Surprised by Hope

Surprised by Hope
Tom Wright
SPCK 2007

Surprised by Hope is the second in what is currently a loose trilogy of popular level books on Christianity that began with Simply Christian and continued in Virtue Reborn, and I don't think it's too strong to say that this is one of those books that I think is going to profoundly affect my Christian thinking for years to come. I think this book is Wright at his best. Quite simply, it is magnificent, covering so much ground that everything from the second coming to church practices at Easter and through to global politics is touched on at some point within the book.

The first section of the book called "Setting the Scene" deals with what Wright perceives as a weakness in (at least the Western) Church's focus since the Enlightenment on "life after death" as disembodied souls in heaven. Wright is emphatic that this is not the Christian hope according to the New Testament. Actually such a view, which Wright points out is prevalent in a lot of our hymns dating from the 19th century in particular, owes more to Greek philosophy than it does to the teachings of Jesus or his apostles. Wright then gives the orthodox Christian view of Christ's bodily resurrection, which was a revolutionary belief since Jews had previously only thought that there would be a resurrection at the end of times involving everyone, not the resurrection of one man in the middle of human history.

The second section of the book deals with what would normally be considered eschatology or the theology of the end times. There is so much in this rich section of the book that would challenge, encourage, possibly persuade and sometimes disappoint (but at least cause to better think through the issues) any thinking Christian. He is clear that the Christian hope is bodily existence in a future renewed heaven and earth and goes through some of the key passages that teach this in the New Testament.

His view of hell may raise a few eyebrows however since Wright appears to steer a course midway between annihilationism (that the wicked simply cease to exist after the final judgment) and the traditional view that they suffer unending torment in hell. Though the section is not argued in much detail and remains sketchy, Wright seems to argue that the wicked will continue to exist in hell forever, but what remains of them will no longer be "human" in any meaningful sense. I thought this was a strange view that doesn't seem to be shared by anyone else. On the other hand, Wright is firm on his view that purgatory does not exist.

The third section of the book deals with putting resurrection into practice. Wright's argument is convincing that if we are Jesus people, people of the resurrection, and the church is the first fruits of the new heaven and earth to come, then this must affect how we live now. Some of this section is quite political. For Wright there is a strong connection between faith and doing good - including in the political realm. This is an outworking of the doctrine that Jesus is Lord (and hence not Caesar and all his representatives today). I was especially impressed by Wright's argument that every good work we do now somehow is a foretaste of "heaven" (i.e. the new world that will come when earth and heaven come together again forever), and somehow will find a place in the world to come. A key text in this respect is 1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."

The book concludes with a section on how Wright's fresh look at the resurrection should affect the worship and mission of our churches.

Although some of us would criticise Wright's focus on sin in corporate (in both senses!) and political terms (and not on personal sins against God), it is possible to argue that this is merely because this is a focus the church needs to hear and not necessarily because Wright seeks to downplay personal sins. In fact I think Wright can be given the benefit of the doubt in this case. There is so much good stuff in this book, I recommend it warmly to every Christian. I cannot see how any of us would read this book and not come away with a fresh sense of purpose to live out our resurrection hope in this world. Highly recommended.