Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

The first thing that might stand out to a curious reader is that Simply Christian has a cover-quote from Anne Rice, whom the back cover clarifies to be the same Anne Rice that is the "international bestselling author of The Vampire Chronicles." That is the first hint that this book will not be a dry theological work. Yes, Anne Rice has in recent years become a Christian, but the choice to feature her on the cover seems to be a statement of sorts: this book is not just for your typical Christian reader.

This is supported with the opening four chapters - which I feel are the strongest part of the book. In these, Wright looks at universal concepts that he feels point towards the idea of God: justice, spirituality, relationship and beauty. show more Each of these chapters digs a little below the surface and challenges the reader to think about the way the world is, using anecdotes and extended metaphors. It's the sort of book that could be given to a non-Christian to help them question the assumptions they make about life.

The second section moves into an unpacking of some basic Christian ideas in response to these concepts: God in general, the place of Israel, the work of Jesus... each of these builds off the opening chapters, painting a picture of how Wright sees Christianity in action.

And the book carries on from there to introduce Wright's slightly more controversial take on the future of the Church and the world: Wright believes God will redeem and renew this world rather than replace it. This does fit within the broader scope of Christian theology, but it will raise some eyebrows, particularly of those that Wright suggests are more wedded to a "escape to heaven" type mentality.

Wright also argues for a Jesus that gradually grows into his awareness that he is the Son of God, rather than always knowing it. Again, this is likely to be controversial.

Whether you agree with these conclusions or not, Wright does present a very readable and persuasive argument for why Christianity is important, why the work of Jesus is vital, and how the Church can be effective in the wider world.

It definitely earns its place as an influential thought-provoker. show less

Simply Christian by N.T. Wright is so clearly and beautifully written I understood stuff that I never have before. Pretty much everyone, everywhere, feels an innate longing for justice, for beauty, for "spiritually", for relationships of joy and love -- and these innate longings, expressed by each of us differently, are echos of a voice, of a longing for God. Wright delves into this. Then he delves into "solutions". I understand far better, for example, why Deism doesn't truly work. I understand the differences between a panthesitic or semi-panthesitic world view and a Christian one. But doesn't that sound academic and boring? Well it isn't!!! It is foundational knowledge that then leads slowly and gently to understanding what makes the show more Bible so important and different, Jesus, God, Israel, etc. This is just an inspiring and inspired book! START HERE with your search for God! Okay, I took off half a star because in a tiny section that doesn't matter at the back of the book is in my opinion wrong/old fashion. But even that is beautifully explained and food for thought.

Flipping to a random page, here's an example of the goodness: "Christianity is not about a new moral teaching -- as though we were morally clueless and in need of some fresh or clearer guidelines. This is not to deny that Jesus, and some of his first followers, gave some wonderfully bracing and intelligent moral teaching. It is merely to insist that we find teaching like that within a larger framework: the story of things that happened through which the world was changed.... Christianity is the belief that .... God's rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all....We're offered freedom..."

Awesome book, I was reading it with the same gusto I do novels. show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

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 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.

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 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 show more 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." show less

Great book! Very clear and concise. Wright speaks as though he is addressing one who has no familiarity with Christianity. He provides a holistic account of the Christian faith from Creation to Israel to Jesus to New Creation. He also provides very helpful nuances on Scripture, Sacraments and the Kingdom. Not too technical for lay readers. A must read for any Christian.