Discussion question your group will work through:
1.Wright opens by describing the widespread confusion Christians have about what happens after death. Before reading further, how would you have answered the question: 'What is the Christian hope?' Has your answer ever been tested or questioned?
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About This Study Guide
N. T. Wright's Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church is a paradigm-shifting work that challenges one of the most widespread assumptions in popular Christianity: that the goal of the Christian life is to "go to heaven when you die." Drawing on decades of New Testament scholarship, Wright argues that the Bible's actual hope is far more earthy, physical, and glorious than a disembodied soul floating off to a spiritual realm. The true Christian hope is resurrection — the renewal of creation itself, with God dwelling among his people in a transformed physical world. Wright shows that this is not a minor theological footnote but the very engine that drives the Church's mission of justice, beauty, and healing in the present age.
This study guide is designed to be used week by week, one chapter (or cluster of chapters) at a time. Each week, read the assigned chapter before your group meets or before you sit down to journal. Then work through the discussion questions slowly — resist the urge to rush. Some questions are meant to check your comprehension of Wright's argument; others invite personal reflection; still others ask you to wrestle with the theological and practical implications. A closing prayer is provided each week to help you bring the chapter's themes before God honestly and expectantly.
By the end of this guide, you should find yourself with a richer, more biblical understanding of what Christians actually hope for — and why that hope matters urgently for how you live, work, worship, and serve right now. Wright's great gift is showing that correct eschatology is not an abstract exercise but a revolutionary reorientation of the whole of Christian life. Come expecting to be surprised.
17-Week Schedule
- Week 1Introduction — Setting the Stage7 questions
- Week 2Part I, Chapter 1 — All Kinds of Resurrection7 questions
- Week 3Part I, Chapter 2 — The Resurrection of Jesus7 questions
- Week 4Part I, Chapter 3 — Resurrection in Paul7 questions
- Week 5Part I, Chapter 4 — The Strange Story of Easter7 questions
- Week 6Part II, Chapter 5 — Cosmic Future: Progress or Despair?7 questions
- Week 7Part II, Chapter 6 — What the New Testament Says About the Future7 questions
- Week 8Part II, Chapter 7 — Heaven, Earth, and the New Creation7 questions
- Week 9Part II, Chapter 8 — Jesus, the Coming Judge7 questions
- Week 10Part II, Chapter 9 — Purgatory, Paradise, and the Intermediate State7 questions
- Week 11Part III, Chapter 10 — Reshaping the Church for Mission7 questions
- Week 12Part III, Chapter 11 — Rethinking Salvation7 questions
- Week 13Part III, Chapter 12 — Rethinking Holiness7 questions
- Week 14Part III, Chapter 13 — Rethinking the Church's Mission7 questions
- Week 15Part III, Chapter 14 — Rethinking Easter7 questions
- Week 16Conclusion — Hope for the World7 questions
- Week 17Review & Reflection — Surprised by Hope8 questions
Week 1: Introduction — Setting the Stage
Free sampleRead the Introduction to Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 21–22.
1.Wright opens by describing the widespread confusion Christians have about what happens after death. Before reading further, how would you have answered the question: 'What is the Christian hope?' Has your answer ever been tested or questioned?
2.Wright identifies two questions he wants to hold together throughout the book: 'What is the ultimate Christian hope?' and 'What hope is there for the world?' Why does he think these two questions belong together, and what goes wrong when they are separated?
3.Wright argues that most Western Christianity has absorbed a basically Platonic view of the afterlife — souls escaping the body to a spiritual realm — rather than the biblical view. Where do you think this Platonic idea came from? Have you encountered it in hymns, sermons, or funeral services?
4.The book's title, *Surprised by Hope*, echoes C. S. Lewis's *Surprised by Joy*. What does it suggest that hope itself might be surprising? What might we have been expecting instead?
5.Wright says that getting eschatology wrong is not just an intellectual error but has real consequences for how we live and what we do in the world. Can you think of an example — from your own experience or from church culture — where a mistaken view of the future led to a mistaken view of present-day responsibility?
6.Read Revelation 21:1–5 together. How does the vision of the new Jerusalem *coming down* from heaven to earth challenge the popular image of Christians *going up* to heaven? What difference does the direction of movement make?
7.Wright structures the book in three parts: the resurrection of Jesus, the future hope for humans and creation, and the implications for the Church's mission. What connections do you already sense between these three topics, even before reading further?
Week 2: Part I, Chapter 1 — All Kinds of Resurrection
Read Part I, Chapter 1 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Daniel 12:1–3; Ezekiel 37; Isaiah 26:19.
1.Wright surveys belief about life after death in the ancient pagan world, arguing that 'resurrection' was not a general term for 'life after death' but a very specific claim about bodies being re-embodied. What is the significance of this distinction?
Week 3: Part I, Chapter 2 — The Resurrection of Jesus
Read Part I, Chapter 2 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 15:1–28; Luke 24; John 20–21.
1.Wright examines the empty tomb and the appearances of the risen Jesus and argues that neither alone is sufficient to explain the origin of early Christian resurrection belief — you need both. Why does each element on its own fall short?
Week 4: Part I, Chapter 3 — Resurrection in Paul
Read Part I, Chapter 3 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 15; Romans 8; Philippians 3:20–21.
