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44th out of 169 books
—
121 voters
The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture
by
N.T. Wright
While showing how both evangelicals and liberals misread Scripture, a leading Bible scholar and Anglican bishop shows how to restore the Bible’s authority today for guiding the church through its many controversies.
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
November 22nd 2005
by HarperOne
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N.T. Wright takes his "Five Act Theory" he introduced in *New Testament and the People of God* and gives it a little more notice. He argues that liberals and evangelicals have essentially the same way of reading the bible: study it for propositions to defend (or attack, if a liberal!) an article of dogmatics. Wright suggests this is wrong and the more dynamic way of reading Scripture is to see it as God's script for us to act out. God is the author of the theo-drama and the Bible gives us our in...more
It's hard to find anything to disagree with in this book--and that is intended as both a compliment and as, I suppose, a complaint.
The book is quite concise and basic, like several of Wright's more popular-level works (a similar sort of work, for instance, is his Evil and the Justice of God). Of course, being by Wright, concise and basic doesn't mean shallow and simplistic. You can tell this is just the tip of an iceberg, with Wright's enormous erudition and theological imagination lying undern...more
The book is quite concise and basic, like several of Wright's more popular-level works (a similar sort of work, for instance, is his Evil and the Justice of God). Of course, being by Wright, concise and basic doesn't mean shallow and simplistic. You can tell this is just the tip of an iceberg, with Wright's enormous erudition and theological imagination lying undern...more
I'm not keen on the doctrine of Inerrancy, at least in its contemporary connotation. Certainly, the scope of this review is not fit to unpack such a complex concept. Inerrancy, however, is an argument for the "authority" of scripture. This, the authority of scripture, though some would find ironic, I do hold as a dear belief.
In "The Last Word", N.T. Wright deals with how the scripture, though a collection of ancient texts, are still authoritative today. N.T. Wright has recently become a favorit...more
In "The Last Word", N.T. Wright deals with how the scripture, though a collection of ancient texts, are still authoritative today. N.T. Wright has recently become a favorit...more
Some are quick to compare N.T. Wright to C.S. Lewis. I can see that. Both are English. Both write a profound demonstration of the worthiness and truthfulness of the Christian faith. Both write in a manner that appeals to people of all walks of life and all sorts of background – to the classically theologically trained to the casual observer. Both have the ability to take a complex reality and make it understandable for a mass audience. However, one important differences is that C.S. Lewis was a...more
"As i have argued in this book, "the authority of scripture" is really a shorthand for "the authority of God exercised through scripture"; and God's authority is not merely his right to control and order the church, but his sovereign power, exercised in and through Jesus and the Spirit, to bring all things in heaven and on earth into subjection to his judging and healing rule... in other words, if we are to be true, at the deepest level, to what scriptural authority really means, we must underst...more
This is my first book by Bishop Wright, and, quite accidentally, I think it would be a good entry-book for anyone wanting to start reading Wright. He is clear and concise in tracing his main point -- that the Scripture is authoritative in the sense that it helps guide the church in discussion and discovery of orthodoxy and orthopraxy -- throughout church history. (He also has better sentence structure than I do!) He also is clear on his expectations for how Scripture should be used today, and ca...more
As someone in the midst of reconstructing my understanding of the Bible after my doctrine of biblical inerrancy crashed, The Last Word contained some great material. The book overall unpacks what we mean by the phrase "the authority of scripture", explores what the church has meant by that phrase throughout history, and then repacks what we ought to mean by it today. My takeaway is that the "authority of scripture" is shorthand for "God's authority working through scripture." While the modern ev...more
Insightful overview of the place of scripture in the life of the church. Wright examines the phrase "the authority of scripture" and details how it is more about the relationship of the Father as revealed in the Son working through the Spirit to communicate and complete His work in the world than it is about oft misunderstood words like inerrancy and infallibility. Wright touches on recent scholarship as well as plenty of historical context and church history. I learned that to the Reformers, a...more
Wright, an Anglican Bishop, explores what it means for the Bible to have authority. He attempts to navigate between the two extremes of postmodern critique and fundamentalist style 'literalism,' and achieves some success. POinting out that fundamentalist readings of scripture are actually just as modern as the approaches they seek to critique, Wright argues for a balanced approach that involves a fully contextual reading taking into account the findings of BIblical criticism without swallowing i...more
A brief book - probably too brief - that contains many helpful reflections on the nature of Biblical authority. Wright has a great eye for how the Bible ought to function in the life of the church. He is no doubt right to say that if the church's use of the Bible falls short of promoting the mission of the church then the Bible's authority has been truncated - meaning, for instance, that if the Bible becomes merely a final court of appeals used to adjudicate between theological opinions at the e...more
This was the first Wright book I've read and I found much to like in it. He's an engaging writer which helps explain some of his popularity. I think I most appreciated his strong challenge to church leaders to remember their call to immerse themselves in the scripture (which he never capitalizes), feed their flocks, and not get entirely caught up in church politics and bureaucracy. I didn't appreciate his constant digs at "North America" and his seeming savior mentality through his use of histor...more
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Leaving aside a few irritating tics on the part of the author (including the constant use of the phrase "over against" as some kind of compound preposition), this book was full of decent writing and interesting ideas. The last chapter is the most worth reading, but you have to get through the rest of the book for it to make sense, at least in the context the author wants. But on second thought, if you aren't going to read the whole book, you should still read the last chapter. The author manages...more
This is the second N.T. Wright book I've read, and I'm definitely becoming a fan. I love his insight, as well as his ability to make scholarly concerns very accessible to non-scholars. He's especially good at developing analogies to describe difficult concepts. In that respect, he reminds me a bit of another favorite Christian author, C. S. Lewis.
