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What do Christians hope for? To leave this wicked world and go to 'Heaven'? For the 'Kingdom of God' to grow gradually on earth? What do we mean by the 'resurrection of the body', and how does that fit with the popular image of sitting on clouds playing harps? How does all this affect the way we live here and now?
Tom Wright, a leading theologian, addresses these questions in this provocative book. Outlining the present confusion about future hope in both church and world, then, explaining why Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself, he explores the biblical hope for 'a new heaven and new earth', showing how the 'second coming' of Jesus, and eventual resurrection, belong within this broader picture, together with intermediate hope for 'Heaven'.
For many, all this comes as a great surprise! Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation - and if this has already begun in Jesus' resurrection - the church cannot stop at 'saving souls', but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in this present life.
Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life not only after death but before it.
Paperback, 352 pages. ISBN: 9780281064779
