Scholar with sway: N.T. Wright

A quick back cover scan of N.T. Wright’s recent introduction to Christian belief, Simply Christian, gives a glimpse of the Anglican bishop’s scope of influence within contemporary North American Christianity.

Ringing endorsements from a bewildering cast of characters jump out – from imaginative Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman who calls Wright “one of the fine teachers of the church,” to vampire novelist turned Roman Catholic Anne Rice, who confidently proclaims that Simply Christian has surpassed C.S. Lewis’ classic Mere Christianity. Former Willow–Creeker John Ortberg is there, and so is evangelical stalwart J.I. Packer, who calls Wright “one of God’s best gifts to our decaying Western church.”

So who is N.T. Wright and why should we pay attention to what he has to say?

Who is N.T. Wright?

Within the academic world he’s probably best known as an influential New Testament scholar who has made significant contributions to our understanding of the two most significant characters of the New Testament – Jesus and Paul. Wright has been involved with a complicated movement called the Quest for the Historical Jesus as well as the somewhat controversial New Perspective on Paul.

Within the mainstream evangelical world Wright is best known for the latter. He argues that Protestants have often misunderstood Paul because they have falsely seen first century Judaism as a religion based in “works-righteousness” when in fact the Jews of this time were well aware that their election was based on the gracious choice of God. The impact of this view on the traditional understanding of justification has generated no small amount of disagreement within evangelicalism and Wright has become a lightning rod for criticism among some who feel the integrity of the gospel is undermined by his conclusions.

Here’s how Wright has been a formative influence in my own understanding of “simple Christianity”:

The Bible

Wright is one of the few authors I have come across who explains how it is that a narrative can function as an authoritative text. More than sixty percent of the Bible is given to us in the form of a story and this fact is only starting to be addressed within mainstream evangelicalism. Wright does an excellent job of describing how the entire biblical story – the story of creation, fall, redemption, and ultimate restoration, is the true story of the world and the story that integrates and explains the diversity of human experience and aspirations.

Gospel

If the gospel is the answer, what’s the question? Wright is convinced that the scope of evil and the depth of human longing for something better cannot be contained within a view that sees the only problem as the moral stain in human hearts and the only solution as a kind of “payment for offense” where Jesus’ death substitutes for ours. Wright would be quick to add that the gospel includes the idea of personal forgiveness but that that understanding alone cannot contain it.

For Wright the gospel is fundamentally linked to God’s original purposes for the nation of Israel and ultimately for the entire created world. Jesus’ proclamation of God’s kingdom was an affirmation that these purposes were finally coming true. So Jesus’ death and resurrection is not just the mechanism through which God can forgive our sins but it’s also the climax of the whole narrative of Scripture – the story of how God has chosen to deal with evil through taking it upon himself and triumphing over it through love.

Eschatology

Wright is also worth reading because of his persistent critique of the idea that the only point of Christianity is to help people get to heaven after they die. Wright rejects this view as incompatible with the biblical emphasis on the goodness of creation and the continuity between God’s original design for the world and the ultimate purpose of history. For Wright, salvation is not about individuals escaping a corrupt world and going somewhere else, but about believing that the incompleteness and brokenness that characterizes our lives and our world was overcome at the cross and will one day be fully healed – a final and eternal restoration of all things.

Where to start

Wright has written prolifically so it can be difficult to know where to start. I would recommend three popular level works. The best place to begin is with Simply Christian, a concise introduction to Christian belief that integrates some of the unique features of Wright’s approach. The Last Word is a summary of his views on the Bible and the nature of its authority. Evil and the Justice of God is an attempt to deal with the problem of evil from a biblical perspective.

Gil Dueck is an instructor in theology at Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask.