Surprised by Hope

What does Belinda Carlisle (lead singer for the 80’s band, “the Go-Go’s”) have to do with N. T. Wright?  Hard to imagine anything, I know. 

Oddly enough, both are great theologians.  Wright may have, in fact, gained some of his theology from Carlisle.  Okay, that’s terribly unlikely, but her solo hit “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” did hit the top of the charts in England just about twenty years before his book, Surprised by Hope, hit the book stands. 

Let me remind you of her hit song, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.”

“Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?
Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.
They say in heaven love comes first.
We'll make heaven a place on earth.
Ooh, heaven is a place on earth….

“In this world we're just beginning
To understand the miracle of living….

“Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?
Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.
They say in heaven love comes first.
We'll make heaven a place on earth.
Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.”

In all seriousness, I want to recommend to you N. T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope, published in 2007 while he was still the Bishop of Durham.  The book is about heaven, and how it’s a place on earth.  No, really.  And if you haven’t already done so, you need to read this book.

Now, I know who reads this blog.  I can name nearly all of you in a matter of seconds.  And so I know what you are instantly thinking. 

                                               “I don’t know how to read.”                                                                  (Hey, this is the response you’d give me if I were standing in front of you!”)

“I don’t read.”

                                       “I don’t have time to read.”                                           Translated: “I don’t read.”

“I don’t read anything except the newspaper, Outdoor Life, and the Cabela’s Christmas Catalog… and maybe an instruction manual here and there.”

“I don’t read anything about the Bible because I don’t understand the Bible.”

“I don’t read books about theology because it’s all over my head.”

“I don’t read books about theology because I don’t get in to that stuff.”

“I read about one book a year – a page-a-day on the porcelain throne.” 

Let me reiterate, you need to read this book.  It’s written for people such as yourself—people with a basic understanding of the bible, of church culture, of American culture, and people who think about what life after death is all about or what heaven will look like.

Let’s put it this way:  Are you someone who…

• wonders what heaven will look like?
• wonders what life in heaven will look like?
• wonders what happens to a person when they die?
• wonders if a person “goes to heaven” immediately or if we all someone “go” together in the end?
• has a picture of heaven as angels and babies with wings playing harps on clouds?
• has a picture of heaven as pearly gates and golden  streets surrounding a big mansion in the middle?
• thinks that God will one day destroy this corrupted earth and take our souls to his perfect heaven where we will float around like angels and sing hymns to God on His throne all day, every day, for eternity?
• thinks that what we do on this earth does matter (of course – we have to say that it does somehow), but that it doesn’t matter too much because what “saves” us is our faith?
• thinks that what we do to our bodies on this earth doesn’t matter, because they will just “return to the dust” and our soul will “go to heaven?”

and most importantly…  Are you an American evangelical Christian who…

• thinks that Jesus died for our sins so that we can pray a “prayer of salvation” and be forgiven of our sins, i.e. “get saved,” so that we can “go to heaven” when we die?

If any of these characterize you or the questions you ask, then this book has been written with you in mind.  It will challenge you on a number of levels, primarily your understanding of the resurrection of Jesus, the nature of heaven, and what “life after death” means for the Christian NOW.

If you have ever heard me preach (you know who you are), I recommend this book to you.

If you have never heard me preach, but have asked these questions, I recommend this book to you. 

I’ll be happy to walk through it with anyone willing to read it!  Let me know if you are!

A second recommendation is to read it between now and Easter of this year.  I guarantee you, if you do so, you will enter your church on Easter morning with a whole new appreciation for every moment of that day.