The Day the Revolution Began

Starred review from November 15, 2016

Scholar and prolific author Wright (New Testament & early Christianity; Sch. of Divinity, Univ. of St. Andrews; How God Became King) pens a thought-provoking book to "help ordinary Christians grasp, and be grasped by, the multifaceted glory of Jesus's cross." He investigates questions such as: "When the early Christians summarized their 'good news' by saying that 'the Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the Bible, ' what precisely did they mean?" In answering such queries, Wright desires to help avoid "domesticating or distorting the cross" and controversially asserts that the goal of Christ's death was not to help us escape hell or go to heaven. Instead, he sees an overarching theme of exile and Passover restoration by the forgiveness of the sins that caused the exile. The cross thus established "the kingdom of God through the agency of Jesus" so that both Jewish and Gentile Christians may "share in the royal and priestly human work within both the present world and the world...to be." VERDICT This book is highly recommended for all libraries and will appeal to general readers interested in current theological thought.--Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI

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