| The Rt Revd Tom Wright MA Oxon, DD Oxon |
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|---|---|
| Professor at St Andrews | |
Wright speaking at a conference in December 2007 |
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| In Office | Since 1 September 2010 |
| Other posts | Bishop of Durham (2003-2010) Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey (2000–2003) Dean of Lichfield (1994–1999) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1975 |
| Consecration | 2003 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Nicholas Thomas Wright |
| Born | 1 December 1948 Morpeth, Northumberland |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Residence | Auckland Castle, County Durham (2003–2010) |
| Spouse | Maggie[1] |
| Children | Four children[1] |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
Nicholas Thomas Wright (born 1 December 1948) is an Anglican bishop and a leading New Testament scholar. He is published as N. T. Wright when writing academic work, or Tom Wright when writing for a more popular readership. His books include What St Paul Really Said and Simply Christian. Wright was the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England from 2003 until his retirement in 2010.
Among modern New Testament scholars, Wright is an important representative of more conservative Christian views compared to more liberal Christians such as his friend Marcus Borg.[2] In particular, he is associated with the Open Evangelical position, the New Perspective on Paul and the historical Jesus. He has promoted more traditional views about Jesus' bodily resurrection[2] and second coming[3] as well as on homosexuality.[4]
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Wright was born in Morpeth, Northumberland. In a 2003 interview he said that he could never remember a time when he was not aware of the presence and love of God and recalled an occasion when he was four or five when "sitting by myself at Morpeth and being completely overcome, coming to tears, by the fact that God loved me so much he died for me. Everything that has happened to me since has produced wave upon wave of the same."[5]
In addition to his Doctor of Divinity degree from Oxford University[6] he also has been awarded several honorary doctoral degrees,[7] including from Durham University in July 2007,[8] the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in April 2008,[9] the University of St Andrews in 2009[10] and Heythrop College, University of London, in 2010.
Educated at Sedbergh School, then in Yorkshire, Wright specialised in classics.
From 1968 to 1971, he studied literae humaniores (or "classics", i.e. classical literature, philosophy and history) at Exeter College, Oxford, receiving his BA with first class honours in 1971. During that time he was president of the undergraduate Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. In 1973 he received a BA in theology with first class honours from Exeter.
From 1971 to 1975 he studied for the Anglican ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, receiving his (Oxford) MA at the end of this period.
In 1975 he became a junior research fellow at Merton College, Oxford and later also junior chaplain. From 1978 to 1981 he was a fellow and chaplain at Downing College, Cambridge. In 1981 he received his DPhil from Merton College, Oxford, his thesis topic being "The Messiah and the People of God: A Study in Pauline Theology with Particular Reference to the Argument of the Epistle to the Romans".
After this, he served as assistant professor of New Testament studies at McGill University, Montreal (1981–1986), then as chaplain, fellow and tutor at Worcester College and lecturer in New Testament in the University of Oxford (1986–1993).
He moved from Oxford to be Dean of Lichfield Cathedral (1994–1999) and then returned briefly to Oxford as Visiting Fellow of Merton College, before taking up his appointment as Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey in 2000.
In 2003, he became the Bishop of Durham.
On 4 August 2006 he was appointed to the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved for a period of five years.[11]
On 27 April 2010 it was announced that he would retire from the See of Durham on 31 August 2010 to take up a new appointment as Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews in Scotland, which will enable him to concentrate on his academic and broadcasting work.[12][13]
Wright's doctrinal perspectives, with reference to the New Testament, are expressed throughout his writings. In his popular-level book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, he teaches a position referred to as "Christian mortalism". He also advocates a reunion of soteriology and ecclesiology, commenting that such a connection is often neglected in Protestantism. In addition, he is critical of various popular theological ideas, such as the dispensationalist doctrine of the rapture.[14]
Wright is considered an important representative of the open evangelical perspective and is associated with the Third Quest for the Historical Jesus and the New Perspective on Paul, a complex movement with many unique positions (originating from the works of James Dunn and E.P. Sanders). He argues that the current understanding of Jesus must be connected with what is known to be true about him from the historical perspective of first-century Judaism and Christianity.
