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Surprised by Hope: #6

surprisedbyhopeIn Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, N. T. Wright challenges us to rethink our notions of heaven and the implications of the doctrine of heaven for the entire Christian faith.

In Chapter Six Wright lays out the biblical answer to “What is God’s purpose for creation?” in contrast to the popular options explored in chapter five: evolutionary optimism (EO) and souls in transit (SIT).  In summary, Wright argues that the early Christians did not believe the world was getting better and better on its own steam (EO) or that it was getting worse and worse and their task was to escape it (SIT).  Instead, early Christians believed “that God was going to do for the whole cosmos was he had done for Jesus at Easter.”

Surprised by Hope: #6

Acts of God (Acts 2 The Fullness of the Church): #4

Using Jaroslav Pelikan’s commentary on Actsin the Brazos Theological Commentary set, this series of short posts will explore some of the 84 significant theological issues raised by Luke in Acts and identified by Pelikan.

A 3rd issue comes to light in Acts 2:1: 1And in the day of the Pentecost being fulfilled, they were all with one accord at the same place, (Young’s Literal Translation).  Pelikan draws attention to the literal translation of Luke’s word, especially the word “fulfilled” or “fullness” which “is an attempt to convey an emphasis on the ‘fulness’ of the Holy Spirit…”  We find a similar use of language in two other places: 1) at the Passion (Lk. 9:51 – the days for his being lifted up had to be fulfilled…) and 2) the incarnation (Gal. 4:4 – when the fulness of the time was come God sent forth his son).

Acts of God (Acts 2 The Fullness of the Church): #4

Surprised by Hope: #4

surprisedbyhopeIn Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, N. T. Wright challenges us to rethink our notions of heaven and the implications of the doctrine of heaven for the entire Christian faith.

In Chapter Four Wright explores “the strange story of Easter.”  He begins by drawing attention to four “strange” features of the Gospels’ resurrection stories which compel us to take them as very early accounts rather than later inventions. 

Surprised by Hope: #4