some practical ways hope can come alive for individuals or communities that lack it, he concentrates less on the practicalities than on digging some really solid foundations from which they can rise. But these are minor blemishes. What endures from the book? A clear call to build for the kingdom - a job of work that draws on a hope for the present and the future, grounded in a past event of eternal importance. Time to stretch that canvas on a new frame, and bed those roses in...
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was recommended to me by quite a few people. I found the subject matter mentally stretching (frequently), but when I did grasp sections it was a complete revelation, and well worth the struggle.
It introduces concepts which should completely transform our churches if we take them onboard (Champagne breakfasts for 8 days starting from Easter Sunday to make a REAL festival of Easter!)
What is really scary is how folklore, culture and misunderstandings over the years have pulled so many of us away from the reality of the resurrection and what it really means to us in our lives today. Even Christians who spend their whole lives working for God's new creation will benefit from going back to the original understandings and proof of what has the resurrection should mean to us all.
Recommended!
It introduces concepts which should completely transform our churches if we take them onboard (Champagne breakfasts for 8 days starting from Easter Sunday to make a REAL festival of Easter!)
What is really scary is how folklore, culture and misunderstandings over the years have pulled so many of us away from the reality of the resurrection and what it really means to us in our lives today. Even Christians who spend their whole lives working for God's new creation will benefit from going back to the original understandings and proof of what has the resurrection should mean to us all.
Recommended!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an important book, especially for those wondering how Christianity fits in with modern world views. Many Christians have got stuck in the medieval view which concentrates on getting to heaven when you die. Wright stresses that this is not the Bibilcal view - we are promised not "life after death" but resurrection to new life in a world made new. This means that what we do now in this present life contributes to bringing in the Kingdom of God.
The book is written in a style which is easy to follow. Sometimes it makes you laugh! But always Wright reminds us that the message of Jesus is alive and relevant to us today as in all ages.
The book is written in a style which is easy to follow. Sometimes it makes you laugh! But always Wright reminds us that the message of Jesus is alive and relevant to us today as in all ages.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Surprised by Hope
I was really pleased with this item. It arrived very quickly and I found it in excellent condition although it was described as used. Read more
Published 1 month ago by hilary
Tour de force
I found this to be a treasure trove of insight and understanding on Jesus' resurrection, and it's meaning to you and I today. Read more
Published 2 months ago by freedomrulesok
Long winded!
The actual book didn't live up to my expectations having read the information on the back of the book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Roberts
What Happens When We Die?
At some point, every child asks: `What happens when someone dies?' Some adults are still asking that question and this book offers an answer. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Laura Thomson
OK but stating the obvious
This is a decent read but the author states what I thought was clear in the New Testament - that eventually those that are 'saved' will receive resurrection bodies and spend the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peter Culbert
The after-life and all that comes before it
It would not be unfair to describe this as a `lite' version of the The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins & the Question of God) (RSG), which Wright published a few... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Meadows
Redefining hope
This book examines Christian hope for the future. The former Bishop of Durham robustly defends the bodily resurrection and from it works out a useful and useable theology. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Glenn Myers
Surprised by Hope by Tom Wright.
This book is value for money and is well worth the investment. Tom Wright is thoughtful and profound without being intellectually obscure and makes a case for the bodily... Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. Hutcheon
A MUST READ
If you want to know what the Bible really teaches and to de-bunk a lot of misguided teaching and thinking about Christianity, this is the book for you. Read more
Published 17 months ago by H. A. Hayne
Surprised by Hope
Bishop Tom Wright is the UK's leading New Testament scholar and much more. Bishop Tom writes in a very accessible way and is not afraid to explain the New Testament on its own... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Rob
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