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Mere Christianity... Mar 18, 2006 (460 of 471 found this helpful)
I come from a background of nominal Presbyterian Christianity followed by many years in my adult life of fundamental, Pentecostal Christianity. My early years provided me with a dull version of Christianity; my later years the other extreme. Burned out from the emotionalism, the overemphasis on the sensational and what I see as the move toward the gospel of materialism cloaked in Christianese, I had just about given up on Christianity as a whole, settling instead for my own version.
I stumbled across this book in my local bookstore today and was drawn to it as I really enjoy N.T. Wright's ability to take on modern criticism without ever wavering in his faith nor compromising its essentials. He has a way of stating the essentials simply without bogging them down in highbrow theological language. I started the book and could not put it down.
Within a few pages a wave of peace and comfort washed over me. Rather than critiquing Christianity as expressed today, he opted instead to focus on its essence, to keep the story focused on what is right with Christianity and how it makes sense, even - or especially - today.
He never sets out to prove that it is right; he sets out to prove how it is salvific. And he does so in a calm, reasoned voice, unafraid to bring awareness to modern day critical scholarship yet remaining true to the fundamentals of the Gospel message. The book is brief and is an easy read with Wright's concise and powerful prose.
His descriptions of salvation, the kingdom of God, the mission of Jesus and, especially relevant to me coming from a Oneness Pentecostal background, the power and the mystery of the Trinity, resonated more deeply than I was prepared to experience. I almost cried. It literally recharged my wavering faith with a new sense of vigor. Not only is Christianity relevant in today's world, it is essential.
If you are looking for a refresher in why it is you remain a Christian or if you are, like me, tired of the excesses passing for Christianity today or are just looking for a soothing discussion to remind you of what you already know, I cannot recommend this book enough. I haven't been so moved by a book in a long time.
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Why "Simply Christian" is a "must read" Apr 1, 2006 (91 of 98 found this helpful)
It presents a compelling case for Christianity without attempting to bully the reader (as C. S. Lewis often does in his essays) and without relying on all those "code words" that long-time Christians find familiar but others do not. This is the Gospel in plan English. Bravo!
It firmly insists that Christianity makes claims about history - that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, and that this resurrection is the central event in the story of God's re-creation of our fallen world.
It insists that Christians be active participants in the future unfolding of God's plan. We are each called to play a unique role in it.
It insists that there is a transcendent realm, another world, that can and does intersect or overlap with our own world, especially in sacraments, in worship, in Bible reading, and in prayer. Moreover, just as the temple was, for Jews in Jesus time, a place where heaven and earth overlapped, now we, as individual Christians, are called to be such places of overlap, where the light of Jesus shines through us.
It highlights the crucial importance of forgiveness. Just as God has forgiven us our sins, so are we to forgive others. The Lord's prayer is explicit on this point.
Becoming a Christian, Wright asserts, is not a matter or accepting certain improbable factual assertions, but rather a matter of trusting in God and accepting our role in unfolding his plan for the world.
Rather than being dissected, as in a laboratory, or treated merely as an instrument of historical or linguistic research, the Bible is in fact one of the principal ways in which God addresses us, to prepare us for our role in fulfilling his ultimate plans. It is another place where this world and God's world overlap. Current debates over "literal" versus "metaphorical" ways of reading scripture are, in Wright's view, counterproductive. The Bible eludes these simplistic categories, which should be abandoned.
At its core, then, the "faith" to which the Bible calls us is essentially trusting in a God who has revealed himself in history, who has begun, through Jesus' death and resurrection, to redeem the world and transform it into his kingdom, who invites us into to an intimate relationship with him, who demands that we become all that we were created and meant to be, who forgives us when we fall short of that mark, and who invites us to play a significant role in moving forward his plan for the world. For Wright, Christian faith is not just a matter of spiritual feelings that are quite independent of what we say and do. It makes demands upon us that can only be met in the realm of thought and behavior.
As C. S. Lewis did in his fiction, "Simply Christian" persuasively invites its readers to recognize that there is a transcendent reality that impinges on our ordinary world, that the God who rules this realm has made himself known in history and continues to do so, that we are part of his plan to renew his creation, and, consequently, that what we think and do has cosmic significance.
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N.T. Wright is the man! The Wright stuff. Mar 21, 2006 (155 of 176 found this helpful)
Simply Christian is SIMPLY AMAZING. This book is a great gem for both the Christian and non- Christian.
Why do people long for justice?
Why do we thirst for spirituality?
Why do we long for relationships?
Why does beauty not satisfy us fully?
It is because we are humans that are made for and by God.
We are children that groan for our Father.
These are few of the questions the Bishop begins to address.
These are the questions that strike a chord within all humanity. Questions that we can't explain or escape outside of God.
N.T. Wright takes the reader on a journey through the story of the bible.
Along the journey the reader will encounter God, Jesus, the Spirit, and Israel.
At the end, Tom looks at what a life under the Lordship of Jesus could look like if somebody is willing to join in on the story, to be Jesus for a world that has no hope in sight.
No other scholar has the gift to communicate so beautifully and clearly the truth about Christianty. He captured me with his introduction and I hope the same happens to you.
