The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "We now arrive at the central claim of this book: that the phrase "authority of scripture" can make Christian sense only if it is a..." (more)
Key Phrases: New Testament, Old Testament, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What do people mean when they say they believe the Bible is the "Word of God"? And why should they be at war with each other over the role of the Bible in the life of the church? Wright, an Anglican bishop and author of Jesus and the Victory of God, believes the church needs to re-examine the Bible's role in the life and piety of its people. Surveying biblical and contemporary history, he explains how the Bible, and the church's understanding of it, have been affected by the complex interplay of religion with reason, tradition, politics and culture. In true Anglican style, Wright takes a middle road between evangelical insistence on biblical inerrancy and the modernist tendency to dismiss biblical authority as an expression of "anti-intellectual pre-modernity." His final chapter, entitled "How to Get Back on Track," prescribes a path that integrates scripture more fully into the life of the church, proclaiming the Bible in such a way that it refocuses the believing community whose central focus is "the goal of God's kingdom." Wright offers sensible insights on the transforming power of God, very necessary in these times of skepticism and confusion. (Dec.)
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Review

"A sane and helpful study of what it means to treat the Bible as the authoritative Word of God." -- Ben Witherington, author of The Brother of Jesus

"N. T. Wright opens for us a path beyond of the paralyzing polarization of "liberal" and "conservative." -- Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian

"This wide-ranging whirlwind-tour account of Scripture channeling God’s authority…is masterly throughout." -- J. I Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College

"Written by one of the leading Christian thinkers in the world today, a refreshing and accessible resource …." -- John R. Franke, Professor of Theology, Biblical Theological Seminary

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (November 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060816090
• ISBN-13: 978-0060816094
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A small book with enormous virtues, December 16, 2005

By	William H. Panning (Prospect, KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't be misled by brevity: the breadth and significance of the content is enormous. Without pretending to detailed solutions, Wright provides a compelling and inspiring vision of what it means for scripture to be authoritative in the lives of individuals, in the life of the church, and in the world. Throughout, Wright emphasizes scripture as a means for God to act in and through us to renew the whole world.

Wright's emphasis on the broad Christian narrative that describes our past and present and provides the focus for our future, is an enormously refreshing counterpoint to the Cuisinart approach to biblical scholarship, which focuses instead on fragmented details of scripture at the expense of broader understanding.

Precisely because it provides a broad historical perspective, the book clarifies how the issues we currently grapple with arose, so that we readers better understand the often hidden presuppositions in most current writings concerning scriptural authority. We ignore intellectual history at our peril, and Wright here provides a brief but accurate guide to what we need to know.

In the course of this ambitious work, Wright provides some enormously helpful and compelling distinctions about the relative roles and importance of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. These distinctions alone are worth the price of the book, for readers who take his distinctions seriously will no longer be prisoners of the ad hominem slogans that currently dominate Christian debate over the role and authority of scripture.

Although it has some references to scholarly work, this book directly addresses a non-scholarly audience that seeks to better understand the authority of scripture at a time when virtually anything that claims to have authority is under attack by contemporary scholars. Moreover, he offers albeit briefly, some very practical recommendations. Wright is refreshingly frank about the confusions that afflict Christians, about the ways in which fundamentalists and modernists both ignore important characteristics of scripture and its interpretation, about failure of Christian leaders to focus on leading the Church through inspired preaching of scripture, and about the ways in which both conservative and liberal theological groups have essentially been captured by presuppositions that are unwittingly based on the anti-Christian Enlightenment agenda. This book is far too brief to definitively argue all of its crucial assertions. But it is nonetheless a tremendous guide to the issues at stake (which, like icebergs, are often predominantly hidden from view) for the church and for individuals in taking scripture seriously.

If you are prepared to be challenged to think seriously and perhaps differently about basic issues that concern not just the church, but your own role in the evolution of the relationship between God and the world, then read this book.

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very succinct introduction to the issue, December 15, 2005

By	Peter J. Knapp "Theory" (Long Beach) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, the other books I have read by Wright: The Meaning of Jesus (Essays with M. Borg); the first two volumes on the NT (I'm almost done with the 3rd). So, I'm no Wright expert, but this isn't my first book, at least.

