Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church [9780062089977]

Overview

In this groundbreaking work of Christian theology—available in paperback for the first time—renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright argues that Christians have often misunderstood the Bible’s message about heaven and what happens after we die.

For years, Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer to this question about life after death. It is not heaven.

Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian’s future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianity’s most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. This cornerstone of Christian eschatology sets the stage as Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, it will come as a great surprise to learn that heaven comes to earth instead of us going to heaven.

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’s resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for the kingdom of God in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.

Surprised by Hope unpacks the stunning, world-changing truth of Christian eschatology, revealing:

• A New View of the Afterlife: Why the ultimate Christian hope is not about "going to heaven" when you die, but about a physical, glorious new body in God's renewed world.
• The Bodily Resurrection: A magisterial defense of Jesus's literal resurrection as the foundation for a Christian's future hope and the start of God's new creation.
• New Heavens and a New Earth: A detailed exploration of God's final plan, where heaven and earth are joined and the whole creation is redeemed, not abandoned.
• The Mission of the Church: How a correct understanding of our future hope energizes our present work for justice and healing, showing that what we do now matters for eternity.