Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright

This book connected with me on all cylinders.

Surprised by Hope is Wright's attempt to explain the biblical teaching on the resurrection of the dead, what happens when we die, heaven and how the church should act in light of these teachings.

Then he throws in the typical Wrightian thoughts on the Kingdom of God and global debt forgiveness for good measure.

It may have been the season in which I was reading this book but I could not put this down. It seemed as if every chapter had moments where I wanted to scream out, "Hallelujah".

As with other works by Wright, he builds each chapter upon what was discovered from the previous one. He breaks this book into three parts: Setting the Scene in which he explains the different views of life after death and how there is so much confusion out there. He walks us through the early church thought of Easter and the ramifications.

Part two is God's Future Plan. This was the biggest emotional, spiritual, intellectual boost and encouragement for me. This is where Wright explains about the Kingdom of God and how Jesus understood it, moving on to what the second coming is all about and how Jesus acts as judge. Lastly he discusses what the redemption of our bodies will be and how Scripture refers to a physical bodily resurrection and not some sort of spirit resting in paradise.

Wright's thoughts on Purgatory, Paradise and Hell are refreshing even as this book was written before Rob Bell's Love Wins. Even if this isn't the book for an exhaustive study, it may have set more people at ease.

The final part deals with what we can do, as the church, now that there is a fuller understanding of what the Kingdom of God is all about and what it should look like as we live the rest of our lives.

Simply a terrific book. I can't wait for the next Wright book.

Moneyball

Remember when the Athletic A's won 20 straight games?

Neither do I. But this is the basis for the movie Moneyball. Brad Pitt stars as Athletic A's General Manager Billy Beane.

Back in the day, Beane was drafted into the Pros right out of High School on the promise that he was going to be one of the greatest ball players in the history of baseball. Alas, this prophecy did not pan out. Beane never grew into the athlete the scouts imagined he would become, and after multiple trades, he became a scout and then GM of the A's.

After losing three of their greatest players to the Yankees, Beane realizes they will never compete with the kind of money teams like New York or Boston are willing to throw around. He visits Cleveland for a possible trade and meets a fresh-from-Yale gradutate, played by Jonah Hill.

Hill's ideas about players and how the stats come into play for scouts intrigues Beane who hires him as his new Assistant.

Of course, their new ways of doing things upsets the veteran scouts and even the team's field manager. (Philip Seymour Hoffman)

How could a bunch of no-namers lead a team to victory?


I was impressed with Jonah Hill. I have grown tired of his kind of comedy so it was refreshing to see him in a semi-serious role next to the always-great Pitt. And Philip Seymour Hoffman can hit any role out of the park.

This is a decent baseball movie. It tacks on the added bonus of being based on actual events. So even though you may know how the movie will end, it's fun to see how things worked out behind the scenes.

The only downside was the length. There were many times I felt it could have ended or, at least, cut out a few scenes to make it not as long. Of course it could have been that I was tired and ready for bed but had to finish the film first...