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Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

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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.

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.

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.

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 the relation of God to creation, of heaven to earth. Against the pantheist, who identifies God with creation and creation with God, and the deist, who removes God far from creation, Wright offers his belief that the true and biblical view is that heaven, the realm of God's direct rule, and earth, which we inhabit, are interlocking and overlapping realms-not the same, but in close relationship. In Jewish thought, heaven and earth met, and God inhabited his creation, in several places, e.g., in the Torah and in the Temple. The early Christians, most of whom were themselves Jews, appropriated this belief and applied it to Jesus himself. That is, Jesus was now the place where heaven and earth met once and for all.

Also refreshing is the theme of new creation that runs through this work. This is something that has gone neglected by at least some Christian traditions: that integral to the good news is that God has declared his purpose to renew his creation, rather than to offer people an escape from it into his heaven, or to scrap the present created order and begin again ex nihilo. God decisively began this new creation in the resurrection of Jesus.

Finally, Wright says many good things on Christian living, even when (or especially when) his declarations counter wider cultural currents. Two examples: against pervasive individualism he emphasizes the importance of the church, and he calmly yet powerfully confronts the idolatry of sexual immorality.

My only significant concern about the book is that it understates the great truth that Jesus's death in fact reconciles us to God himself, and that this is a huge part of the good news. Jesus's death is presented as absorbing and exhausting evil on our behalf, but not as absorbing the just wrath of God against sin on our behalf. Since Wright has elsewhere defended the notion that Jesus's death was indeed a propitiation for sin (that is, a sacrifice to satisfy the just anger of God against sin), perhaps Wright's under-emphasis of that here was intended as a counterbalance to widespread Christian neglect of the "new creation" aspect of the good news. Or maybe he thought that emphasizing propitiation would turn off the non-Christians in his audience, who have heard the whole "Jesus died for your sins" sales pitch before. Nevertheless, given its importance in scripture, I do not think the extent of Wright's neglect of this subject in this book is justified. Wright is articulate enough to state the propitiation theme in a way that wouldn't just sound like the same old blather to non-Christians, and he is intelligent enough to point out aspects of propitiation that would enlarge the Christian's understanding of it and appreciation for it.

Despite that significant reservation, I recommend Simply Christian highly. It is a worthy defense of the Christian faith for this generation, and it reveals many facets of the good news of Jesus that have often been obscured.

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.

I found Tom Wrights book fresh and insightful. It is refreshing in the way it is filled with new and insightful metaphors and parables. It is rich in the way it traces theological themes instead of citing a few proof texts. It is insightful by describing the "echoes" that are such a profound part of humanity: the thirst for justice, beauty, spirituality, and meaningful human relationships that find powerful meaning in Christianity. He avoids cliché conclusions and evangelical jargon.

My one concern is not so much what Wrights says, but what he doesn't say. God's goodness, life, mercy and grace are discussed, but the backdrop of personal sin and guilt is gone. The book says little about the problem of human sin (the Bible seems to treat it as a deeper problem than just "not living up to our real `humanness'") and even less on the wrath and judgment of God. Surely these are sensitive subjects, and I am not looking for a book that proudly presses such realities into the face of those discovering Christianity. Yet these very truths-- their staggering reality and complexity in the face of a world that mocks the idea of a God of wrath-- are precisely why I want to better understand how Christianity makes sense. Certainly the great story of the Bible and the truth it contains makes less sense, not more, if the gravity of sin and judgment are quietly dismissed. One who read the book should remember that the Exodus story for the people ended in judgment--one in the wilderness and one that cast them into exile. The prophets warned but the people refused to listen. Judgment did not end at with Jesus, it moved to a new level. Now God will perform all judgment--the one that is greater and more searching-- through the Son (John 5:22, Acts 17:31, 2 Cor 5:10, Rev 14:7). To miss this is to miss that behind the Lamb that was slain is the Lion who will be vindicated.

