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Evil And the Justice of GodN.T. Wright’s Evil And the Justice of Godis, perhaps, one of the most important books on “the problem of evil” to come out in the last decade. Wright’s take on evil is not held captive to the philosophical quandary that pits God’s goodness against His power. Instead, he takes the reader on a journey through Scripture, highlighting the actions of God in defeating evil and re-creating His world.

Evil And the Justice of God lays out the grand scope of God’s redemptive activity in a refreshing way that is easy to read. Wright navigates through current world issues, political philosophy, personal redemption, and the biblical record with ease. The final chapter, a radical call to forgiveness over tolerance, is peppered with real-life illustrations and a solid reasoning that competes with C.S. Lewis. Wright’s vision of new heavens and new earth, and his call for Christians to anticipate God’s future by living out redemption in the present motivates the reader to join in God’s saving work.

Wright differs from conservatives in his call for restorative justice in place of punitive punishment. He differs from liberals in his views on the demonic and his belief in a literal devil (though he demotes Satan to a “quasi-personal being” in order to not give him the honor of personhood).

From a theological standpoint, Wright is his own man. At times, he is thoroughly Reformed, especially in regards to his view of the Law, the goodness of original creation, the depravity of all people, and the call for Christians to engage the world, not escape from it. Yet, while affirming the penal substitutionary model of atonement, he concentrates most firmly on the Christus Victor model, which speaks of Jesus triumphing over the powers of evil.

Overall, this is an important work by arguably the most important Christian theologian of our day. It is worth reading, worth owning, and worth discussing. By the end of the book, you won’t have “solved” the problem of evil, but you will have had light shined on a very dark subject.

written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog

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