Theologian of the Resurrection

In this study, N.T. Wright’s exceptional work on the resurrection is shown to form the centre of his eschatology and mission theology. Wright’s emphasis on the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection for the gospel’s missional encounter with the West is highlighted. By drawing out the significance of the resurrection for Wright’s eschatological narrative, the author sets the stage for Wright’s mission theology, focusing on the church, evangelism, political theology, and eschatological ethics. Wright’s emphasis on doing history is explained in terms of the theological conviction that, since God acted in history, historical study has become a sphere of missional engagement.

E. J. David Kramer, Ph.D. (2020), Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell, is Lecturer in Systematic Theology at the IHL. He has published articles in Mission Studies, the International Journal of Systematic Theology, and the European Journal of Theology.

I am delighted and honoured to see this careful and thorough exploration of my work. I hope it will encourage further explorations of the centrality of the resurrection in Christian theology and life. - N. T. Wright Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of St Andrews. Senior Research Fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

David Kramer’s excellent study of N.T. Wright’s theology of history explains the substantial contribution that has long resisted being described as detached observance or the kind of objectification characteristic of the recent so-called critical school of historiography. Instead, Kramer reveals the complexity of Wright’s reflexive work as deeply personal, grounded in the reality of the time-history continuum, and with an understanding of both active engagement and participation in the work of the dynamic trinitarian movement of boundary-breaking love and healing unfolded in the gospel. - Jason S. Sexton, Dept. of Sociology and Institute of the Environment & Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; Chair, Tyndale Fellowship Christian Doctrine Group

N. T. Wright’s Theologia Resurrectionis is the point of departure for his mission theology. His approach is unique in the landscape of mission theology. Yet where does genuinely Christian mission begin if not at the empty grave? Kramer demonstrates how Wright fundamentally renews the classic lines of mission theology and invites to a return to a biblical theology of mission that is also relevant for the present time. - Jean-Georges Gantebein, Dr. theol., Lecturer in Intercultural Theology at the Theological Seminary St. Chrischona in Basel, Switzerland.

“‘Pregnant with missiological significance.’ This is David Kramer’s conclusion after his thorough study on resurrection as the center of N. T. Wright’s theology. Kramer shows the missiological significance in Wright’s writings, bringing Wright’s contribution to bear on the discourse on mission theology. As a missiologist I highly recommend this book to theologically conversant readers interested in an eschatological framework for the understanding and practice of Christian mission, not least in a post-Enlightenment context.” - Jürgen Schuster, Professor of Intercultural Theology, Bad Liebenzell, Germany

‘Kramer has authored something novel and long necessary: namely, a detailed and insightful study of the substantive theological core of N.T. Wright’s life work in biblical exegesis. The central importance of eschatology generally—and of the resurrection in particular—to Wright’s project is convincingly demonstrated and illumined here. But so too is its notable missiological horizon with potential to inform our contemporary missiological thinking and practice. Kramer’s generous and careful study will be welcomed by Wright’s many readers in both church and academy.’ Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen

Kramer’s meticulous study provides a valuable theological perspective for understanding N.T. Wright’s work on the resurrection of Jesus as an ongoing »good news« for the troubled world of the early 21st century. Employing Wright’s eschatology as a point of departure, he demonstrates how it can inspire a missional theology that exerts influence not only on the church and its mission, but also on political discourse. The notion of a living and reigning Christ in the present, with his ongoing involvement in the shaping and development of our world, is presented as an efficacious, Spirit-driven antidote against Christian pessimism about the future. The “inbreaking new creation” has the capacity to engender new life at the individual and ecclesiastical levels, while simultaneously effecting a transformation of the world. - Dr. Roland Deines, Professor of Biblical Theology and Ancient Judaism, Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell (University of Applied Sciences)