Product Description

Why do we expect justice? Why do we crave spirituality? Why are we attracted to beauty? Why are relationships often so painful? And how will the world be made right? These are not simply perennial questions all generations must struggle with, but, according to N. T. Wright, are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear. In fact, these questions take us to the heart of who God is and what He wants from us.

For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis's classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular.

Simply Christian walks the reader through the Christian faith step by step and question by question. With simple yet exciting and accessible prose, Wright challenges skeptics by offering explanations for even the toughest doubt-filled dilemmas, leaving believers with a reason for renewed faith. For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3671 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Released on: 2006-03-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Walter Brueggemann
"Readers will welcome such ready access to one of the fine teachers of the church."

Will Willimon, Bishop, North Alabama Conference, United Methodist Church
"Simply Christian is an amazing testimony to the vitality [...] of the Christian faith-and to the skill of Tom Wright."

John Ortberg, teaching pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
"[No one] has done more to clarify what [...] Christianity looks like in our day than Tom Wright."

Customer Reviews

A must read
This book was recommended to me by a clergy friend. The author is very readable and makes the case for Christianity convincingly. He started with our yearning for spirituality that we call God and kept my attention to the end of the book. He has a simple way of talking about faith and how it is carried out in our lives. His description of church was wonderful if only it was true of all churches. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

a master writer
N.T. Wright, ie. Bishop Tom has been compared to C.S. Lewis. He is simple yet profound. He will have things to say that you have not thought about. He will make you think about yourself, what is number one in your life and why the important things are the important things. I guess you could say that he is alot like C. S. Lewis.

a powerful statement that is at the heart of this book -- page 148 -- This brings us to the first of two golden rules at the heart of spirituality. You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship.Those who worship money become, eventually, human calculating machines. Those who worship sex become obsessed with their own attractiveness or prowess. Those who worship power become more and more ruthless.So what happens when you worship the creator God whose plan to rescue the world and put it to rights has been accomplished by the Lamb who was slain? The answer comes in the second golden rule: because you were made in God's image, worship makes you truly more human. When you gaze in love and gratitude at the God in whose image you were made, you do indeed grow. You discover more of what it means to be fully alive. Conversely, when you give that same total worship to anything else...

Simply and Well Put
Bishop N. T. Wright's "Simply Christian" is an elegant and readable explanation of the basic tenets of the Christian faith. In the spirit of C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity," this book attempts to and succeeds in describing the role of God and Jesus Christ in our lives.

Wright starts off by examining mankind's yearning for justice, spirituality, and beauty, and then proceeds to explain how the existence of God explains these yearnings. Wright describes how God interacts with our world, refuting those who claim that God is distant and hands-off or that the meaning of life is in self-exploration and self-fulfillment. He then builds on this to portray an over-arching picture of Christianity.

This is an excellent short discussion of the Christian faith. Anyone wanting to understand their own faith better or interested in exploring a personal relationship with God should read this book.