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| The Right Reverend Nicholas Thomas Wright DD LHD | |
|---|---|
| Lord Bishop of Durham | |
 N T Wright speaking at a conference in December 2007 |
|
| Province | Church of England |
| See | Durham |
| Predecessor | The Rt. Revd. Michael Turnbull |
| Ordination | 1975 |
| Consecration | 2003 |
| Other | Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey (2000–2003) Dean of Lichfield (1994–1999) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1948 |
Nicholas Thomas "Tom" Wright (born 1 December 1948) is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a leading New Testament scholar. His academic work has usually been published under the name N. T. Wright but works such as What St Paul Really Said and Simply Christian, which are aimed at a more popular readership, are published under the less formal name of Tom Wright.
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Wright was born in Morpeth, Northumberland. He was raised in the context of middle Anglicanism; and, before the age of 7 or 8, he already felt called to go into Christian ministry.[citation needed]
He is generally perceived as coming from an 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. In addition to his Doctorate from Oxford University, he also has been awarded several honorary doctoral degrees,[1] including from Durham University in July 2007[2] and from the University of St Andrews in 2009.[3]
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.[4]
Wright's work has been praised by many scholars of varying views, including Professor James D.G. Dunn, Richard B. Hays and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Critics of his work are also found across the broad range of theological camps, from conservatives such as John Piper to liberals such as Robert J. Miller and John Shelby Spong. [5]
Within evangelicalism, Wright has been warmly received particularly by those who identify with the postmodern Emerging Church movement. He has welcomed the hearing he has gained from the Emerging Church, but noted his own commitment to historical and biblical foundations not always shared by the Emerging Church.[6] Some conservative theologians and others representing the strongly Reformed evangelical tradition, particularly in the United States, have sought to dispute Wright's theology, particularly over whether or not he denies the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. He has since addressed the issue in his book "Justification". He sought to clarify this further in an interview with InterVarsity Press.[6]
He has also received heavy criticism in some decidedly more liberal 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. In 2005, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum, Wright also dialogued with Jesus Seminar co-founder John Dominic Crossan on 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 historic event—coherent with the worldview of Second Temple Judaism—fundamental to the New Testament.[7]
In 2008, Wright attracted controversy by stating that "…secular utopianism is based on a belief in an unstoppable human ability to make a better world, while at the same time it believes that we have the right to kill unborn children and surplus old people, and to play games with the humanity of those in between."[8] Times columnist David Aaronovitch challenged Wright specifically to substantiate his claim that any secular group does indeed advocate the killing of elderly people, adding that he believed the Bishop's comments to be "as close to a lie as makes no difference".[9] Wright did not respond directly to the challenge, but promised to do so if Aaronovitch would answer three questions of his own.[10] In response, Aaronovitch claimed to address Wright's questions, and called upon Wright now to corroborate his original statement as promised.[11] In an article published by The Times, Wright wrote in support of palliative care, and addressed Aaronovitch's criticism: "I said 'surplus' people. It might well be said that they are not 'surplus', but simply 'suffering'. Fair point, but once you legalise killing (or 'helping people kill themselves'), the key question will be: how do you know which people can be killed?'". Nonetheless, he added, "I stand by my (admittedly abbreviated) form of words".[12]
As regards 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.[13] 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[14]), 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,[15] 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. [16]
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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19]
He has argued that "Justice never means 'treating everybody the same way', but 'treating people appropriately'".[20] 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.[21]
Six volumes expected:
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Turnbull |
Bishop of Durham 2003- |
Succeeded by incumbent |
   | The N.T. Wright page - N.T. Wright Page |
| | The Lambeth Commission - The Lambeth Commission on Communion - The Windsor Report - Members |
| | "The Doctrine of Justification in the Work of N.T. Wright" - NT Wright - Justification |
| | Gay vicar flouts partnership rule, BBC News - BBC NEWS | UK | England | Gay vicar flouts partnership rule |
| | Audio of Lectures - Calvin Institute of Christian Worship - Space, Time and Sacraments |
| | Summary of Christian Origins and the Question of God - Christian Origins and the Question of God | open source theology |
| | The NTWright Yahoo group - Wrightsaid : What N. T. Wright Really Said |
| | Nightline Faith Matters - Bishop's Heaven: Is There Life After the Afterlife? - Bishop's Heaven: Is There Life After the Afterlife? - ABC News |
| | A comparison of Karl Barth and N.T. Wright, submitted as an M.A. dissertation - Theology and Stuff |
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