Series:

Christian Origins and the Question of God

3 primary works • 4 total works

Book 2

Cover of The New Testament and the People of God
Part of a five-volume project on the theological questions surrounding the origins of Christianity, this book offers a reappraisal of literary, historical and theological readings of the New Testament, arguing for a form of critical realism that facilitates different readings of the text.

Book 3

Cover of The Resurrection of the Son of God
Why did Christianity begin, and why did it take the shape it did? To answer this question -- which any historian must face -- renowned New Testament scholar N. T. Wright focuses on the key points: what precisely happened at Easter? What did the early Christians mean when they said that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead? What can be said today about this belief?

This book, third in Wright's series Christian Origins and the Question of God, sketches a map of ancient beliefs about life after death, in both the Greco-Roman and Jewish worlds. It then highlights the fact that the early Christians' belief about the afterlife belonged firmly on the Jewish spectrum, while introducing several new mutations and sharper definitions. This, together with other features of early Christianity, forces the historian to read the Easter narratives in the gospels, not simply as late rationalizations of early Christian spirituality, but as accounts of two actual events: the empty tomb of Jesus and his "appearances."

How do we explain these phenomena? The early Christians' answer was that Jesus had indeed been bodily raised from the dead; that was why they hailed him as the messianic "son of God." No modern historian has come up with a more convincing explanation. Facing this question, we are confronted to this day with the most central issues of the Christian worldview and theology.

Book 4

Cover of Paul and the Faithfulness of God
A masterly exposition of Paul's thought by one of his leading contemporary interpreters. The summation of a lifetime's study, this landmark book offers an unparalleled wealth of detailed insights into Paul's life, times and enduring impact. Destined to become the point of reference in Pauline studies for the next decade, and beyond. 'Tom Wright's long-awaited full-length study of St Paul will not in any way disappoint the high expectations that surround it. From the very first sentence, it holds the attention, arguing a strong, persuasive, coherent and fresh case, supported by immense scholarship and comprehensive theological intelligence. It is a worthy successor to his earlier magisterial studies of the themes of the Kingdom and the Resurrection: lively, passionate and deeply constructive, laying out very plainly the ways in which the faith of the New Testament is focused on God's purpose to re-create, through the fact of Jesus crucified and risen, our entire understanding of authority and social identity.' Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge

Cover of Jesus and the Victory of God
Wright sets out in fascinating detail his own compelling account of how Jesus himself understood his mission: how he believed himself called to remake Israel, the people of God, around himself; how he announced God's judgement on the Israel of his day, especially its Temple and hierarchy; and how he saw his own movement as the divinely ordained fulfilment of Israel's destiny.