Wright will stir up some dust with Calvinists of the A.W. Pink variety for his decision to not play “this text trumps that one,” but to listen to all of them and confess that God’s relation to evil and suffering is sometimes beyond our ability to understand. He will also irritate those who consider the extermination of the Canaanites to be a matter which ought not to give any Christian pause, but Wright is aware of how this subject is used by the new atheists. He’s also aware of how troubling the slaughter of women and children is to many Christians. With some rich Old Testament study and a balanced, humbler approach to entire subject of God-commanded violence than some will appreciate, Wright proves to be a solid teacher, more concerned with honoring God in the study of scripture than in playing God by our own arrogant answers.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Ps 96:11-13)
There are few topics within the doctrinal beliefs of the Church that have caused as much division and confusion as have issues relating to the End Times. Whether one holds to a pre-, mid-, pre-wrath, or post-tribulation view of the rapture of the church or is pre-, post-, or amillennial regarding Christ’s return to earth, sadly often determines how others will view that individual. Many times a person’s eschatology is derived from where they attend church, what denomination they are a part of, or perhaps what books they have read (fiction or nonfiction).
Unfortunately, beliefs about the End Times are frequently intertwined with great emotional feelings. As such, labels are quickly handed out and sides taken based on another’s church affiliation and/or the use of any of the above key terms in a conversation.
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matthew 24:36
"For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…" 1 Thessalonians 5:2
I sometimes get bored sitting in church listening to the sermon. Since I’m older now, I can just get up and pretend I’m going to the bathroom, maybe get the blood flowing in my head again as I walk around the church. But when I was younger, that wasn’t an option. So I did the next best thing. I read the book of Revelation and thought about the end of the world. It was very exciting (at least compared to the sermon).
Of all the things we talk about in the church, few are as sensational and controversial as the END TIMES. There are, in fact, a few things we do know for sure about the end of the world. Jesus told his disciples that no one really knows when the end of the world (the return of Christ and the final judgment) is going to happen, and that when it does happen, it will be completely unexpected. Still, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to develop elaborate systems and charts and predictions. Since pretty much all of these predictions have been wrong, the church may have lost some credibility over the years. The ragged looking guy with the end of the world sign on the street-corner doesn’t quite inspire the same level of fear and apprehension that he once did. Now, people are turning to the Mayan calendar and waiting for the end of all things in December of 2012. I’m sure someone will find a way to tie this date to the return of Christ, if they haven’t already.
The subject of penal substitution has been a hot topic for a number of years, both in print and in the blogosphere. A quick Google search will show there is a number of different opinions about atonement, and they are usually vehemently expressed.
And atonement is no longer only discussed in "heady" academic works but popular novels as well (see innumerable blogposts and websites on William Young's, "The Shack".) Further still, this atonement debate goes on while Time Magazine names the "New Calvinism" among the "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now."
When I received my assignment as editor for The God I Don’t Understand, I figured this would be another book about how we can believe in a good, righteous God and yet live in a world that is filled with horrible acts of evil. And Chris Wright does indeed deal with such issues in Parts 1 and 2. But what makes this book stand out from others on this topic is that he follows up those two parts with two additional parts that deal with mysteries on the opposite side of the equation. For example, how could God love a sin-filled earth so much that he was willing send his Son to die on the cross for its salvation? Why was he willing to do that? And how does that cross work; that is, how does six hours of one man on a cross pay for the sins of billions of people?
These are the questions that Dr. Wright probes in Part 3. Specifically in Chapter 6 he deals with the "Why?" and the "What?" questions. Think about this: Do you ever marvel about the mystery of why God sent Jesus into the world? We sometimes ask "Why me?" when tragedy strikes, but, as Chris writes, " ‘I don’t deserve this’ can be a response to bad new or [to] good news" (p. 112).
My wife is in her last semester of seminary. In a few short weeks she’ll have survived what many in ministry call the most "spiritually dry" period of their lives. She’ll also be a licensed counselor and ready to face the "real world" with a theological education. What could be better?
But to obtain this degree she’s had to write, as anyone attending a seminary does, confessions of faith on numerous tenants of historic Christianity. From baptism to communion, from the creation narrative to eschatology, from a woman’s role in the church to ecclesiology, she’s had to hunker down, parse the varying viewpoints, and form a confession of her own.
On Friday evening my wife and I settled into comfortable seats in a darkened movie theatre to watch a new release set in some of the Asian and European cities we have visited. After a fast-paced and stressful week at the publishing office I was ready for some escapism. But the comfort of the cushy seats was soon forgotten because of my increasing discomfort at some of the graphic violence whose images filled the high definition screen and whose haunting sounds echoed from the THX sound system. I winced at the violence and looked away, quickly dismissing it, "After all, it's not real."
Likewise I sometimes wince when I read Christianity's critics such as Richard Dawkins who calls the God of the Old Testament a "bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser" and "genocidal." I wince when I see some use the violence of the Old Testament attacks destroying the Canaanites as justification for the ethnic cleansings that occurred in Bosnia, on the continent of Africa, and even with the Native Americans in North America. I confess I don't like to read those sections of the Old Testament that countenance violence as whole groups were wiped out, seemingly with the blessing and at the command of God. I'm embarrassed. Do I want to be identified with that? Have you struggled with this issue and do you think it keeps some from embracing the God of the Scriptures?
In the beginning of chapter 3 of THE GOD I DON’T UNDERSTAND, Christopher Wright makes what first struck me as a bold statement—“theologians try to explain evil, while God’s plan is to destroy it.” God the destroyer. How unpopular. Yet how greatly needed.
As you can see from our Wednesday blog series, we think The God I Don't Understand is a book that merits thorough discussion. Christians of any ilk can find lots of great questions to grapple with in these chapters.
During the ETS and SBL annual meetings we asked attendees who stopped by the Zondervan booth to consider reviewing it, and if they agreed they were given a book for free. We've also given away some copies here on Koinonia and at some of Chris' speaking engagements.
Following is a list of links to these readers' reviews with a few extras added in. If you've reviewed the book and don't see your link here, be sure to add it in the comments section.
