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| The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 13 reviews)
Sales Rank: 12525
Category: Book
Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
Publisher: IVP Academic
Studio: IVP Academic
Manufacturer: IVP Academic
Label: IVP Academic
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 581
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 2.1
ISBN: 0830825711
Dewey Decimal Number: 266.001
EAN: 9780830825714
ASIN: 0830825711
Publication Date: November 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible! The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God's mission. Beginning with the Old Testament and the groundwork it lays for understanding who God is, what he has called his people to be and do, and how the nations fit into God's mission, Wright gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture. This new perspective provides a solid and expansive basis for holistic mission. Wright emphasizes throughout a holistic mission as the proper shape of Christian mission. God's mission is to reclaim the world and that includes the created order and God's people have a designated role to play in that mission.
Market/Audience- Students and professors of missions
- Missionaries
- Pastors and missionaries
- Seminary students and professors
Endorsements
"This book should be a required text for theologians and exegetes, pastors and students, missionaries and Christians in general." Eckhard J. Schnabel, author of Early Christian Mission, and professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "This marvelous book is all I hoped and expected, and more. . . .We are so fortunate to have the mature fruit of a lifetime's reflection on the missional nature of the Bible by this outstanding teacher, scholar and missionary theologian." John Goldingay, author of Old Testament Theology, and professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary
Features and Benefits- Offers a groundbreaking missional hermeneutical perspective on Scripture.
- Expands our understanding of mission to include the Old Testament.
- Gives numerous new insights into familiar biblical texts.
- Provides a solid and expansive basis for holistic mission.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
Mission of God December 11, 2008
Christopher Wright is an Old Testament scholar who has written this book to show that the Bible as a whole can be read with a missional hermeneutic. Wright clearly has a great Biblical mind and shows this by using at least one (usually several) passage to back all of his points. Wright prefaces the work by telling of a class he taught at Cambridge University saying: "the more I taught that course, the more I used to introduce it by telling my students that I would like to rename it from `The Biblical Basis of Mission' to `The Missional Basis of the Bible.' I wanted them to see not just that the Bible contains a number of texts, which happen to provide a rationale for missionary endeavor but that the whole Bible is itself a missional phenomenon (p.22). This statement sets the tone for the book and Wright takes off from there.
Throughout the book Wright discusses several topics that are crucial to understanding the Bible as having a missional mandate. Wright discusses how God sought to make him known to the people of Israel in the Old Testament and to the world through Jesus in the New Testament. God seeks to make himself known to all the nations of the world, as well as be worshiped by these nations. Wright goes on to discuss who the people of mission are and that all Christians are called to play a part in redeeming and restoring God's kingdom. The last part of the book is dedicated to what Wright entitles "The Arena of Mission" and deals with how God's image and missional mandate include taking care of the earth that God has given us.
Wright's abundant use of scripture gives his arguments and points of view very strong support and it is easy to see where his ideas are coming from. Although lengthy, Wright writes in such a way that is much easier to understand and digest than many other theology books. I find that Wrights take on balancing social action and evangelism to be a great strength in the book. Wright not only states that he believes a balance of these two aspects is necessary, he also goes on to show what happens if missions becomes too one sided in either direction. The only problem that I had was in the parts where he tries to flesh out meanings of Hebrew words and phrases. These descriptions were still interesting to me although I know nothing about the Hebrew language, but at times were too heavy to the average reader. This book does require basic knowledge of the Bible and is defiantly aimed for an audience of college level students interested in religion and especially missions. However, I think anyone involved with missions, interested in mission, or interested in theology can benefit from Christopher Wright.
Excellent Insights, important reading for all believers. Gets better as you go. December 11, 2008
Christopher Wright is an esteemed Old Testament scholar, so it might come as a surprise to some that he chose to compose "The Mission of God," this massive work on the biblical and theological foundations for mission. Nevertheless this is what he does and he does it with admirable scholarship and incredible insight. The book targets a Christian evangelical audience, specifically those who would be pro-missions in the first place. His goal is to reshape the basic understanding of what mission is all about. Rather than understanding it merely as a component of what it is to be a Christian and to serve God, Wright presents mission as the central premise behind God's very character. He argues that God is missional, meaning that all of God's words and actions are garnered towards the specific purpose of fulfilling His mission. And God's mission is to make Himself known to His people, to each and every nation on the face of the earth.