"My aim," writes N.T. Wright, "has been to describe what Christianity is all about, both to commend it to those outside the faith and to explain it to those inside." To do this he adopts a three-part structure. In part one, which if this were a technical book would be called natural theology, Wright examines human experience and argues that most all people experience four "echoes of a voice." He devotes one chapter to each of these four echoes--the longing for justice, the quest for spirituality, the hunger for relationships, and the delight in beauty. These voices, he believes, "point beyond themselves," and of course he argues that they point to (but by no means prove) a Creator. In the second part Wright introduces the "central Christian belief about God," with two chapters each on the Father, Son, and Spirit. Part three then "describes what it looks like in practice to follow this Jesus," with treatments of worship, prayer, the Bible, and church.

Throughout his book Wright emphasizes that the Gospel is the kingdom of God, where heaven comes down to earth, and God's future invades our present. God invites us to receive this free grace and gift, and also sends us into the world to make it a reality. Thus, we are "not simply beneficiaries but also agents." Wright has written a simple book that avoids technical jargon. There are no footnotes at all, relatively few Scripture quotations, no mention of figures from church history, and the avoidance of controversial subjects like universalism or the claims of other religions. Nor does he try to refute objections or contrary positions (except for an extended use of pantheism and deism as alternate world views). You will not find a defense of miracles or a response to the problem of evil. I read Wright's book as more of a confession than a rational apologetic. In that sense it reminded me of Philip's words to Nathaniel in John 1:46, "come and see." For the heavy lifting of a lifetime of discipleship you will need to read other, more critical treatments of the faith, but for an uncluttered and winsome introduction, Simply Christians is a good beginning by a trustworthy guide.

This book is in the tradition of books such as C.S Lewis' Mere Christianity in providing a synopsis of Christianity which attempts to describe "why Christianity makes sense" as the answer to the deep questions of the human soul, the longing for justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty. It begins by looking at the human condition in general, and how these universal longings may be "echoes of a voice" that speaks to us and within us of something even more foundational. Wright then goes on to demonstrate how the Christian God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is in fact the answer, the voice of which these longings are but weak echoes. He summarises the Biblical narrative which reaches it's climax in Jesus, and helps us see our place in the continuing story of God's work in the world. As he goes along he manages to effortlessly incorporate quite a lot of central Christian theology, but in a manner that does not feel stale or boring - rather it is a breath of fresh air showing how these deep truths really do speak to us at the level of the heart, and not just the mind. He finishes by bringing in some of the essentials of living a Christian life such as Worship, Prayer, the Bible (including a brilliant chapter on Biblical authority which makes the same points as his recent book The Last Word, only much more succinctly and clearly) and the sacraments of Baptism and Communion.

This book is simply amazing. It provides a clear refreshing picture of the gospel which will help those of us who are Christians to rediscover what it's all about, and hopefully encourage non-believers to see that Jesus is the answer to the deepest needs and questions of their heart. It is not a reasoned apologetic aiming to provide "proofs" that the gospel is true. It does not seek to argue or defend, rather it aims to connect with people at a more fundamental level. To those who are familiar with Tom Wright's other books, the depth of his scholarship and the overall coherence of his thought as a whole once again shine through here, and his usual emphases are evident. Yet this is a book that just about anyone could read, Christian or not. It is not full of technical jargon or difficult concepts, yet neither is it "dumbed down" This would have to be one of the best books I have ever read. Hopefully this book will become for the 21st century what Mere Christianity was in the 20th - only let it reach an even greater audience of those both within the Church and those as yet outside it.

A friend used to tell the story of being lost in rural Ireland on holiday. Stopping a local farmer, he asked the way to Dublin. The farmer replied, "Well now, if I were trying to get to Dublin, I wouldn't start from here."

The genius of this book, which I have found enormously helpful in clarifying what I think about Christianity, is that it starts from where I and, I suspect, many others Westerners find themselves. This is not a book which requires you to be on the wavelength of the already-committed Christian or to be familiar with her in-house vocabulary. The author is clearly used to addressing a wider audience.