In this book, Wright takes on the question of Biblical authority. What does it mean to say the Bible is authoritative? How do we interpret it in a way...more
In this book, Wright takes on the question of Biblical authority. What does it mean to say the Bible is authoritative? How do we interpret it in a way...more
This book is primarily about the autority of Scripture. Wright's context is largely historical Jesus studies and Ancient Near-Eastern cultures. Here, Wright sets off to more fully develop an argument that he sets forth in his previous (massive) works as well as the incredibly provocative essay in Vox Evangelica entitled "How Can The Bible Be Authoritative?".
Wright's major premise is that the Scriptures can only be considered to be authoritative if we understnad that authoirt as being derived fr...more
Wright's major premise is that the Scriptures can only be considered to be authoritative if we understnad that authoirt as being derived fr...more
Dec 23, 2010
Kevin
added it
This book merits a second reading (at least). It is packed with information that I need more time to absorb. Upon first reading, I deeply respect Bishop Wright's viewpoint and the spirit with which he approaches and presents the subject. He is both wise and brilliant. But due to the shear depth and volume of information and the concepts presented, I did not come away after first reading feeling that I have grasped his thesis. this is almost certainly due to my lack of understanding, and I will d...more
Wright's book was written for people like me. Scripture has been central to my life for over 40 years. I mean, what could be more interesting (exciting at times and scary at others) than the Creator speaking to us, the very crown of His creation? The book immediately captures my attention by addressing the relationship of scripture to the stuff of life that I regularly wonder about and seek to answer. To wit: The Scripture and Culture, The Scripture and politics, The Scripture and philosophy, Th...more
Dec 03, 2010
Chris Bloom
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-and-reviewed
This is a book that appears simple until you really start thinking about the issues being discussed. As a member of a Southern Baptist church, I'm accustomed to accepting the superiority of biblical authority as a given. Wright goes a step further, asking what "the authority of Scripture" actually means. In a very small book, he manages to explore this issue theologically and practically.
It would be dishonest to say that I enjoyed the whole thing, because his prose is a bit dry at points, but I...more
It would be dishonest to say that I enjoyed the whole thing, because his prose is a bit dry at points, but I...more
Great book by NT Wright in which Wright, with broad strokes, paints his view of biblical authority as the scripturally mediated authority of God framed by the redemptive purposes of God in Christ as it unfolds in history. Wright's Five Act Model, more elaborately expounded elsewhere, helps to understand the dynamic role of Scripture in a process of interpretation and application in which we are actively involved.
This book is good for what it is – not an apologetic piece for biblical authority, but clear, concise, and fresh reflections on the nature of the Bible (what it is) and hermeneutics (how to read it). I have to admit, though, that I’m starting to get bored with Wright because it seems like once you “get” his approach to things, you can start to anticipate everything he is going to say (and sometimes even how he’s going to say it!)
N.T. Wright tries to identify what our present culture actually means when it appeals to the "authority" of scripture and then tries to define how the current church should view the concept. Wright points out how believers should fulfill their role as Christ followers today in view of God's overarching narrative for His creation. He finally goes on to point out the flaws conservatives and liberals have when using the Bible for their everyday agendas, then concludes the book with how we ought to...more
As always, Wright brings such a wealth of history, philosophy, and theology to bear on how we look at the idea of the "authority of Scripture." His approach is challenging, and I'm not sure I buy into everything, but then again, I'm not so sure I quite comprehend the depth of everything he is saying. It's a short book, so I intend to read it through a second time.
Aug 06, 2012
Ben Nash
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
religious
This book was very important for me in helping to think about the different things that can be meant by 'literal' when thinking about scripture. Wright is a good thinker, usually clearly getting ideas across. This book is slightly less clear than others, but still good.
Our modern society is in need of instruction when it comes to how to handle God's Word, and this book is a great foundational look at the topic. What does it mean when someone says the authority of Scripture? What did the Reformers mean when they spoke of taking Scripture literal? As are most of his smaller writings (at least the ones I have ready so far), Wright is not overly scholarly, but speaks on a level that anyone can grasp his points. All in all, a great resource on the importance of Scr...more
Wright deserves five-stars, if nothing else, just for his sheer brilliance of presenting a very difficult and controversial topic (but of immense importance) in a way a reader with nearly no background can appreciate it just as well.
An excellent and challenging read on Biblical authority and Scripture. Seeks to move past debate over code words or phrases and move to what does the Scripture speak about its own authority and the the message the Word of God is seeking to convey. Also seeks to move past polarization to discussion and study of the Scriptures themselves. The emphasis is on the interpretation within the flow of the Scriptures, not pulling out what we want and ignoring other. I am afraid for all the rhetoric we hav...more
This was a very good overview of church history and how the Bible was read and interpreted, specifically what lenses historical readers may have used in determining church theology and doctrine, or how philosophical foundations of the time influenced Christian thinking.
On a couple specific occasions, Wright made profound statements that I took with me to think about more carefully to my own evaluation of the church and my faith.
It's not long, and I would recommend it to anyone.
On a couple specific occasions, Wright made profound statements that I took with me to think about more carefully to my own evaluation of the church and my faith.
It's not long, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Disappointing. Wright should stick closer to the traditional position and be less enthusiastic about modern "challenges."
Some good reminders of why THE BOOK is THE BOOK and why i is the authority for faith and practice.
Okay. A neo-orthodox defense of Scripture against modern liberals, that doesn't go far enough.
"An excelent read for those who want to get behind the words and into the Word."
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N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England (2003-2010) and one of the world's leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline NBC, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air, and he has taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGi...more
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Jul 07, 2010 03:30pm