N.T. (Tom) Wright, a bishop in the Church of England and one of my favorite theologians, recently did an interview with Time magazine discussing the concept of heaven. It was fascinating to read the thoughts of such a respected voice in the Christian world speaking about a subject that is so widely discussed in the Christian world. My church recently finished a series on heaven, and Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven has certainly created quite a buzz in evangelical circles. I appreciate the way that Wright sort of sets the record straight on a number of misconceptions that many of us have about heaven (I gotta say, I’m a little bummed about not getting a harp). The entire interview is well worth reading and can be found here. One thing that I particularly appreciate about much of Wright’s thought is that he focuses heavily on the implications of who God is and who he calls us as a people to be. Those subjects are dealt with extensively in his books Simply Christian and Following Jesus, both of which I wholeheartedly recommend. I’m anxious to take a look at his new book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, because judging by the title it will clearly dive even deeper into these ideas. I guess I just get frustrated at times because it seems like we’re so fascinated with trying to figure out what heaven will be like and yet we’re so often disinterested in beginning to live like heaven on Earth (I’m as guilty as anyone on this). I’ll close with a quote from the interview where Wright touches on the New Testament concept of rebirth and renewal and how that is sometimes at odds with traditional “Christian” understanding.
Much of “traditional” Christianity gives the impression that God has these rather arbitrary rules about how you have to behave, and if you disobey them you go to hell, rather than to heaven. What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, and his resurrection was the opening bell. And when he returns to fulfill the plan, you won’t be going up there to him, he’ll be coming down here.
That’s great stuff from a great scholar. I certainly believe that coming to this sort of an understanding of rebirth, renewal, and heaven has the potential to radically transform the way we think about what it means to follow Jesus.