I have to confess that I have little patience with the religious jargon or party-politics of the kind found in some of the other reviews on this page. As I try to understand what Jesus may have to say to me about God, I find the in-fighting of his followers over the precise meaning of words like "atonement" or debates about whether the Reformers or the Roman Catholics have it right, profoundly unhelpful and unattractive. Such discussions do not make me want to go searching for God if I have to do so in the company of those who enjoy splitting theological hairs or putting each other down.

Tom Wright, however, caught my attention immediately not only with his crystal-clear prose and fresh, provocative imagery but with the insight that the reader will know what he means when he speaks of the Echoes we have all heard which speak to us of the greater reality for which we are all looking. In the four short, brilliantly crafted and memorable chapters which make up Part 1, he explores four areas of human experience which preoccupy many of us: the search for justice in a world which seems incapable of providing it; the widespread interest in "spirituality" which has many of us caught up in wild goose chases; the universal need to live in relationship with others, with the created order and, Wright would add, with God; and the puzzle of beauty, what it might be and why it fascinates us. The first part of the book essentially asks the question, "Do these experiences ring bells with you?". Inevitably, the answer is "Yes", and the reader is then drawn into a explanation of why this might be so from a Christian perspective which is always illuminating, sometimes erudite, never patronizing. Parts 2 and 3 take a fresh look at the historical Christian faith under headings with which most Christians, from the evangelical to the orthodox, would be familiar and comfortable. They include "Jesus, Rescue and Renewal", "Living By the Spirit", "Prayer" and "Believing and Belonging".

One of the marks of a great teacher is the ability to simplify and distil complexity without becoming simplistic or imbalanced. Tom Wright has this gift in abundance. One senses the depth of his scholarship on every page and respects him for it, but the text which emerges from the depths of his experience is attractive and accessible enough to hold even a teenager's attention. One might almost say that, like many popular airport novels, this is a "page turner". Once hooked, you want to know what comes next.

The overview that he is able to offer of the key components of Christian belief is impressive. If nothing else (and it is a great deal else) this would make a first-rate revision course in Christian basics for jaded believers in need of refreshment. And for those who may have been misled without realising it. I have been a Christian for 35 years, have belonged to a number of different churches and have read countless books about the Christian faith; but I have been startled to discover in these pages that I hold assumptions which shouldn't be there. I am grateful to have been put right by a man who really knows what he's talking about and can demonstrate it with wisdom and gentleness from a deep knowledge of Scripture, theology and church history. If I may use a Wright-like image, the experience of reading this book has been, for me, a little like sitting in the chair at the optician's while he places a series of lenses in front of my eyes. As lens after lens is applied and adjusted, eventually the furniture in his office comes into clear focus and I see it and him as they were meant to be seen, without the blur.

If you are looking for a book which has a chance of reigniting your hope that the church may have something to say to the world after all, as long as it scratches where people are itching and speaks to them in a language that they understand, this may well be it. On the other hand, if you are trying to sort out which of the scandalously numerous Christian denominations has cornered the correct interpretation of this or that verse of the New Testament, you may be disappointed. There is an absence of bigotry here, as one would expect of a book written by a thoughtful disciple of Jesus. As the author Anne Rice has written, "This is a book about Christ that is full of the spirit of Christ himself".

N.T. Wright provides a powerful work in the spirit of C.S. Lewis's classic Mere Christianity. For all of those who, like me, enjoy Lewis, Wright offers a more comprehensive and biblically consistent tour of Christian ideas.

He begins by identifying four things that make us suspect that this world is not all that there is. Our desire for justice, quest for spirituality, hunger for relationships, and love of beauty all leave us seeking something that we have never actually seen. In fact, we find it hard to express what we are seeking.

Wright then proceeds to unfold the story of Christianity and shows how it promises to fulfill these four desires and so much more. His presentation is necessarily brief and he is honest enough to admit his own limitations. But a thoughtful reader may find that Wright's presentation of Christianity builds a framework by which virtually all of our questions about life have real answers (if sometimes incomplete).

By the end of the book, Wright shows how the Christian story invites people to join in God's New Creation, which He has promised and ratified through the resurrection of Jesus. The implications of this New Creation are staggering and sometimes demand a complete rethinking of life.

It's worth it.