Surprised by Hope: Rethinking heaven, the resurrection and the mission of the Ch

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In Surprised by Hope, bestselling author Tom Wright encourages to find our hope not just in what we believe about life after death, but also our understanding and experience of life before death.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

What do Christians hope for? To leave this wicked world and go to 'heaven' For the 'kingdom of God' to grow gradually on earth? What do we mean by the 'resurrection of the body', and how does that fit with the popular image of sitting on clouds playing harps? And how does all this affect the way we live in the here and now? Tom Wright, one of our leading theologians, addresses these questions in this provocative and wide-ranging new book. He outlines the present confusion about future hope in both church and world. Then, having explained why Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself, he explores the biblical hope for 'new heavens and new earth', and shows how the 'second coming' of Jesus, and the eventual resurrection, belong within that larger picture, together with the intermediate hope for 'heaven'. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation - and if this has already begun in Jesus' resurrection - the church cannot stop at 'saving souls', but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life not only after death but before it.

Author Biography

Tom Wright is Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is the author of more than 80 influential books, including The New Testament for Everyone, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, Paul: A biography, The New Testament in its World, On Earth as in Heaven and Into the Heart of Romans (all published by SPCK).

Table of Contents

Preface xiPart 1SETTING THE SCENE1 All dressed up and no place to go? 31. Introduction 32. Confusion about hope: the wider world 73. Varieties of belief 152 Puzzled about paradise? 201. Christian confusion about hope 202. Exploring the options 233. The effects of confusion 274. Wider implications of confusion 375. The key questions 383 Early Christian hope in its historical setting 421. Introduction 422. Resurrection and life after death in ancient paganism and Judaism 463. The surprising character of early Christian hope 524 The strange story of Easter 641. Stories without precedent 642. Easter and history 693. Conclusion 86Part 2GOD'S FUTURE PLAN5 Cosmic future: progress or despair? 911. Introduction 912. Option 1: evolutionary optimism 933. Option 2: souls in transit 1006 What the whole world's waiting for 1041. Introduction 1042. Fundamental structures of hope 1043. Seedtime and harvest 1094. The victorious battle 1105. Citizens of heaven - colonizing the earth 1116. God will be all in all 1127. New birth 1148. The marriage of heaven and earth 1159. Conclusion 1177 Jesus, heaven and new creation 1201. The ascension 1202. What about the 'second coming'? 1298 When he appears 1351. Introduction 1352. Coming, appearing, revealing, royal presence 1369 Jesus the coming judge 1501. Introduction 1502. Second coming and judgment 15510 The redemption of our bodies 1591. Introduction 1592. Resurrection: life after 'life after death' 1603. Resurrection in Corinth 1654. Resurrection: later debates 1695. Rethinking resurrection today: who, where,what, why, when and how 17111 Purgatory, paradise, hell 1771. Introduction 1772. Purgatory 1783. Paradise 1834. Beyond hope, beyond pity 1875. Conclusion: human goals and new creation 196Part 3HOPE IN PRACTICE: RESURRECTIONAND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH12 Rethinking salvation: heaven, earth and thekingdom of God 2011. Introduction 2012. The meaning of 'salvation' 2063. The kingdom of God 21313 Building for the kingdom 2181. Introduction 2182. Justice 2243. Beauty 2334. Evangelism 2365. Conclusion 24214 Reshaping the church for mission (1):biblical roots 2451. Introduction 2452. The gospels and Acts 2463. Paul 25815 Reshaping the church for mission (2):living the future 2671. Introduction: celebrating Easter 2672. Space, time and matter: creation redeemed 2693. Resurrection and mission 2774. Resurrection and spirituality 283a. New birth and baptism 283b. Eucharist 285c. Prayer 288d. Scripture 293e. Holiness 296f. Love 298Tailpiece: two Easter sermons 303Notes 308Index of biblical references 329Index of names 332Index of topics 336

Promotional

In Surprised by Hope, bestselling author Tom Wright encourages to find our hope not just in what we believe about life after death, but also our understanding and experience of life before death.

Details ISBN0281064776 Author Tom Wright Year 2011 ISBN-10 0281064776 ISBN-13 9780281064779 Media Book Short Title SURPRISED BY HOPE Publisher SPCK Publishing Language English Pages 352 Format Paperback Imprint SPCK Publishing Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom Replaces 9780281056170 DEWEY 236 UK Release Date 2011-09-15 Translated from English AU Release Date 2011-09-15 NZ Release Date 2011-09-15 Subtitle Rethinking heaven, the resurrection and the mission of the Church Birth 1948 Affiliation Consultant in Pulmonary Hypertension, Royal Free Hospital London, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, UK Position Author Qualifications Ph.D. Publication Date 2011-09-15 Edition Description 2nd edition Edition 2nd Audience General We've got this

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