Wright's work has been praised by many scholars of varying views, including James D.G. Dunn, Gordon Fee, Richard B. Hays and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Critics of his work are also found across the broad range of theological camps. Although Wright describes himself as a Reformed Calvinist,[source?] some Reformed theologians such as John Piper have sought to question Wright's theology, particularly over whether or not he denies the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. Although Piper considers Wright's presentation confusing, he does not dismiss Wright's view as false. In response, Wright has stated he wishes Piper would "exegete Paul differently" and that his book "isn’t always a critique of what I’m actually saying." However, Wright did express how he has warmed to Piper and considers him a "good, beloved brother in Christ, doing a good job, building people up in the faith, teaching them how to live."[15] In 2009, Wright has since addressed the issue in his book Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2009). He has sought to clarify his position further in an interview with InterVarsity Press.[15] Many conservative evangelicals have also questioned whether Wright denies penal substitution, but Wright has stated that he denies only its caricature but affirms this doctrine, especially within the overall framework of the Christus Victor model of atonement.[16] Despite criticism of some of his work by Reformed theologians, other Reformed leaders have embraced his contribution in other areas, such as Tim Keller who praised Wright's work on the resurrection.[17]
In 2008, Wright criticized "…secular utopianism," accusing it of advocating "the right to kill unborn children and surplus old people..."[18] Times columnist David Aaronovitch challenged Wright specifically to substantiate his claim that any secular group does indeed advocate the killing of elderly people, leading to an ongoing exchange in which Wright held to his main point.[19][20][21][22]
Regarding the Historical Jesus, Wright stands broadly in the tradition of Albert Schweitzer (thoroughgoing eschatology), against what he sees as the thoroughgoing skepticism of William Wrede (famous for his thesis on the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark as an apologetic and ahistorical device) and the Jesus Seminar, Wrede's modern-day counterparts.[23] He tends to agree with and laud such scholars as E.P. Sanders and the lesser-known Ben F. Meyer (whom Wright calls "the unsung hero" of New Testament studies),[24] although he thinks Sanders and others go too far in their use of form criticism. He also thinks it is a mistake to say that Jesus expected the imminence of the end of history, as Schweitzer thought,[25] but rather thinks that Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as something both present and future. He has also defended a literal belief in the Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead as central to Christianity.[3]
Wright has also received heavy criticism in some decidedly more liberal theological circles, e.g. by Robert J. Miller. In contrast, the Jesus Seminar's Marcus Borg, with whom Wright shares mutual admiration and respect, has co-authored with Wright the book The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions.[2] In 2005, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum, Wright also conversed with Jesus Seminar co-founder John Dominic Crossan as to the historicity of Jesus' resurrection. Wright and Crossan, who also hold mutual admiration for one another, hold very different opinions on this foundational Christian doctrine. For Crossan, the resurrection of Jesus is a theological interpretation of events by the writers of the New Testament. For Wright, however, the resurrection is a historical event—coherent with the worldview of Second Temple Judaism—fundamental to the New Testament.[26]
Wright was the senior member from the Church of England of the Lambeth Commission set up to deal with controversies that emerged following Episcopal Church in the United States of America's ordination of a practising homosexual as bishop.[27] In 2009 the Episcopal Church authorized consecration to the clergy of individuals in committed same-sex relationships. Wright described the action as a "clear break with the rest of the Anglican Communion" in a Times opinion piece.[28]
Wright attracted media attention in December 2005 when he announced to the press, on the day that the first civil partnership ceremonies took place in England, that he would likely take disciplinary action against any clergy registering as civil partners or any clergy blessing such partnerships.[29]
He has argued that "Justice never means 'treating everybody the same way', but 'treating people appropriately'".[4] In August 2009, he issued a statement saying:
...someone, sooner or later, needs to spell out further (wearisome though it will be) the difference between (a) the "human dignity and civil liberty" of those with homosexual and similar instincts and (b) their "rights", as practising let alone ordained Christians, to give physical expression to those instincts. As the Pope has pointed out, the language of "human rights" has now been downgraded in public discourse to the special pleading of every interest-group.[30]
Six volumes expected:
The For Everyone series, a commentary on the New Testament, was completed in 2011:
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Turnbull |
Bishop of Durham 2003–2010 |
Succeeded by Justin Welby |