N.T. Wright Interview: “Simply Jesus” & Wright Responds to Critics

My favorite New Testament scholar of the 20^th century was the British scholar F.F. Bruce. Bruce was a “bright and shining light” in 20^th century evangelicalism. He was prolific, churning out high quality work year after year. He had the rare ability to write academic books as well as popular (accessible) books. Bruce’s specialty was Jesus and Paul.
F.F. Bruce also understood the importance of chronology in New Testament studies. Consequently, he published a translation of the New Testament that put all of Paul’s letters in chronological order. (Yes – cough — F.F. Bruce was a major inspiration for me. Hence, I credit him in my Untold Story of the New Testament Church.)
In addition, Bruce was a powerful apologist, substantiating the historicity of the Gospels in the face of 20^th century liberalism. To top it off, F.F. Bruce was a capable theologian as well as a New Testament exegete (a rare combination).
Enter N.T. Wright. Another British evangelical scholar.
N.T. Wright is the 21^st century equivalent to F.F. Bruce. What Bruce did for evangelicalism in the modern world, Wright is doing for evangelicalism in the postmodern world.
Like F.F. Bruce, N.T. Wright is remarkably prolific, he has the rare ability to write academically as well as popularly, he specializes in Jesus and Paul, and he is an effective and compelling apologist. (Wright has brilliantly excoriated the arguments of liberal scholars who traffic in historical Jesus studies.)
Like Bruce, Wright is both a theologian and an exegete, and he wrote his own translation of the New Testament (though not in chronological sequence).
To my mind, N.T. Wright is the new F.F. Bruce.
Meeting N.T. Wright
I had the privilege of spending time with Wright in 2007 when we were both featured speakers at a conference in the (cough) . . . Bahamas. (Yes, it was a notable hardship to accept the invitation. But some people must suffer for the kingdom.)
All jesting aside, Wright and I spent several hours talking about various and sundry topics of mutual interest. During the event, we shared a boat ride that lasted one hour each way. We sat together on both legs of the trip and filled our time schmoozing about the New Testament and theology.
All told: I was pleased to discover that Wright and I had a lot more in common than I expected. For instance, we agreed that Paul was the author of Ephesians, that Galatians was Paul’s first epistle (i.e., the South Galatian theory), and other views that are in the minority among New Testament scholars today. We talked about the eternal purpose, the work of C.H. Dodd, the role of the Old Testament narrative on the New Testament story, etc.
In getting to know Tom (N.T.) Wright, and in reading much of his work, he has become my favorite contemporary New Testament scholar. You can find many of my favorite titles by Bruce and Wright in my Best 100 Christian Books Ever Written and my Best 100 Academic Christian Books & Commentaries pages.
Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting F.F. Bruce. But I am happy to have met and befriended Tom Wright.
With that as a background, what follows is my interview with N.T. Wright on his latest book, Simply Jesus. I own virtually all of Wright’s works in my study, and Simply Jesus has quickly become my favorite “N.T. Wright book.” 
Every follower of Jesus should get a copy and read it. Especially those of you who are moving beyond evangelical.
One final note. N.T. Wright is someone who is not afraid to challenge the status quo. In this regard, I both resonate with and support him. And I’ve intentionally played “devil’s advocate” on some of the questions as I wanted Tom to have a safe platform in which to respond to “the gainsayers.”

Here is a link to the whole interview:  http://frankviola.org/2012/01/23/ntwright

Act Three Begins A New Year

Moving on, they say, moving on. Don’t get stuck in the mud of circulatory thinking. Don’t spin your wheels. Keep the conversation going.

And so, in 2012 we have. But then isn’t all of life a moving on, or else, a territorial leap from here to there? Isn’t that what happens when you fall in love? We began our life together like that over 31 years ago. Two hearts leaping ahead into the future, beginning something uniquely ours in the universe, an Anthony family tree built from scattered branches.

It all began last May, when we fell in love with the mountains. The ocean views of Santa Cruz could no longer hold sway. We looked and kept on looking, at ads of houses and lands. We had so many questions, doubts and fears, least of all the pile of funds you should have accumulated. But we did have some, so we boldly proclaimed our desire, and earnestly prayed for God’s guidance.

