Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

by N. T. Wright

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

Popular Authors Wri

Collection

Pages

256

Publication

HarperOne (2010), Edition: 1, 256 pages

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 perennial questions all generations must struggle with, but, according to N. T. Wright, are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear. In fact, these questions take us to the heart of who God is and what He wants from us. For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis's classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular. Simply Christian walks the reader through the Christian faith step by step and question by question. With simple yet exciting and accessible prose, Wright challenges skeptics by offering explanations for even the toughest doubt-filled dilemmas, leaving believers with a reason for renewed faith. For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member PeaceUMC
Why is justice fair? Why are so many people pursuing spirituality? Why do we crave relationship? And why is beauty so beautiful?

N. T. Wright argues that each of these questions takes us into the mystery of who God is and what he wants from us. For two thousand years Christianity has claimed to
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answer these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still does today. Like C. S. Lewis did in his classic Mere Christianity, Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader is starting from ground zero with no predisposition to and perhaps even some negativity toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. His goal is to describe Christianity in as simple and accessible, yet hopefully attractive and exciting, a way as possible, both to say to outsides "You might want to look at this further," and to say to insiders "You may not have quite understood this bit clearly yet."
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LibraryThing member aevaughn
Simply Christian is an excellent book and brings out some excellent points for both old and new Christians. The most important one I believe is that Heaven exists in parallel with the material world, and Christians are to be places where Heaven and Earth meet. That is we have both the Spirit and
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our fleshly selves coexisting. We thus have the opportunity to be God's ambassadors to others by virtue of the Spirit's presence. This was also likened to the presence of the Temple as God's dwelling place. It is not the entire story of course, though you have to go to the Bible for that.
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LibraryThing member NGood
The goal of this book is to introduce the major themes of Christianity to someone who may not know the Christian message but is interested in more, or someone who has long been part of the church but is confused as to what the big deal is all about. Wright does an amazing job of explaining
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difficult ideas in everyday, understandable language that is both accessible and easy while also being deep and expansive. He starts the book by explaining four things all humans long for and likening them to an echo of a voice within our world, as the book unfolds he then goes to show how the Christian message explains all of these things, how they link to the working of God in (re)creation, specifically Jesus Christ, and how this all ties back into what it means to be a recreated one who is furthering the kingdom and work of God in the world. At times Wright oversimplifies things, at times he forces the Christian view into Old Testament Judaism, at times he generalizes on points he perhaps could have been more specific on, but overall this is a book that I would recommend to anyone interested in Christianity but hesitant or unsure of what it's all about as well as anyone who has been in the church for a while but is not sure as to how to get involved. This book is a great starting point as well as a great reminder to all.
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LibraryThing member CatherineBurkeHines
I thought, from reading the reviews, this was going to be "C.S. Lewis lite," but far from it - I was so touched and fascinated by this book, and can't wait to read others of his.
LibraryThing member bmanderson
An excellent primer to the Christian faith, much like Lewis' "Mere Christianity." For the long-time Christian looking to deepen her faith, this book will probably come up short.
LibraryThing member rainforest33
A good overview of what is it to be a Christian
LibraryThing member jbonewald
I'm just testing this a real review will follow
LibraryThing member justindtapp
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense is the first N.T. Wright book that I've read, and he made a pretty good first impression. I expected this book to be somewhat like C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, but it's much less apologetic in nature and more of an exposure to a non-Christian of what
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Christianity is and is not.

I enjoyed Wright's apologetic, although a committed neo-Darwinist atheist would be unpersuaded, I think. The part that was most persuasive, for me personally, was that every society and people group has an idea of justice-- there are wrongs and rights, and everyone has a universal desire to see the wrongs righted. That indicates that we lost something somewhere in the annals of human history, we are all crying out for redemption and justice.

I appreciated Wright's emphasis on the importance of Scripture in the center of our worship-- corporate reading of Scripture is part of Jewish tradition, is prescribed in the New Testament (1 Timothy 4) and is not often done by churches anymore.

Wright walks the reader through God's redemptive story, from creation to the Exodus, to Jesus. It's a brief overview of biblical theology for the non-believer. Wright's politics creep in occasionally, his assumptions of pacifism and international debt forgiveness, for example. But he does not strike me as a liberal heretic.

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I enjoy checking out some of Wright's "deeper" works.
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Subjects

Original publication date

2006

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