The following is an excerpt from Michael Horton's review in Christianity Today.
"We do not live toward the human-centered goal of virtue formation for the sake of happiness or even 'human flourishing,' but ultimately as priests and rulers who anticipate the restoration of the whole cosmos. '[W]e urgently need to recapture the New Testament's vision of a genuinely 'good' human life as a life of character formed by God's promised future, as a life with that future-shaped character lived within the ongoing story of God's people, and, with that, a freshly worked notion of virtue.' And 'you don't get that character just by trying. You get it by following Jesus.'"...
"In spite of a few quibbles, I was impressed by this book's popular presentation of themes that I have come to appreciate in Reformed theology. The eschatological emphasis on cosmic renewal (resurrection, not escape) as the impetus for our lives here and now, the emphasis on the church—in fact, just about everything in After You Believe was a fresh way of exploring many familiar truths.
"Hence my surprise at the jarring, frequent caricatures of the Reformation, even when the author articulates long-standing emphases in that tradition. As in his other works, indictments of the Reformation rarely come with footnotes. Wright seems to read the Reformers through the distorted lens of liberal existentialists (Rudolf Bultmann and company) or evangelical pietism. Oddly, he blames the Reformation for the romantic, spontaneous, and existentialist view of the Christian life.
"In spite of the rich and varied discussions of virtue by the Reformers, the Puritans, and a host of Protestants since, Wright asserts, 'Basically, the whole idea of virtue has been radically out of fashion in much of Western Christianity ever since the sixteenth-century Reformation.' Since we are justified through faith apart from works, 'why bother with all this morality?'...
"Grace not only justifies but also renews and transforms, Wright properly insists—apparently unaware that Luther argued precisely the same point... Wright says the goal of sanctification is 'to grow in looking away from oneself and toward God on the one hand and one's neighbors on the other.' This is nearly a verbatim formula from Luther. So is this one: 'The Christianly virtuous person is not thinking about his or her own moral performance. He or she is thinking of Jesus Christ, and of how best to love the person next door.' He complains that the Westminster Shorter Catechism's first question and answer is inadequate when it says that our chief end is 'to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.' Yet he goes on to flesh out what is essentially the same point...
"While there are many good biblical-theological studies that make the same points, Wright—ever the master of metaphor and turns of phrase—is especially effective in communicating the richness of the Bible's eschatological horizon to a wide audience. Nevertheless, his imprecision about the views that he targets for criticism is careless, depriving him—and his readers—of resources and allies for a message that is on so many points a vital and necessary corrective." ... See the rest of Michael Horton's review.
- Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary, California
"Bishop Wright, with his usual wisdom and erudition, shows how an account of the virtues is not only compatible but required by the New Testament understanding of what it means to be a Christian. This important book hopefully will be read by theologian and non-theologian alike."
- Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School
"Bishop Wright has given us here an engaging summons to the moral life, one that moves beyond the reigning paradigms of "be happy" and "keep the rules." This book is about what used to be called sanctification, the shaping of character by the following of Christ. A good primer for anyone who wants to know who Jesus is and what it means to follow him in today's world."
- Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and a senior editor of Christianity Today
"A beautiful and important book by a trusted guide to faithful Christian living. Tom Wright offers a powerfully inviting portrait of a well-lived life that combines clear writing, scriptural insight, and wise judgment. His vision is both gentle and radical: gentle in its encouragement to discover a better way to live, yet radical in its challenge to distorted and distorting pictures of Christian life. Ideal for small group discussions as well as for all of us who are seeking a better way to live."
- L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School and author of EMBODYING FORGIVENESS
"With characteristic verve and luminous clarity Tom Wright now brings his learning and insight to bear on the complex field of ethics. He slices through both old and new conundrums by using – and renewing - the ancient key of virtue and the transformed character. Here is deep Christian wisdom for a bewildered age."
- John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford
"To see Dr. Wright's well-known gifts as a popular Christian writer deployed on the field of Ethics is a stimulating prospect. The energy of argument, enthusiasm for authentic Christian experience, scholarly care and creativity in reading the Bible, well known to his admirers, are all in full evidence here. But he offers us a new point of access to his thinking about the Gospel, and for some it may be the opportunity to make his acquaintance for the first time with this vigorous plea for the character of the Christian moral life and for understanding the Christian moral life as character. Even those ethicists and moral theologians who wish to take a different line of approach will have cause to be grateful to him, for such a thorough engagement at this level with a scholar from another discipline is a rare and precious opportunity."
- Oliver O'Donovan, Professor of Christian Ethics, University of Edinburgh
"A follow-up to Wright's Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope, this solid volume will appeal to Christians who appreciate biblical interpretation that hews to tradition but incorporates an emphasis on contemporary social justice as an element of Christian virtue."
- Publishers Weekly