Wright rightly claims this book as more of a tract (it is easily readable in an uninterrupted morning). The benefit of this is that it will be a farily accesssible introduction to the uninitiated. However, it runs the risk of being misinterpreted as a simplistic treatment--this would be a serious misreading (Wright offers his own disclaimers)--this book is meant to introduce and frame the question: what is the role of the Bible for the Christian church today? (In answering that question, he necessarily must address the issue of "authority".) This book is meant to draw one in to the dialogue--not give them an easy ticket out.

Having said this, I think that some readers will feel that Wright still assumes too much on the part of the "lay" reader. He does a wonderful job of summarizing the role of the Bible throughout history, as well as discussing various historical movements, perspectives, etc. that have debated and influenced Christianity's views of the Bible, but, in doing so, he sails through terms and concepts (metanarratives, modernism, postmodernism, Enlightenment) and events (Lisbon earthquake--if I wasn't already aware of the significance of this event, I would have no idea what he meant) that assume prior knowledge.

It's not that Wright doesn't define these items, but the challenge is that the uninformed reader does not have the chance to "live" in these concepts and get comfortable with them. The nature of the text is too compressed. This is not a weakness with Wright's book; it is a caveat that some will need to get off the couch and pull out the dictionary (or at least Google-it from their wireless laptop).

Anyway, Wright's writing is typically Wright-esque: lucid, erudite, pithy, and chocked full with his cogent analogies. It is rare (and *wonderful*) to find a modern writer who can spin an almost paragraph long sentence like Wright does(p. 62 has a particularly good one). Again, someone not familiar with Wright's writing (or scholarly writing in general) might find it challenging, but, all the better--you're hopefully reading this book to be challenged. The payoff is excellent.

On the actual content:

1) This book is based, in part, on an article he wrote years ago. To read it, go to ntwrightpage.com.
2) His goal is threefold: present a brief history of the scriptures (Old and New T.'s) in their own time and subsequently; clear the decks of some of the most common and egregious mis-readings; propose a model to properly read the Bible and have it function in the church today.

Other reviews will spill more of the beans. I'll just end with this: if you are looking for a concise, academic, well-written, balanced discussion of how one can define "authority" and the "role" of the Bible in the modern church and a Christian's life, then this book is an excellent place to *start*.

Finding a good answer depends on asking a good question--Wright helps one ask a good question.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of His Best, April 1, 2006

By	William Varner "dribex" (Newhall, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I read this book in its British "dress" titled "Scripture and the Authority of God" in the summer of 2005, beause I couldn't wait for its publication in the states. I'm glad I did. Since many Americans were not even aware of this British version until it appeared in the states right before ETS and SBL last November, I am copying my review of the British book, with a few additions, as it was posted last August.

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! I simply cannot say enough about this little gem from the pen of one of the leading evangelical scholars in the world. I understand that this book will come out in the states this Fall under a different title. I couldn't wait and ordered it from the UK. Am I glad I did! It displays the reasons why I am so impressed by the writings of this great man of God. The book, which is about the authority of Scripture, is really a suitable introduction to the entire approach of Tom Wright to the Bible. In marvellously compact language this master teacher guides the reader through a tour of Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Wright indicates his mastery of the literature to those who read him closely. Yet he carries lightly his learning for the average reader. The little volume is really a tightly written introduction to Scriptural hermeneutics, inspiration, authority, the relation of the OT to the NT, and the relation of the Bible to culture. Wright has his critics, and there will inevitably be the gainsayers who quibble about this or that point - some of which I might even agree with! But as an overall introduction to the Bible, this could become a light classic. (I just adopted it as one text in a graduate Hermeneutics course I will teach).

Oh, by the way, at SBL I heard Tom say that he didn't like the title that the American publisher gave to it. He said that in light of Hebrews 1, Jesus is really "The Last Word."

The rabbis use to say of the Torah written and oral, "turn it over and turn it over, for everything is in it." While that of course is an exagerration if applied to this little book, it may not be far from an accurate description of its impact on the reader. Buy it. Buy multiple copies and give them away. I will.

Now I can hardly wait to get my hands on "Simply Christian."