Dear Theophilus

  Here is Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 : This is a small, reviewish type piece about a book I adore. I like to mostly summarize and quote, so not really a critical review, but whatever! Surprised by Hope is fantastic, hopefully you are inspired. Read it: Chapter 11 The 11 th Chapter is entitled “Purgatory, Paradise, Hell.” For such a huge undertaking, there are not a lot of surprises. In tackling purgatory, he tackles the medieval (and earlier) idea that there is a hierarchy of Christians. There is: the Church Triumphant or those saints who already made it to heaven, the church expectant are those who are in purgatory or are awaiting heaven and finally the church militant which are those still alive “fighting the good fight of the faith” (p. 165). Wright finds this hierarchy and also Purgatory to be a complete misunderstanding of Scripture. He is adamant and a little pointed about this (“I think with great respect that you ought to see not a theologian but a th...

Here is PART 1 if you are so inclined... Again, this book has been amazing! Loved it. I am skipping chapters 3 and 4 and heading right to 5 and 6: Chapter 5 Wright begins that chapter with a discussion on where we are to begin. He explains that in the medieval period a greater emphasis was placed on the individual. There is a reward for individuals, he says, but he suggests that we should, and are going to in this book, start with a much bigger question: “What is God’s purpose for the world as a whole?” (p. 80). Wright then describes myths that we currently have in society and why they are ineffective. He titles the first one, “Evolutionary Optimism,” he subtitles this one with “the myth of progress.” The premise is that evolution is a much broader thing then biology and it has given us an idea that progress is good and will eventually lead to some sort of utopia. Marxism, Darwinism, technology, politics all play on this worldview. Wright then tells us that “the re...