Tag Archives: N.T. Wright

The community of Christ is being built

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will giveContinue reading “The community of Christ is being built”

The Kingdom of God and wineskins

Mark 2:22 (NIV): And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” What Jesus is doing can’t be fitted in to the existing ways of thinking and living. If peopleContinue reading “The Kingdom of God and wineskins”

The true power of the gospel

The power of the gospel lies not in the offer of a new spirituality or religious experience, not in the threat of hellfire (certainly not in the threat of being “left behind”), which can be removed if only the hearer checks this box, says this prayer, raises a hand, or whatever, but in the powerfulContinue reading “The true power of the gospel”

Being people of hope

N.T. Wright leaves us with a powerful reminder of our call as the Church in his book, Surprised by Scripture.  The mission of the church is to drag people into buildings or to run raffles or issues statements. At some point having a place to worship, having funding, and stating beliefs do matter, but it’s notContinue reading “Being people of hope”

How did we get “wedge issues?”

In American politics, we call them “wedge issues.” These days, it can be just about anything. But, generally, it’s throwing something out there for “discussion” that won’t get discussion because the person throwing it out knows everyone has a pre-fabricated response. Gay Marriage Racism Poverty Immigration Abortion Wedge issues. When did we get “wedge issues?”Continue reading “How did we get “wedge issues?””

Idolatry 2.0

I am working my way through part of NT Wright’s work, Surprised by Scripture, and his chapter on Western gods called “Idolatry 2.0” is a fascinating read. His contention is the Enlightenment re-introduced Epicurean thought through men like Jefferson. Tired of the antics of the Church in the medieval period, the thought of God being “there” butContinue reading “Idolatry 2.0”

Somehow we’ve turned the good news into bad news

In Simply Good News, Wright goes into far more detail as to how we’ve managed to distort the announcement of the good news of the Kingdom into one of an angry God and simple fragments of a much fuller truth. It is well worth the time to read through his fuller treatment of how we have gone from proclaimingContinue reading “Somehow we’ve turned the good news into bad news”