N.T. Wright’s Evil and the Justice of God is a rich, wonderfully thought-provoking survey of Biblical theology as it relates to evil. Wright, the Anglican Bishop of Durham, England, is perhaps best known for his massive theological works on the life of Jesus, including Jesus and the Victory of God. He is a cogent, original thinker as well as an eloquent writer, and he is a delight to read even when one disagrees with him. Fortunately, there is little to disagree with in Evil and the Justice of God.
Wright’s purpose is to discuss God’s solution to the “problem of evil,” and by this latter phrase he does not mean the philosophical problem of how a good, all-powerful God could allow evil to exist, but rather God’s solution to the existence of evil now that it is here. It is our understanding of the Biblical narrative that shows us how God solves the problem of evil as it actually confronts us today, Wright says. Thus, he declares:
We have tended so see what we call ‘atonement theology’ in one box, as having to do with personal salvation from personal sin, and ‘the problem of evil’ including so-called ‘natural evil’ and the general wickedness of the world in another box, as constituting a philosophical or logical problem for a good creator rather than having very much to do with the story the Bible actually tells.
Wright’s purpose, then, is to bring the “story the Bible actually tells” to bear on the practical problems of facing, confronting, and healing evil in today’s world. He surveys the Biblical story as an unfolding narrative of how God deals with evil first through the Old Testament, moving through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and then ending with the creation of a new heaven and new earth in Revelation. In explaining these narratives, he ingeniously weaves in discussions of geopolitical difficulties, social problems that plague the modern world, as well as individual conundrums regarding confrontations with evil and the need for forgiveness. His vision of how Christian theology ought to help heal the world is at once energizing and captivating. For example, in his discussion of the new creation in Revelation he declares:
This theme, so frequent in the New Testament and so widely ignored in Christian theology, is part of the solution to the problem [of evil]. It isn’t that the cross has won the victory so there is nothing more to be done. Rather the cross has won the victory as a result of which there are now redeemed human beings getting ready to act as God’s wise agents, his stewards, constantly worshipping their creator and constantly, as a result, being equipped to reflect his image into his creation to bring his wise and healing order to the world…
Wright’s chapter on forgiveness at the end of the book is also richly rewarding and breathtaking in scope. He not only discusses how forgiveness is central to the call of the Christian, but how forgiveness might be brought to bear in the political arena, solving racial tensions, and making economic decisions. His discussion of forgiveness as it relates to the absence of sorrow in heaven is highly original and profound.
If there is a weakness in the book, it is that some of Wright's political stances come across as naive. His insistence in the last chapter that Christians who believe in forgiveness ought to favor forgiving third world debt is too simplistic, for example.
Nevertheless, for the integrative scholar, Wright’s book is an essential tome for understanding a Biblical theology of evil and how it possibly relates to a wide variety of fields. Highly recommended.
Table of Contents
1. Evil Is Still a Four-Letter Word: The New Problem of Evil
The New Problem of Evil
The New Nihilism: Postmodernity
Towards a Nuanced View of Evil
Conclusion
2. What Can God Do About Evil? Unjust World, Just God?
To Renew the Blessing
People of the Solution, People of the Problem
My Servant Israel, My Servant Job
Conclusion
3. Evil and the Crucified God
Rereading the Gospels
Jesus Dealing with Evil
Early Christian View of Evil's Defeat
Results: Atonement and the Problem of Evil
4. Imagine There's No Evil: God's Promise of a World Set Free
Interlude: Naming the Powers
World Without Evil
The Intermediate Tasks
Educating the Imagination
Conclusion
5. Deliver Us from Evil: Forgiving Myself, Forgiving Others
God's Final Victory over Evil
Forgiveness in the Present
Conclusion
Notes
Subject Index
Scripture Index
Reviewed by: Mark Hansard
