NT Wright on the Colbert Report

Not being a regular viewer of the show, I missed Bishop NT Wright's Colbert Report interview last week about his book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. You can watch the full episode online—Wright shows up at about the 13-minute mark, after some political chatter (and an appearance by Cookie Monster).

Update: video added:

The point Wright makes in the interview is a familiar one if you have read any of his books or heard him speak: that many Christians have a misguided idea about heaven and the afterlife. Whatever heaven actually looks like, he argues, when we think of heaven purely as an escape hatch from this broken world, it's too easy for us to forget to carry out acts of grace and redemption in the here and now. We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to start working for the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom is already on its way, and has been since Jesus rose from the grave. The time to get to work is now.

At least, that's what I gathered from his brief interview, and from his appearance last year at the Calvin College January Series. What do you think of the interview? Is Wright onto something? Anybody read his new book yet?

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Comments (6)

Wow, my post from today (http://theaestheticelevator.co... speaks to the same thing, citing Randy Alcorn's book Heaven and talking about how the incarnation affirms the value of the world, even though it's fallen. From the perspective of an artist, of course. Alcorn's points, very much based in Scripture, are very similar. A lot of what I grew up believing he debunked, which was part of the reason for his book.
Though I have not yet watched the interview (but I will), I am half-way through Wright's book, Surprised by Hope. This is the first time I have tackled reading one of Wright's books and I am thoroughly enjoying every page. Here's a sampling of what Wright says concerning eschatology (p.122). "The word eschatology" doesn't just refer to death, judgment, heaven, and hell, as used to be thought. It also refers to the strongly held belief of most first-century Jews that history was going somewhere under the guidance of God and that where it was going was toward God's new world of justice, healing, and hope." Wright has such keen insight and a thorough understanding that it's almost to a fault. No one should have to have a Ph.D. in order to understand the Scriptures, and while I appreciate the deep well of knowledge he has and is willing to share it, sometimes I feel as though you have to be a "scholar" in order to understand what he is trying to say.
I've been blogging about this as well. I'm thrilled to see that the good bishop would have the charity and humor to appear on the Colbert Report. He also had the grace to respond personally to blog comments (on Titus One Nine) about his appearance.

Like many pastors, I haven't had the time to read through Surprised by Hope. However, I did read his short predecessor work "For All the Saints?" It's about 75 pages and seems to hit the major points that he's talking about on Colbert and the rest of the media. I'd recommend it as a worthwhile Cliff's Notes of the Real Thing.

For me, I find N. T. Wright to be hitting the mark perfectly here. I've gone and re-read the principle passages from the New Testament that he draws on, and Wright is right. Happily, I've also found that it makes for good preaching. This work is getting me more interested in his heavier work too.
I haven't read Wright's book, but it a familiar enough concept. Richard Pratt has been teaching this for a while as well. Check him out at Thirdmil.
From the bits and pieces I've read on the net, you summarize his view point very well. He makes the point that the kingdom of God is here and now.

I haven't read the book yet but I've heard good things about it. I just have so much to read right now.
Hebrews 1
In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.

The heavens and earth will be rolled up and discarded, in the way that clothes are changed.

The old clothes that have perished are thrown away, and replaced with new clothes.

The old clothes are rolled up and thrown away.

Wright is very good on explaining this 'clothing' metaphor, which many people up to now have failed to understand.

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