I was a little nervous about this episode for a lot of reasons. For starters, NT Wright really is like the top NT theologian in the galaxy. He has written over 70 books, he teaches at Oxford, and he’s pretty much a walking library. I’ve been reading his stuff for YEARS and my biggest worry going into the episode was, “will I be able to keep up with this guy??” and my prayer the whole way through was, “PLEASE DON’T LET ME SAY ANYTHING STUPID.”
Another reason I was nervous, though, is because I’ve moved beyond NT Wright in a lot of places.
The atonement.
Salvation.
The cross.
Sin.
LGBTQ.
… And other big, hot-button theological concepts … even, I think, the doctrine of hell.
Not too long ago I was reading his book, “The Day The Revolution Began”, which is all about the cross and Good Friday and salvation and ALL the things I got about halfway through and was like, “Hm. I’m not too sure I believe this anymore. It’s good. And it was helpful then. But I’m not so sure it’s as helpful now.” Like, I totally understood what he was saying (as much as one can understand a 400 page NT Wright book, anyways) and would have been 1000% on board with it 3, 4, 5 years ago.
But now?
I don’t know.
As I read the book something in me felt like it thanked Professor Wright for how he led me out of where I was but then at the same time waved goodby as I sailed ahead to where I am now.
I’m not saying that I’m smarter than NT Wright or that I’ve somehow arrived at some better place than he is. Rather, my point is that NT Wright was someone who gave me the courage to think bigger while I still identified as an Evangelical. He was (and is) someone who rocked the Evangelical boat, flipped over a few theological concepts, and pushed people to the brink of their comfort zone.
(** Remember the episode I did with Bo Sanders a few weeks ago? NT Wright was one of the people he was told was “dangerous”.)
And so as someone who was quietly deconstructing and rethinking some things about God and faith and the cross and heaven and hell … what he was doing hit home for me. I guess you could say that NT Wright gave me the courage to push boundaries and think differently before I found the courage to step over those boundaries completely. He has knack for taking ideas that are important to Evangelicals, turning them on their heads, and completely reworking them in light of important issues pertaining to the background and context of the Scriptures.
But now?
I’ve sort of moved ahead and have met other authors and writers and thinkers who have continued to push me and have continued to challenge my thinking.
Pete Enns.
Diana Butler Bass.
Brian McLaren.
Rob Bell.
Barbara Brown Taylor.
Peter Rollins.
Bo Sanders.
These people (and more) have shown me that not only is it OK to push the boundaries of Evangelicalism, but it’s OK to step over them, keep walking, and leave them in the past.
All of that to say, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for NT Wright even as I continue to make my way through his 1000 page book on the background and context of the New Testament - he is someone who has had an immense impact on how I read and think about the Bible, mainly that it can’t be read apart from the context and culture it was written in because when we divorce the words on the page from those important things in the past we can pretty much make it say whatever we want to say.
I tell you this because it’s important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, right?
I might not agree anymore with the finer details of NT Wright’s theology, but I am grateful for the way he’s helped shape my faith and think there is much, much wisdom to glean from his teachings.
I hope you got a taste of that wisdom in this week’s episode :).
Much love,
Glenn
NEXT WEEK.
Next week on the podcast we’ll be talking to Brain McLaren for part 2 of “To Hell With Hell”. He’ll talk to us about John 3:16, the path to destruction, and the dangers of creating hell on earth.
NEW BLOG POST.
New blog post is up called “Jesus is Mortified”. Here’s a clip …
“And so I think Jesus is mortified because we’ve started a massive religion in his name that amasses huge sums of money all the while drawing lines of who is in and who is out and who believes the right things and who doesn’t. We’ve taken his invitation to “follow me” and have divided it up into 32,000 different denominations, all of whom think they are right or hold some sort of corner market on the Divine.
The one who made himself low has been placed on a high pedestal where he is worshipped, sang to, prayed to, enshrined, held on high … all the while those he asked his followers to love are most often left outside the walls of the church buildings that he never asked us to construct. God raised Christ from the dead so that his Spirit could fill us and empower us to make the world more like heaven, but we’ve poured a fair amount of attention into raising …”
MERCH.
Enjoying the series? Pick up the “Hell is Empty” tee and explore some other merch at the Heretic Shop.
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