Then one day a friend named Terri and I were actually standing in a vacant house, and me, proclaiming it was mine, feeling like a conqueror. That began a ritual chase that ended on an auction block, far from our reach. Our daughter Aimee was our real estate guide, and apologized for the roller coaster ride of emotions: now you have it, now you don’t. Next was taking the step of making an offer on a charming house for a great price. Aimee called it a “classy Tahoe style cabin”, and was excited for another possibility on our horizon. Since it was in a short sale category we were warned of endless days ahead.

We endured the interim, punctuated by the silence of the unknown: would they accept our offer, and if they didn’t, what next? But then we started to preempt any negative possibility by looking at some more houses. John kept coming back to one that had dropped in price from $260,000 to $154,000, all 2600 square feet of it! My first reaction was: way too big!! All I wanted was a little cabin in the woods, etc.

But we had to investigate, and called Aimee for her input. As we three compared the two homes, it became obvious that this one was so much better for our family and for growing older needs. Boom! We put in another offer, and were accepted, much to our surprise, because there were quite a few other offers in the mix.

Though it had gone into foreclosure, the house had “good bones” and was still pretty much in move-in condition. Then began another wait, and much counsel about the type of loan we should get. The Lord led us step by step, through a steep learning curve, and we moved from our 850 square foot apartment on Sunday, Jan. 8^th, with quite a few helping hands and feet. Our son-in-law Tom had made a beautiful mantle for the stone fireplace, and installed it and a new window in our office/craft room in one day!! Lucy, Tim and the boys were on hand to ease the transition. Together we lovingly endured the mounds of boxes, the chaos and the endless questions of where things should go, and me mumbling answers like: don’t know, not sure, maybe here.  John and I crashed very early that first evening at 8:30 pm, and said goodnight to our company.

Three weeks have passed, and my friend Terri came by, marveling that it seemed like we had been there for years. Curtains were hung, some pictures and plants filled in the spaces, the kitchen was functioning, and the fire was dancing on the hearth, but we were still waking up in a state of shock, and saying: Do we still live here? Is this the place we will call home from now on?

And yet we had been preparing for this moment for 15 years and were as ready as we could be. 

The curtain has just ascended and Act Three is about to begin.

Why Poetry is Meant to be Read Aloud

         Voice is spirit. The human voice, hammered out by the human tongue, is the physical expression of the human spirit. Language is a complex pattern of symbols to which we have assigned sounds. Words are abstractions, but when fleshed out by the voice, nuanced with emotions, create meaningful sounds akin to musical compositions. The effect of one person’s voice upon another’s soul is profound, and can alter our perception of that person for good or evil. Through the power of spoken words, we interpret meaning through emotion and are able to impact someone’s imagination much like heated patterns make an impression on wax. The creative force of the imagination can make a new world that frees us from the confines of physical space and time, and transport us to realms of beauty or terror of something or someone beyond ourselves.

         Thought is abstract. We think in terms of symbols to which we assign sounds that in turn alter meaning or intention. As we think we hear the inner voice of our soul speaking to us, reflecting, questioning, assigning value, judging, and deciding our actions. This inner voice must break the sound barrier, and eventually be heard. Those who cannot speak will find other ways to communicate because the desire to be heard is as strong as the desire to live. We long to be known, and make known what lies within us, to build a bridge of understanding between us, strong enough to cross the chasm of separation, and find acceptance.

         May Love be the only language that we speak, and the only voice we hear. Don’t forget to read some poem, recite a prayer, or work of literature aloud to someone you love and wish to bless.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not Love, I have become as sounding brass, and a clanging cymbal”. (ICor.13)

Wisdom Waits

I have been slowly reading the books of Wisdom and it is true, "the words of the wise are like goads".
Praying and remembering Psalm 103, will condense our thoughts into open channels for prayer and deeper meditation and God reality.
The poet Emily Dickinson wrote: "I dwell in Possibility, a fairer house then Prose." (Poem #657)

Wisdom.
Wisdom waits
and lets the story unfold.
It doesn't pounce on an event
to pronounce it curse or blessing.
It understands that there is mystery
as layers of time are removed
in the shaping of our lives.
Wisdom waits
in the Land of Possibility,
allowing seeds of faith
to germinate
and teaches us
how to discover truths
hidden under each disguise
worn by the Loving Face of God.
Wisdom waits
with us, showing
how we can live
in not knowing.

