Claimed by many as "Mere Christianiy" for the 21st century, Simply Christian presents a lucid though limited overview of Christian thought and practicClaimed by many as "Mere Christianiy" for the 21st century, Simply Christian presents a lucid though limited overview of Christian thought and practice. Bishop of Durham N.T. Wright starts his apologetic not from moral philosophy, as did his predecessor Lewis, but from what he calls "echoes"--fundamental human longings that point us to a reality deeper than our material, "just things as they are" reality. Those echoes are beauty, relationships, spirituality, and justice. We crave all four, yet our attempts to find each fall paintstakingly short. Wright argues they fall short because our longing can't ultimately be found in personal and corporate strivings, but in the Triune God revealing himself through Christ and inviting us to participate in his story of cosmic redemption. Wright touches on key elements of the Christian vocabulary like covenant, community, prayer, worship, biblical interpretation, and the like. In true Anglican form, Wright's apologetic is refreshingly global in scope and deeply rooted in history. And his apologetic is built on the right beginnings for a postmodern audience more likely to accept personal experience over moral law as means of truth. Where I found his apologetic lacking, speaking as the dyed-in-the-wool evangelical that I can't help but be, is Wright's glaring ommission of the Atonement. Why did Christ have to die? Why is Easter the central event of the liturgical calendar? Wright is clear that the Lord is a redeeming one, but the how of this redemption is never spelled out. ...more
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