Surprised by Scripture

Engaging Contemporary Issues

De: N. T. Wright

Narrado por: James Langton

A thoughtful and provocative collection, in the vein of the intellectual spiritual classic The Weight of Glory, from N. T. Wright, the influential Bishop, Bible scholar, and bestselling author widely regarded as a modern C. S. Lewis.

An unusual combination of scholar, churchman, and leader, N. T. Wright—hailed by Newsweek as “the world’s leading New Testament scholar”—is not only incredibly insightful, but conveys his knowledge in terms that excite and inspire Christian leaders worldwide, allowing them to see the Bible from a fresh viewpoint. In this challenging and stimulating collection of popular essays, sermons, and talks, Wright provide a series of case studies which explore how the Bible can be applied to some of the most pressing contemporary issues facing us, including:

• Why it is possible to love the Bible and affirm evolution
• Why women should be allowed to be ordained
• Where Christians today have lost focus, and why it is important for them to engage in politics—and why that involvement benefits everyone
• Why the Christian belief in heaven means we should be at the forefront of the environmental movement
• And much more

Helpful, practical, and wise, Surprised by Scripture invites readers to examine their own hearts and minds and presents new models for understanding how to affirm the Bible in today’s world—as well as new ideas and renewed energy for deepening our faith and engaging with the world around us.

Encouragement

I appreciate the encouragement of using scripture to live life today and the reminder the whole of Christianity is the resurrection and love of Christ

Good food for thought

Interesting takes on traditional Protestant thought especially role of a woman in regards to teaching congregation .

Wright or Wrong!

If you could sum up Surprised by Scripture in three words, what would they be?

Mostly right on!

Any additional comments?

I must first say that I enjoy N. T. Wright, his writing, his style, his form of expression, and I usually agree with him, about 90% of the time. But this book is flawed, not necessarily in its conclusions, but in its analysis of American evangelicalism, and I think, in some of its eschatology.

Wright was mostly right on with his scriptural analysis, in my opinion. With a few exceptions, I agreed with his theology of the kingdom of God, its now, but not yet point of view. I also agreed with his appeal for the church to become more culturally relevant through its implementation of the principles and life of genuine New Testament righteousness, as a result of the transformative power of Christ's death and resurrection (though I am still not sure of all of his views about the death of Christ in terms of atonement).

What I found very disappointing was his continual reference to American Christianity in these essays, especially what he called fundamentalism, as extreme, and politically right (to the extent that it misrepresents the gospel and New Testament). He paints with a very broad brush! His portrayal of virtually all American evangelicalism as wide-eyed fanaticism, focused on escaping the material world, in favor of an eternity in heaven, the rest of it be damned, suffers from gross oversimplification. Indeed, his claim that he has spent some time in America, knowns some American Christians, has debated some Americans Christians in theology, and has read American newspapers, and the like, rings entirely hollow.

To effectively caricature American evangelical Christianity as dangerous, misrepresentative of the intention of God, and in gross error concerning the kingdom of God and indeed the atonement of Christ, simply because it is passionate and politically engaged, more openly and visibly, than, say, in the UK, is to betray his lack of real knowledge of the genuine hearts of millions of ordinary and sincere American Christians. It is a fact that the American church in general is more culturally and politically resistive to what it sees as liberal government policies, than in the UK, but his evaluation does not take into account the generosity and engagement of millions of sincerely committed American Christians, and of thousands of churches that make genuine efforts to meet the needs of disadvantaged people at home and abroad, regardless of their religious affiliation, contributing per capita and in percentage (in the church), far more than the overage church-goer in Europe, liberal or conservative. I can vouch for the fact, that the overwhelming generosity of Americans as a people, displayed not least by the millions of dollars contributed to alleviate the suffering of people world wide, is precisely fueled by their faith and church connections. (Unlike Brits you can check most Americans charitable contributions every year in their tax returns. By contrast, Americans who identify as Christian often give in excess of 10%, (up to 20% is not uncommon) of their income to charity and the church, in contrast to those who identify as liberal, where the percentage is often below 1%). It is a shame that Wright believes the liberal press, and the BBC in particular when they speak authoritatively about the American church and what it believes. It would be equally wrong for me to characterize the British church as so hopelessly anemic as to be virtually irrelevant in the public square, or to a have sufficiently influential enough voice to make even a modest contribution to reversing the decline of British moral culture. That would be an unfair caricature, despite appearances from outside of the UK.

Many of us in the American protestant, evangelical tradition believe in the role of the church, almost exactly as Wright describes it. Fundamentalism is not the only or even the majority constituency in the American church. Furthermore, serious minded believers are not all escapists. Wright leaves the impression that pretty much everyone who is evangelical or fundamentalist has a hopelessly truncated and unsophisticated eschatology, A good number of preachers and teachers do realize that the new heaven and earth will recapitulate the original overlapping dimensions of heaven and earth, and not a perpetual material - "spiritual" dichotomy. Furthermore, the American evangelical church works as hard as it does, is as politically and culturally active as it is, precisely because it does believe in the breaking into this age of the kingdom of God, for the sake of the world that God created. To criticize American evangelicals because their theology leads to passion and action which he considers over the top, presumably in contrast to the the more measured and less confrontational UK model, is to split hairs. Maybe the American church can be a bit brash, but at least it is raising a blip on the radar.

In case, you are wondering, I am a Brit, who came to the United States as an adult. I have lived here 36 years, in the South, where the "radicals" live and move and have their being. If Wright can claim to know the American church in general, I can a least claim to have an acquaintance with the church in its evangelical (radical) heartland! I am a pastor too (30+ yeas), so I do modestly claim credibility for these remarks, although compared to Wright, I am of course small potatoes.

Great Collection of Challenges

This was a great book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to be challenged to look at contemporary topics and how Scripture speaks to them! Even though I don’t agree with every Wright on every aspect of every topic I never finished a chapter without thinking, “hmm...I need to think through that.” The chapter on Art and Apocalypse was very encouraging as a Christian who loves art!

Special. I have enjoyed every moment of listening.

What did you love best about Surprised by Scripture?

The reader is clear and audible.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hmmm.. N character was there. But it is easy to follow N.T. Wright's arguments.

What does James Langton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is not just a reader. He is dramatic - giving the listener an opportunity to "experience the events in the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no.

Any additional comments?

I consider Audible.com an excellent "find" and a gift for the year 2015.