When Kingdoms Collide

                                       Lichen painting a pattern on a Santa Cruz seawall

"The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced." 
(the bishop speaking in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo)


A paradigm shift happens when "a series of peaceful interludes is punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions whereby one conceptual world is replaced by another". (Thomas Kuhn)
And of course, turmoil must follow, whether it is emotional, spiritual or political. Change is inevitable, and is the only true constant.
(Gr. para (beside)+ deigma (pattern, example, or sample)
We cannot live without a paradigm , a thought pattern, a framework of philosophy.

We have watched the tumultuous political shiftings of governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and now Libya displayed in living bloody color. More may yet unravel. And we watch with sympathetic wonder at both young and old who are emboldened to demonstrate their outrage at decades of injustice. One Libyan said that all he wanted to do was to live like a human being. The unanimous cry we hear is for Democracy, but not on our terms. Fair enough. We can only recommend and lead the fray into the chaos we call liberty, and the guarantee of human rights. They don't want our "shock and awe" kind of military intervention, thank you. They are willing to spill their own blood to gain the treasures of freedom, and raise their own flag in the battle. Those who are politically cynical have said they know the United States really doesn't give a damn about them, but has only wanted their oil. How else can we explain the years of courting these dictatorships in return for supplying our addiction?? Our familiar recompense was to supply them with weapons to strengthen their military arm. Those who are more naive have wanted us to come and rescue them. Perhaps and finally, this form of government we call a Democratic Republic is the very best that man has ever devised to offer the world.
We rest our case.

These are countries who have lived through a prohibition of progress based on an ideology that fears freedom of religion, of conscience, of women being educated, of technology, and sees only evil in these liberties, calling them the work of the "Great Satan". They are some 60 years behind the developing world, and have been denied basic human liberties, and above all, their human dignity. We can hardly appreciate their extraordinary moment in history, their rising up together, their storming the barricades. "Power to the people" is the tidal wave that is crashing now on every shore, even our own. But we can applaud their struggle to be recognized as a people by the global community of the 21st Century. Because we cannot yet predict the outcome of these conflicts, we may fear what kind of people will finally emerge. Will they turn their horns of power upon us, and rend our gut, we who introduced them to the potent wine of liberty and progress??

Christians proclaim a "gospel of the Kingdom" to a world constantly striving to gain power, one people over another, one nation against another, one kingdom over another. Our King was crucified because His Kingdom was not of this world, and wasn't even recognized or desired by His own people. He warned them that this Kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a people who would cultivate it and bear its fruits. He chose not to use angelic armies, or human weapons to defend His authority. His earthly throne was a cross that bore witness to his true identity. From it he decreed only forgiveness and mercy.
His Kingdom of Love and Peace will one day reign over all the kingdoms of this world. We pray for his Kingdom to come, and be the final end of all human progress.
This is our hope during times of revolution and change.

Wash and Wear the New Year On

Time has moved us inches forward,
in a motion much against our will.

Try to live in a dimension that keeps moving
further away from you.

You freeze a fibrous image
Into color-coated memories,
When once you were or seemed before
All traces vanish.
Nothing holds you to the core.

The heart 's rhythm is bound
To such a delicate perch.
You dream a dance around the sun
Stepping past each season,
and the feet will follow
Just a little while.
The vial of trickling sands can trick you
to delay the once forever power of the day,
And stream it into empty hours.
Trouble soon will shake the brittle moments down
Before the overturning hand begins again.


Lolling at the ocean's edge,
By time's distorted mirror,
We are mesmerized.
Much like a trance
It fills the horizons of our eyes.

Caught within its tumbler

Of timeless turning
We float past the familiar
And rest our hopes upon a heaving skin
that covers the unknown.    

At times we wade
Through waves of yearning
Pushing toward tomorrow's meaning
And lose the gift of knowing
What is now is bathed in light
And borders all our present,
Is speaking from eternal space,
And guiding to the one true place
that has no end.

How to Spend Christmas

CHRISTMAS LOVE 

- paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at
mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china  and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of LOVE will endure.

                      -Author Unknown