Making use of the entire biblical canon, Wright attempts to tie together the Old and New Testaments showing a consistent theme of a missional God who is attempting to reveal Himself to His creation. Based on what the Bible tells us, God created mankind in His own image, as caretaker of His earthly creation. The relationship between man and God was broken during the fall and man's subsequent departure from obedience unto God. Therefore, in describing the Bible, Wright says that "in terms of the overall argument of this book, Genesis 3-11 sets the problem that the mission of God addresses from Genesis 12 to Revelation 22" (195/2). And thus goes Wright's understanding of the biblical narrative.
Naturally, having been written by an Old Testament scholar, one of the book's greatest strengths lies in its insights into how the OT functions within the larger biblical canon. It can sometimes be difficult to understand how the apparent exclusivism of Israel's election can relate to the all-inclusive universalism of the Great Commission, but Wright brings this out brilliantly. He simply has a way of making sense of the Bible as a whole, which is no easy task considering the diversity of its writings. As far as weaknesses go, one could argue that at some points Wright's interpretive lens inevitably falls into the category of works righteousness. It places a lot emphasis on human response and reaction to God's call, ultimately taking some credit away from God. However this is undoubtedly unintentional, and for the most part Wright does well in covering all his bases through sound interpretations and scholarship.
Obviously this book will be of significant interest to any biblical scholar or missionary, but I would also recommend this book to anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the biblical narrative as a whole. Anyone who desires to spread the message of God's love and learn more about what God's will is for our lives will benefit and enjoy reading this book.
Every Christian should read this book. December 10, 2008
When one first glances at this book, the first thought could be, "What in the world is an Old Testament scholar doing writing a book on mission?" In Christopher Wright's The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative, he brilliantly proves that the Bible should be read from cover to cover with "missional" lenses on. When thinking about missions, people usually turn to the New Testament, but Wright reveals that the mission of God is the same throughout the entire Bible. The ultimate goal is to reunite with what God's mission was, is, and will always be and unite that with human missions efforts. God's mission is to make himself known. This God is the God of grace seen through events like the Exodus but also the God of sovereignty who will bring judgment upon the wicked. Not only does God want to be known fully by his people, but he wants all of creation to know him. Wright believes that the Great Commission in the gospels is actually based on the one given to Abraham in the 12th chapter of Genesis. The command is to, "Go...and be a blessing." Here Abraham has to leave all that he has known in order for the second command to happen. Wright points out that the words of God to Abraham become God's mission for blessing the nations, and Abraham's response of faith and obedience become the response of God's people of mission. This mission was passed on to Israel, and although they may have lost sight of this at times, they still, "had a sense of stewardship of this knowledge since it was God's purpose that ultimately all nations would come to know the name, the glory, the salvation, and the mighty acts of YHWH and worship him alone as God" (92). Wright concludes just as the apostle Paul did, that "this dynamic narrative of God's saving purpose for all nations through Abraham - is the heart of the gospel as announced by the Scriptures. It will be through Jesus that God will be known to the nations. And in knowing Jesus, they will know the living God" (193, 253).
Christopher Wright connects the two testaments of the Bible with one thread, the mission of God, and gives his readers some new insights from his biblical knowledge, especially of the Old Testament but also keeps up with any New Testament scholar. This old, revered narrative is shed with new light by Wright and people can not only connect the Bible as a complete story, but have a sense of how they fit into the mission of God. My only hope is that Wright will follow this book up with more practical ways of sharing this freshly, illuminated good news and of living as stewards of the mission of God. I believe that this book was written for the church to grab hold of the gospel they have received, which is the Bible in light of Jesus Christ. It is also written to those who are ready to change the question of "Where does God fit into the story of my life?" to "Where does my little life fit into this great story of God's mission?" (534).
Excellent July 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was such an excellent book. I picked it up at Urbana 2006 and read it that summer. I am working on going through my notes to teach a class on the subject of this book. I have recommended it to many people, but it is weighty. It is sad that so few people are familiar with Wright's work. He has done much in taking us back and grounding us in the story of the OT. For those interested, I highly recommend "Old Testament Ethic for the People of God." Again, weighty, but excellent.
excellent Biblical theology May 10, 2008
I especially appreciate that this book takes into account the whole of the scriptural perspective, tota scriptura. I heartily recommend it.
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