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N. T. Wright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicholas Thomas "Tom" Wright (b. 1 December 1948) is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a leading New Testament scholar. His academic work has usually been published under the name N. T. Wright.
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Wright was born in Morpeth, England. He was raised in the context of middle Anglicanism, and before the age of seven or eight he already felt called to go into Christian ministry.
He is generally perceived as coming from a moderately evangelical perspective and is associated with the Third Quest for the Historical Jesus and the New Perspective on Paul, a complex movement with many unique positions (originating from the works of James Dunn and E. P. Sanders.) He argues that the current understanding of Jesus must be connected with what is known to be true about him from the historical perspective of first-century Judaism and Christianity. In addition to his doctorate degrees from Merton College, Oxford University, he also has been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees,[1] most recently from Durham University in July 2007.[2]
Educated at Sedbergh School, then in Yorkshire, Wright specialised in Classics.
From 1968 to 1971, he studied theology and then Literae Humaniores (sometimes called "Greats", i.e. classical literature, philosophy and history) at Exeter College, Oxford. During that time he was president of the undergraduate Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union.
From 1971 to 1975 he studied for the Anglican ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
In 1975 he became a junior research fellow at Merton College, Oxford and later also later junior chaplain. From 1978 to 1981 he was a fellow and Chaplain at Downing College, Cambridge.
After this, he served as assistant professor of New Testament Studies at McGill University, Montreal and as a lecturer in New Testament at Worcester College, Oxford.
He also worked as the dean at Lichfield Cathedral and the canon theologian of Westminster Abbey.
In 2003, he became the Anglican Bishop of Durham.
On 4 August 2006 he was appointed to the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved for a period of five years.[3]
Wright's work has been praised by many scholars of varying views, including Professor James D. G. Dunn, Richard B. Hays and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Critics of his work are also found across the broad range of theological camps, from conservatives such as Ligon Duncan to liberals like Robert J. Miller and John Shelby Spong.
Within evangelicalism, Wright has been warmly received particularly by those who identify with the postmodern Emerging Church movement. He welcomed the hearing he has gained from the Emerging Church, but noted his own commitment to historical and biblical foundations not always shared by the Emerging Church.[citation needed] Some conservative theologians and others representing the strongly Reformed evangelical tradition, particularly in the United States, have disputed Wright's evangelical credentials. The most contentious issue has been whether he is guilty of denying the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone.
He has also received heavy criticism in some decidedly more liberal circles, e.g. by Robert J. Miller. In contrast, the Jesus Seminar's Marcus Borg, with whom Wright shares mutual admiration and respect, has co-authored with Wright the book The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. In 2005, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum, Wright also dialogued with Jesus Seminar co-founder John Dominic Crossan on the historicity of Jesus' resurrection. Wright and Crossan, who also hold mutual admiration for one another, hold very different opinions on this foundational Christian doctrine. For Crossan, the resurrection of Jesus is a theological interpretation of events by the writers of the New Testament. For Wright, however, the resurrection is a historic event - coherent with the worldview of Second Temple Judaism - fundamental to the New Testament.[4]
As regards the Historical Jesus, Wright stands broadly in the tradition of Albert Schweitzer (thoroughgoing eschatology), against what he sees as the thoroughgoing skepticism of William Wrede (famous for his thesis on the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark as an apologetic and ahistorical device) and the Jesus Seminar, Wrede's modern-day counterparts.[5]. He tends to agree with and laud such scholars as E.P. Sanders and the lesser-known Ben F. Meyer (whom Wright calls "the unsung hero" of New Testament studies[6]), although he thinks Sanders and others go too far in their use of form criticism. He also thinks it is a mistake to say that Jesus expected the imminence of the end of history, as Schweitzer thought[7], but rather thinks that Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as something both present and future.
He was a member of the Lambeth Commission set up to deal with controversies that emerged following Episcopal Church in the United States of America's ordination of a practising homosexual as bishop. Wright is the senior member from the Church of England.[8]
Wright expresses a preference for the New Revised Standard Version, with some reservations about the New International Version[9].
