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Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense |  | Author: N.T. Wright
Brand: Harper Collins Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Seller: econgo
Rating:  92 reviews
Sales Rank: 87822
Format: Import
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 9th Print
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1
MPN: 9780060507152
ISBN: 0060507152
Dewey Decimal Number: 230
EAN: 9780060507152
ASIN: 0060507152
Publication Date: March 1, 2006
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Product Description
Why do we expect justice? Why do we crave spirituality? Why are we attracted to beauty? Why are relationships often so painful? And how will the world be made right? These are not simply perennia
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 92
 Simply Enough August 12, 2010
J. G. Aran (malaysia)
Well I'm trying to see how much I absorbed from N. T. Wright's book "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense." Again I have to say that, in books by Wright, you simply have to read them in their entirety to nudge out the things he has to say. Anyways, it is always a pleasure reading his books.
Wright introduces Christianity by telling us that there are four echoes that are constantly at the fore of life. It's what all humans have an urgency towards; justice, spirituality, relationship and beauty. These are the tenants that all humanity have that tells them there is something more.
The next part he talks about the story of Christianity. Not something detached form the OT, but something merging out from the Israel's story. We don't hear much of this in the a conventional way of how people present Christianity. The four spiritual laws might be a good example. In the introductory proceedings of part 2 he tells us that a Christian or Judeo-Christian world-view of spirituality and earth is not a detached understanding, nor is it on equal basis but related in an interchangeable way.
The last part of the book he talks more about the content, if you will, of the Christian faith. By this i mean, things that Christians do that forms their pattern of life (worship, prayer, church). It's not exhaustive in a sense but enough to present Christianity or in another sense re-introduce Christianity.
Concluding, to say the least, as always, N. T. Wright's writings have always gave me more than just nuggets or gems. He rather gives you a grand picture from which you can gaze at the magnificent beauty of what he paints in it's entirety and it also has the capacity to captivate your sights on the details that make up the whole portrait. People in the east would call this experience where one attains `nirvana' while westerners might call it `enlightenment.'
A much needed introduction July 10, 2010
A. Omelianchuk (Minneapolis, MN)
NT Wright has the remarkable ability to write at both scholarly and popular levels and synthesizes the best of both worlds into one book. Nowhere is this more evident in his Simply Christian where he introduces the reader to the Christian religion in a winsome and persuasive way. Readers who have spent their lives as Christians will benefit just as much as a novice or even a skeptic.
Many comparisons of NT Wright to CS Lewis are made, but it is not always apt. Yes, they are both Anglicans who give a good public face to Christian thought, but their approaches are very different. Wright spends little time defending the existence of God and devotes much of his book to explaining the biblical story. Lewis, on the other hand, spends a great deal of time putting forth philosophical arguments for God's existence and giving detailed explanations of some of Christianity's more unpopular ethics (chastity and so on).
One area they have in common is evaluating broad worldviews that concern the relationship between deity and creation. Lewis gave much attention to the differences between pantheism, dualism, and Christianity and Wright helpfully contrasts pantheism (God and creation are unified - option 1), deism (God and creation are radically separate - option 2) and Christian theism (God and creation intermingle and overlap - option 3). Wright brilliantly uses this tripartite scheme to compare and contrast broad swaths of thinking about God that most people experiment with, and he shows how Christianity (option 3) makes the best sense reality, particularly in how we long for justice and beauty to give meaning to our lives.
Introductory books like this are much needed, because they help the reader understand the overall story of the Bible, which is often lost on even the most seasoned of theologians. Wright shows how Israel fits into God's plan, how Jesus brings it about, and how the church must wrestle with the dual reality of being called out of the world and called to minister to it. Very few books written by Christian thinkers have the virtue of being accessible by all, but Wright succeeds once again in delivering the Christian message to any and all who are willing to listen.
 Haven't I Seen This Before...? June 26, 2010
Mr. Get Real (Long Beach, CA USA)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book did absolutely nothing for me - a complete waste of time....
Although it might appear to some readers that Wright's approach here is fresh and original, there actually is nothing new here...
(1) The core concept of the outline of the first half of "Simply Christian" was published 15 years earlier by another author, namely Alister E. McGrath in his much superior "Intellectuals Don't Need God and Other Modern Myths". Look at McGrath's seven chapters under "Points of Contact" for similarities with Wright's chapters under the heading of "Echoes of a Voice". I looked to see if the source was footnoted in Wright's book - nope! Please note however, that McGrath judicially footnotes all of his sources.
(2) Wright's first chapter, is wholly based upon concepts lifted directly from another author's book - i.e. C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" (see chapter 1). I looked to see if this source was footnoted in Wright's book - nope! There no indication anywhere in Wright's first chapter that the core concepts originated from C.S. Lewis' first chapter.
(3) Even the title of Wright's book is a semi-plagiarism of sorts of C.S. Lewis' classic title, "Mere Christianity". And then after glibly "borrowing" that famous title for his own book, Wright has the audacity to further imply in the dust jacket that his own book is a sort of worthy sequel to Lewis' well-known best seller - wow! Is this guy arrogant or what? Does anybody out there really think C.S. Lewis, if he were alive today, would have concurred with this?
Wow! Is ANYTHING in "Simply Christian" not "borrowed" from somebody else? The title was "inspired" by C.S. Lewis' book, the outline greatly resembles Alister McGrath's book, and even the very content of the first chapter is undeniably lifted from C.S. Lewis. What does one make of all this...?
