The Bible is there to enable God's people to be equipped to do God's work in God's world, not to give them an excuse to sit back smugly, knowing they possess all God's truth. N. T. Wright More Quotes by N. T. Wright More Quotes From N. T. Wright Far too many people, especially within evangelicalism, think that the individual is all that matters, and that the corporate dimension is a distraction or diversion. Of course Christianity is deeply personal for every single Christian; nobody gets lost in the kingdom of God. But you can't play that off against the corporate dimension. N. T. Wright christian play thinking To get overprotective about particular readings of the Bible is always in danger of idolatry. N. T. Wright overprotective reading danger The Bible is the book of my life. It's the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by. N. T. Wright live-by want book I think future generations will say the late 20th century and the early 21st century was a time of great convulsions and upheavals. N. T. Wright upheaval generations thinking Perhaps art can help us to look beyond the immediate beauty with all its puzzles, and to glimpse that new creation which makes sense not only of beauty but of the world as a whole, and ourselves within it ... The artist can then join forces with those who work for justice and those who struggle for redemptive relationships, and together encourage and sustain those who are reaching out for a genuine, redemptive spirituality. N. T. Wright struggle justice art A 'conservative believer' must be someone who believes that Jesus was truly human as well as truly divine. N. T. Wright conservative believe jesus Heard in full sound, the Gospels tell about the establishment of a theocracy, and portray what theocracy looks like with Jesus as king. N. T. Wright kings sound jesus Almost all the early Christian Fathers were opposed to the death penalty, even though it was of course standard practice across the ancient world. N. T. Wright practice christian father The imminent demise of the church has been predicted since the middle of the 18th century. This is the regular secular mantra if churchgoing declines. I could take you to plenty of churches that are full to bursting and new churches being built. N. T. Wright demise century church Resurrection means bodily life after ‘life after death,’ or, if you prefer, bodily life after the state of ‘death’ N. T. Wright life-after-death resurrection mean I regard this conclusion as coming in the same sort of category, of historical probability so high as to be virtually certain, as the death of Augustus in AD 14 or the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 N. T. Wright jerusalem historical fall Jesus of Nazareth ushers in not simply a new religious possibility, not simply a new ethic or a new way of salvation, but a new creation. N. T. Wright religious way jesus Genesis 1...was designed to reflect God, both to reflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God into the rest of creation in stewardship. N. T. Wright stewardship creation worship Hope comes as a surprise, at several levels at once. N. T. Wright surprise levels As we are set free by that love from our own pride and fear, our own greed and arrogance, so we are free in our turn to be agents of reconciliation and hope, or healing and love. N. T. Wright greed pride healing Art is love creating the new world and justice is love rolling up its sleeves to heal the old one. N. T. Wright creating justice art But if Christians don’t get Jesus right, what chance is there that other people will bother much with him? N. T. Wright christian people jesus Blessed are the pure in heart; how will people believe that, unless we ourselves are worshipping the living God until our own hearts are set on fire and scorched through with his purity? N. T. Wright blessed heart believe For now we see the beauty of God through a glass, darkly, but then face to face; now we appreciate only in part, but then we shall affirm and appreciate God, even as the living God has affirmed and appreciated us. So now our tasks are worship, mission, and management, these three; but the greatest of these is worship. N. T. Wright appreciate glasses tasks But the present world is also designed for something which has not yet happened. It is like a violin waiting to be played: beautiful to look at, graceful to hold - and yet if you'd never heard one in the hands of a musician, you wouldn't believe the new dimensions of beauty yet to be revealed. N. T. Wright beautiful believe hands