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Reveals much that has been neglected Mar 31, 2006 (45 of 48 found this helpful)
N. T. Wright is both a brilliant thinker and excellent writer; the latter gift enables him to communicate his deep and broad thinking on Jesus to just about anybody. As the subtitle of the book suggests, here he writes primarily to explain for people who are either non-Christian or perhaps anti-Christian why Christianity makes sense. Wright also writes with an eye toward helping Christians understand more clearly the one whom they follow. Thus, his audience and purposes are pretty much identical to those of C. S. Lewis's modern classic Mere Christianity, making the many comparisons of Wright's book to Lewis's pretty much inevitable.
Others have already ably summarized the contents of this book here, so I will not just recapitulate what has already been said. Instead I will do a bit of compare and contrast with Mere Christianity, and then give a final assessment, in the hope that that will help readers decide whether they would want to read or purchase Simply Christian.
First, while Mere Christianity is more philosophically oriented and more systematically organized (though hardly systematic), Simply Christian is more oriented to history/narrative, particularly the basic historical narrative of the Bible itself. Thus, Wright engages the actual biblical texts more often than Lewis did; that difference is welcome.
Second, Wright's book is more culturally contextualized than Lewis's. Thus, Wright refers to current events and issues far more frequently than Lewis did--which is especially remarkable given the fact that Lewis wrote what became Mere Christianity for a series of BBC broadcasts aired during World War II. While Wright doesn't get bogged down in the current events and (thankfully) refrains from editorializing on them, I do think that he has dated his book much more than Lewis did. So while the present generation will find Wright's book more "relevant" than Lewis's, I do not know if it will age as well.
Third, Wright writes as an "expert" in historical Jesus research and a bishop, in contrast to Lewis, who wrote as a layman. The consequent differences in the two men's books are readily apparent. Wright is far more confident in setting forth his own historical and theological opinions and writes in a more authoritative voice, while Lewis was content to recount what others thought. And when Lewis did state his own opinion on a matter, he did so cautiously, more like a student comparing notes with fellow classmates than a teacher. Moreover, while Wright (as Lewis did) self-consciously sets forth Christianity in a way that cuts across some denominational lines, his account of Christianity is more idiosyncratic than Lewis's. Lewis was the insightful student setting forth his best understanding of that core of truths upon which the experts throughout Christian history would have agreed; Wright is the expert setting forth his own view of the gospel and the Christian life (whether it is in line with historic orthodoxy and practice is for the reader to judge).
So how well does Wright accomplish his objectives in writing here? As a Christian, I cannot evaluate how compelling this offering would be to non-Christians, but I can take a shot at answering how well Wright helps us Christians rethink some things about our doctrines and lives that have become bent out of shape over the years.
On the positive side, Wright stresses the importance of understanding Jesus in his historical context. This is a point that Wright has emphasized for many years, and it is indeed crucial.
Related is the importance of understanding the narrative flow of scripture-that the Bible is first and foremost a narrative account of things God has accomplished in history, not primarily a collection of inspiring platitudes or categorical dos and don'ts (though the dos and don'ts are unquestionably there).
Also helpful is the recurring theme of t
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Simply Awesome! Jul 11, 2006 (28 of 30 found this helpful)
N. T. Wright's latest popular book, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, explains what Christianity is, while writing on a level that appeals to a very broad audience. Wright's book resembles C. S. Lewis's influential work, Mere Christianity, insofar as it is an attempt to explain the "core" of Christianity, while also defending the truth of the Christian faith. Like Lewis, Wright begins by making a case for belief in one God, considering rivals in atheism, pantheism, polytheism, and deism. (Wright is not trying to make a strong case for theism, and he is very good about tempering his conclusions on these matters.) Unlike Lewis, who primarily argues for monotheism using a moral argument, Wright uses four indicators (justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty) as signposts that point to a personal God.
The second section of Simply Christian explains the basic beliefs essential to Christianity. In this section, Wright's book is significantly different than Lewis's, and perhaps this is the strongest section of Wright's book. Wright's lifelong work and training as a theologian shines through as he explains the story of Israel, and how Jesus and the church fit in that story. As a worldclass authority on these issues, Wright has a clear grasp on these matters, and he explains them with clarity. People unfamiliar with Christianity or who are trying to understand the "big picture" of what Christians believe will especially benefit from reading this section. Unlike Lewis, Wright spends much time explaining the historical context of Christian doctrines in order to show their contemporary significance. Even though he makes claims about the Bible and history without fully backing them up, one can easily find this information in other books, including Wright's own.
The final section of Wright's book addresses Christian practice. As a long-time Christian, I found this section of the book the most useful to me. Wright was able to explain the basics of worship, prayer, fellowship, and other Christian practices with freshness. I found myself challenged in my own Christian walk to reconsider how faithfully I was following Jesus. Wright's section on Christian practice ranges from the individual to the whole church, from how to treat your next door neighbor to international policy. Indeed, Wright shows how the teachings of Jesus are important today, and how all people who claim to follow Christ ought to live. He pulls no punches addressing topics like war, homosexuality, and many others.
I'm not sure if Wright's book will be remembered like C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity (predicting the future isn't my job anyway), and it would be unfair to measure any book against such an accomplished work. N. T. Wright succeeds in presenting the essence of Christianity, which all Christians should affirm -- this alone makes the book worth reading. More significantly, however, is that Wright accomplishes this in a way that is readable, has a systematic coherence and structure that ties together beautifully, and appeals to a broad audience. While the book seems to be intended for those curious to learn more about Christianity, I believe the book has much to offer even to those who have been Christians for a long time.