The Christian Century

The Anglican theologian N. T. Wright once wrote a stirring intro­duction to the Christian faith called Simply Christian. Then, since he had stressed that Chris­tianity isn't about going to heaven, he needed to say what does happen when Chris­tians die, which he did in Sur­prised by Hope. Now he's turned to the small mat­ter of how Chris­tians should live; hence the appropriately but none­theless am­biguously titled After You Believe.

The book has two central lines of argument. The first is that a virtue ethic is the fitting model for the Christian life—a conviction that involves a good deal of ethical exploration and considerable New Testa­ment exegesis. The second is that Chris­tians and the church best understand themselves as a royal priesthood, a theme which brings together the two most pressing aspects of life under God—worship and mission.