As it turns out, the only thing "original" in Wright's book appears to be the rather odd stories he uses to illustrate his personal take on theology - I found that the "Hidden Spring" analogy in chapter 2 was strained and heavy-handed to say the least. Wright also promotes the rather weird notion that Jesus did not understand his own divinity! (see pgs.116-119).
Regardless, let's examine what Wright has actually produced with all these various "borrowed" components. In his first chapter, Wright starts off by restating Lewis' elegant and concise ideas, but soon blunders on the notion of "justice". The problem is that for Wright "justice" is defined in a highly variable manner wholly dependant upon his personal secular and social perspective. This detour from Lewis' original solid approach detracts from and shifts the discussion into a rather pointless, often confusing, secular social "debate" arena. For example, Wright patently states that it is "unjust" that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" (pg. 5).... huh? Doesn't Wright understand that the book of Proverbs tells us that hard work and wisdom deserve financial reward? Wright seems to have a bias against "rich people" - but, aren't these sorts of prejudicial attitudes exactly what Wright would seemly have been condemning in this chapter as "unjust"!? Wright also generalizes that "Countries invade other countries and get away with it" as another apparently patently obvious example of "injustice" (pg. 5). So, when the Allies invaded France and liberated it from the Germans in WW2 this was "unjust"?
Doesn't Wright realize that just about every social issue always has proponents on either side that can at least partially and often legitimately claim that its perspective and its perspective alone is the "way things should be". In the secular social arena, everybody plays the victim game. Wright should have stayed away from misguided and apparently socialist-inspired(?) generalizations - are all rich people really "bad"? When Wright attempts to add his own voice to what C.S. Lewis already concisely and clearly outlined 70 years ago, he only manages to get his feet in a tangle - why not just read C.S. Lewis directly instead of filtered through Wright's sloppy quagmire?
In addition, I should point out that Wright seems to be reliant upon a false premise - not everybody would agree that mankind taps into a sort of universally agreed upon Jungian social consciousness of "what should be" and "what should not be". Not only is fallen man a poor judge of "justice", consider also that in a fallen world separated from God one could argue that "things are already the way they should be" - i.e. sin has a price to be paid and the state of this fallen world is already "just" in that regard! "All have fallen short of the glory of God", therefore there is really no "injustice" for anyone to complain about. Christians, according to the Apostle Paul, seek mercy, not justice (Ephesians 2:4-5; Titus 3:5; Romans 9:23).
And then there is Wright's ponderous writing style... too wordy and tedious. It just seems to take him forever to get to the point. You have been warned. Is this type of sloppy writing worthy of comparison to C.S. Lewis? I think not...
Excellent, Historical, Essential April 17, 2010
John Foster (Seattle, WA)
This book does more than explain what it means to be a Christian. It places everything in it's rightful historical context. You will better understand the times and "mindset" of those who were first exposed to Christianity. Which will help protect you against many of the errors of our day. This is urgently important! I will read this book several times more - it's that deep - and yet give it as a gift to anyone I wish to share my faith with. Just an excellent read! The audio is a great listen as well.
Delicious Theology April 16, 2010
Susan M. Steege (Buffalo, NY USA)
I VERY often struggle with this thing:
I know that Christianity does not make sense to many people in this day and culture and I would love to help with that. AT THE SAME TIME, it makes perfect, intuitive sense to me. I know in my bones that Jesus is real, that He loves me and that I am giddy at the prospect of following Him. What this means is that I don't know how to explain that to someone for whom Christianity is a mystery--or worse, an empty ritualized religion. That's why I couldn't wait to read "Simply Christian".
NT Wright tells the reader in his introduction what he was hoping to accomplish in this book:
My aim has been to describe what Christianity is all about, both to commend it to those outside the faith and to explain it to those inside.
I loved this book. The theology in it was so delectable. It presents truth in a way that makes me want to read sections of it over and over again. Wright paints a picture for the reader of the "echoes" of God that are all around us, especially these four:
* Justice
* Spirituality
* Relationships
* Beauty
Wright makes a case that EVERY human being longs for these four things (I agree-do you?) and that that very fact proves the existence of the one true God portrayed in the Bible, made flesh in Jesus Christ. He does a masterful job of describing the salvation history of the Bible in a chapter or two. I found His take on prayer and worship to be beautiful as well. Wright covers the "basics" of the Christian faith in a way that beckons the reader to engage, rather than lecturing the reader who isn't. I took many notes that will be useful in teaching Bible studies in the future.
Of course, in me, Wright had a reader who was already on board. My posture was one of cheerleader--with every lovely truth I was saying "AMEN, brother PREACH IT" and turning the words over on my tongue and in my heart like they were a gourmet meal. I would love to have a skeptic read this--someone who really isn't so sure about Christianity and get their take on it. If you are reading this and you fall into this category, I would purchase the book for you so I could hear what you think. Leave me a comment below...
Wright's closing words are written in my journal and pondered regularly. Maybe you will like them, too:
Christian holiness is not (as people often imagine) a matter of denying something good. It is about growing up and grasping something even better. Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we are satisfied with sentiment. But new creation has already begun. The sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, the the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds and stewards of the new day that is dawning. That, quite simply is what it means to be Christian: to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, which he has thrown open before us.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 92
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