The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion by N.T. WrightMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a superb read! In typical Wright fashion, the material is engaging and thought provoking all throughout. In this volume, Wright takes on the 'platonized' version of Christianity that marks nearly all of the Western church, namely the view of atonement and eschatology ending with us 'abandoning' earth and 'going to heaven.' This is a grave error, according to Wright. Rather than living by a 'works contract' view of atonement (for this is highlights the penal substitution perspective), Wright emphasizes a 'vocational covenant' perspective. This seems similar to what I read (though I could be wrong because it's been a few years and I didn't read the whole volume) to G.K. Beale's 'A New Testament Biblical Theology.' Rather than 'abandoning' earth and escaping the physical world for heaven (a heavily Plato influenced idea), Wright recaptures the Biblical eschatology where there will be a new heavens and a new earth that come together (God with His people) and the reality of a physical resurrection.
While there is a lot of repetition, I believe Wright does so because of the subject matter he's addressing and the high likelihood of a reader to lose track of the picture he's trying to weave together and fall back into the platonized Christianity we are currently in. This book is definitely worth a read for minister and non alike! I ESPECIALLY like the last chapter, where Wright talks about the practical application and implications of this 'vocational covenant.' That chapter alone, for me, would have been worth the whole book! (Though I'm sure if you were to read it by itself, you'd develop an itching for more that could only be satisfied by reading the rest!) =)
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