1.Wright spends significant time on the phrase 'spiritual body' (soma pneumatikon) in 1 Corinthians 15. The common misreading is that 'spiritual' means 'non-physical.' What does Wright say Paul actually meant, and what is the contrast Paul is drawing?
Week 5: Part I, Chapter 4 — The Strange Story of Easter
Read Part I, Chapter 4 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20–21; Acts 1.
1.Wright notes that the four Gospel accounts of the resurrection differ significantly in their details, yet all agree on the empty tomb and the appearances. How does Wright use these differences as an argument for authenticity rather than against it?
Week 6: Part II, Chapter 5 — Cosmic Future: Progress or Despair?
Read Part II, Chapter 5 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Romans 8:18–25; Isaiah 65:17–25; 2 Peter 3:10–13.
1.Wright surveys two broad secular alternatives for thinking about the future: the Enlightenment idea of inevitable progress and the postmodern collapse into despair. How does he describe each, and what are their respective weaknesses?
Week 7: Part II, Chapter 6 — What the New Testament Says About the Future
Read Part II, Chapter 6 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Matthew 24–25; Revelation 21–22.
1.Wright examines 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 — the 'rapture' passage — and argues that the popular 'Left Behind' interpretation fundamentally misreads it. What does he say the 'meeting in the air' actually signifies, drawing on the word parousia and the image of a king arriving at a city?
Week 8: Part II, Chapter 7 — Heaven, Earth, and the New Creation
Read Part II, Chapter 7 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Revelation 21:1–5; Isaiah 11; Isaiah 65; Romans 8.
1.Wright argues that 'heaven' in the New Testament does not primarily refer to the place where Christians go when they die but to the realm where God currently dwells — and which will one day be united with earth. How does this reframing change the way you think about heaven?
Week 9: Part II, Chapter 8 — Jesus, the Coming Judge
Read Part II, Chapter 8 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: John 5:22–30; Matthew 25:31–46; Acts 17:31; Romans 2:1–16.
1.Wright argues that the New Testament's picture of Jesus as the coming judge is not primarily a threat but a source of hope. In what sense is the promise of judgment good news — particularly for the poor, the oppressed, and the victims of injustice?
Week 10: Part II, Chapter 9 — Purgatory, Paradise, and the Intermediate State
Read Part II, Chapter 9 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:1–10; Philippians 1:21–23; Revelation 6:9–11.
1.Wright distinguishes carefully between 'life after death' (the intermediate state, being with God) and 'life after life after death' (the final resurrection). Why does he think this distinction is important, and how has its loss confused Christian thinking and practice?
Week 11: Part III, Chapter 10 — Reshaping the Church for Mission
Read Part III, Chapter 10 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:6–11; 1 Corinthians 15:58.
1.Wright argues in Part III that the great mistake has been to think of Christian hope as future-oriented in a way that makes the present irrelevant. How does he insist that hope and mission are inseparable — that what we believe about the future shapes how we act in the present?
Week 12: Part III, Chapter 11 — Rethinking Salvation
Read Part III, Chapter 11 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Ephesians 1:9–10; Colossians 1:15–20; Romans 8:18–25.
1.Wright contends that Western Christianity has often reduced 'salvation' to the rescue of individual souls from the world. What is the scope of salvation as he reads the New Testament — particularly Ephesians 1:9–10 and Colossians 1:15–20?
Week 13: Part III, Chapter 12 — Rethinking Holiness
Read Part III, Chapter 12 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Romans 6; 1 Corinthians 6:12–20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:13–16.
1.Wright argues that the resurrection of the body has direct implications for ethics and holiness. If the body will be raised and transformed — not discarded — then our bodily lives matter enormously to God right now. How does this motivation for holiness differ from the 'rules-based' approach to ethics many of us grew up with?
Week 14: Part III, Chapter 13 — Rethinking the Church's Mission
Read Part III, Chapter 13 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Matthew 5:13–16; Luke 4:18–19; Isaiah 61; James 2:14–26.
1.Wright argues that 'mission' is often understood too narrowly as 'verbal proclamation of the gospel for the purpose of converting souls.' What is the fuller vision of mission he presents, rooted in the inauguration of God's new creation?
Week 15: Part III, Chapter 14 — Rethinking Easter
Read Part III, Chapter 14 of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 15:54–58; Romans 8:31–39; Revelation 5:9–14.
1.Wright argues that Easter is drastically underplayed in most Western Christianity — reduced to one day a year, surrounded by chocolates and bunnies, when it should be the engine of the Church's entire life. Do you agree with this diagnosis? What would it look like for your church community to take Easter more seriously?
Week 16: Conclusion — Hope for the World
Read the Conclusion of Surprised by Hope. Key passages: Revelation 21:1–5; Romans 8:38–39; 1 Corinthians 13:12.
1.As Wright concludes, he returns to the book's central claim: the Christian hope is not 'going to heaven' but resurrection and the renewal of all creation. Looking back over the whole book, how thoroughly has this claim been established for you? What lingering questions remain?
Week 17: Review & Reflection — Surprised by Hope
No new reading this week. Review your notes and journal entries from the previous sixteen weeks.
1.Looking back at the book as a whole, which week's discussion — or which single idea from Wright — surprised you most? What made it surprising?
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