God in Public: How the Bible Speaks Truth to Power Today

by N. T. Wright

Overview

Drawing on a collection of lectures that N. T. Wright delivered from 1999 to 2015, God in Public brings together the message of Jesus--in its larger biblical context--and the challenges of the contemporary public and political worlds.

In this book, Wright challenges the West's response to 9/11 and then expands to discuss a more Jesus-inspired way of approaching the public problems we find ourselves in, based on following Jesus' life and teachings.

As Wright demonstrates the many ways in which faithful exegesis of scripture can throw fresh light--God's light--on the great philosophical and ethical problems of our day, he discusses urgent questions such as: 

• What has Christianity to do with power?
• Why must the church remind those in authority of their responsibilities?
• What can Christians do to act as the voice of the voiceless?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310172901
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	04/29/2025
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	489 KB

About the Author

N. T. Wright is the former bishop of Durham and senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He is one of the world's leading New Testament scholars and the award-winning author of many books, including?After You Believe, Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, Interpreting Paul, and The New Testament in Its World, as well as the Christian Origins and the Question of God series.

Table of Contents

Preface ix 1 Paul and the Bible in tomorrow’s world 1 2 The Bible and the postmodern world 13 The Bible within the postmodern world 21 The postmodern world 24 3 Pilate, Caesar and Bible truth 39 Jesus and Pilate in John 18—19: introduction 39 Contemporary world: introduction 44 Jesus, Pilate and the kingdom of God 51 4 God, the earthly powers and terror 58 Speaking of God, speaking of the world 65 God, the powers and the war 70 5 Power, faith and the law 76 Signs of the times 76 Analysis: history and postmodernity 80 Secularism and fundamentalism 84 deconstructing modernity 86 Proposal: God, kingdom and hope 86 Conclusion: public God, public agenda 93 6 God, power and human flourishing 97 God and the gods 97 God and power in tomorrow’s world 99 Christ and power 102 God and mammon 107 God and human flourishing 109 7 God’s powerful foolishness in a world of foolish power 112 Folly and wisdom, weakness and power: the gospel in Corinth 113 Power and folly in today’s world 119 Jesus and power: the different way 125 Conclusion 131 8 Christian virtue in peace and war 133 Virtue and its embodiment 133 Courage among the virtues 140 Courage in peace and war 144 Conclusion 148 9 Christian faith in public life 150 The secularist thesis 151 The older story revived? 153 The kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world 155 10 Jesus and the kingdom of God, then and now 168 Acknowledgments 181 Index of Scripture and ancient sources 183 Index of names and subjects 185

What People are Saying About This

Lord Alton of Liverpool

"Tom Wright's message is authentic and urgent. Whether you come from a secular or believing background, God in Public has important things to say to you."

Baroness Cox

"In God in Public Tom Wright draws on his years of experience as a member of the House of Lords and as one of our most exciting biblical scholars to produce a compelling book that speaks to everyone who wants to engage, biblically and intelligently, with some of the most pressing issues of our day."

Nick Spencer

"God in Public is essential reading for those who want to navigate our changing landscape by drawing on, rather than ignoring, the map and compass that the Bible offers us."

Editorial Reviews

How can we work out what God wants us to do in response to the burning issues facing the world today? In God in Public Tom Wright shows us how the Bible can point us in the right direction.

A convincing critique of the way political economy is currently ordered.

From the Publisher