Wright hit the headlines in December 2005 when he announced to the press, on the day that the first civil partnership ceremonies took place in England, that he would likely take disciplinary action against any clergy registering as civil partners or any clergy blessing such partnerships.[10]
- The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology. Fortress Press, 1991.
- Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997 / SPCK, 1994
- What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997.
- The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. Hardcover ed. InterVarsity Pr., 1999 / SPCK, 2000
- The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue. Ed. Robert B. Stewart. Paperback ed. Augsburg Fortress, Pub., 2005 / SPCK 2006 (co-authored with John D. Crossan)
- Paul: Fresh Perspective. Fortress Press, 2005 co-edition SPCK, 2005
- The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture. Harper SanFrancisco, 2005.
- Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense. Hardcover ed. SPCK, 2006 co-edition HarperCollins Pub., 2006.
- Judas and the Gospel of Jesus: Have We Missed the Truth about Christianity? SPCK 2006 / Baker Books, 2006.
- Evil and the Justice of God. SPCK, 2006 / Intervarsity Press, 2006.
- "The Reasons for Christ's Crucifixion," Stricken by God? Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ (ed. by Brad Jersak and Michael Hardin), 2007.
Six volumes expected:
- The New Testament and the People of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God. Augsburg Fortress, 1992.
- Jesus and the Victory of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2. Augsburg Fortress, 1996.
- The Resurrection of the Son of God. Augsburg Fortress, 2003.
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16-28. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Mark for Everyone. 2nd ed. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Luke for Everyone. 2nd ed. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-10. Paperback ed. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- John for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 11-21. 2nd ed. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians. 2nd ed. SPCK, 2004.
- Paul for Everyone: 2 Corinthians. 2nd ed. SPCK, 2004.
- Paul for Everyone: the Pastoral Letters. 2nd ed. SPCK, 2004.
- Paul for Everyone, the Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philipians, Colossians and Philemon. 2nd ed. SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Hebrews for Everyone. 2nd ed. SPCK, 2004.
- ^ Nicholas Thomas Wright, Curriculum Vitae. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- ^ Durham University: Anniversary accolades for major achievement (accessed 16 July 2007)
- ^ London Gazette: no. 58062, page 10685, 4 August 2006, Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- ^ Stewart, Robert B. (2007) The Resurrection of Jesus: William Dembksi and Michael Ruse in Dialogue Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN-13: 978-0800662189
- ^ Wright, N.T. (1999) The Challenge of Jesus InterVarsity Press. ISBN-13: 978-0830822003
- ^ Wright, N.T. (1997) The Original Jesus: The Life and Vision of a Revolutionary Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN-13: 978-0802842831
- ^ Wright, N.T. (1999) The Challenge of Jesus InterVarsity Press. ISBN-13: 978-0830822003
- ^ http://www.anglicancommunion.org/windsor2004/members.cfm
- ^ Romans in a Week, CD1
- ^ Gay vicar flouts partnership rule, BBC News (accessed 19 May 2007)
- The N. T. Wright Page, an unofficial website that collects a panoply of articles, sermons, interviews, and audio by and about Wright
- Adversaria features an extensive biography of N.T Wright.
- Audio of Lectures Wright gave on Space, Time, and the Sacraments.
- Summary of Christian Origins and the Question of God by Andrew Perriman on Open Source Theology
- A review of Wright's Evil and the Justice of God by R. C. Sproul
- "The Narrative of Scripture and Justification by Faith: A Still Fresher Reading of Paul" (PDF) by Mark A. Seifrid (a critique of Wright's narrative theology from the 2006 Symposium on Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary)
- "The Doctrine of Justification in the Work of N.T. Wright" a series of critical lectures by Bill Wilder of the Center for Christian Study (with accompanying slides)
- Interview with Piper on Wright
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