Ask NT Wright Anything

In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright answers listener questions about John’s Gospel, worship music, and the relationship between Jesus and Paul.Tom explains how the miracle at Cana reveals Jesus’ glory and points forward to the cross. He also reflects on the theology embedded in Christian hymnody and why some lyrics may need updating. Finally, he addresses the long-standing claim that Paul distorted Jesus’ message and shows how Paul’s mission actually grows directly out of Jesus’ kingdom movement.Support & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber → They can get 10% off by clicking hereFollow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievableFacebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievableTik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievableX: https://x.com/UnbelievableFE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird explore three significant questions facing the church today:• Can Christians remain in a church that disagrees about women in leadership?• How can the global church move toward deeper unity across traditions?• Did the Apostle Paul wrongly expect Jesus to return within his lifetime?Tom reflects on the revolutionary role of women in the early church, the biblical vision of unity in Ephesians, and why Paul’s language about the Lord’s return has often been misunderstood.Rather than predicting the end of the world, Tom explains that the New Testament speaks of the fulfillment of God’s purposes for creation, the arrival of new creation.Support & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber → They can get 10% off by clicking hereFollow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievableFacebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievableTik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievableX: https://x.com/UnbelievableFE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on Ask NT Wright Anything, N.T. Wright and Mike Bird tackle three major theological questions: Can Christians lose their salvation? What did Jesus actually mean when he spoke about hell? Is hyper-Calvinism a distortion of biblical teaching?Tom explores how the New Testament holds together both assurance and warning, why many modern ideas about hell owe more to medieval imagery than the Bible, and why philosophical systems about predestination often miss the central narrative of Scripture.Instead of abstract speculation about who is “in” or “out,” Tom argues that the Bible consistently tells the story of God choosing people in order to bless the world through them. Support & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber → They can get 10% off by clicking hereFollow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievableFacebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievableTik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievableX: https://x.com/UnbelievableFE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three fascinating theological questions: What actually happens at the Second Coming? Were Moses and Elijah resurrected at the Transfiguration? How should Christians understand the “unseen realm” of angels and spiritual beings?Tom explains why many popular readings of “rapture” passages misunderstand Jesus’ teaching, clarifies the biblical meaning of Christ’s return, and explores how resurrection differs from “going to heaven.” He also addresses the mystery of the Transfiguration and reflects on Michael Heiser’s work on angels and divine beings.Tom unpacks Daniel 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Philippians 3, Revelation 21, and more — explaining how heaven and earth ultimately come together in God’s renewed creation.This episode dives deep into eschatology, resurrection, biblical cosmology, and the nature of heaven and earth. Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10)SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did Judas really die, by hanging or by falling and bursting open? Does the Bible contain contradictions? And what does it really mean to “set your mind on things above”?In this episode of Ask N.T. Wright Anything, Tom Wright, and Mike Bird tackle three challenging questions: Reconciling Matthew and Acts on the death of Judas Whether “biblical inerrancy” is the best way to speak about Scripture’s authority How to read Colossians 3 without falling into a heaven-good, earth-bad mindset Tom explores what biblical authority actually means, why “inerrancy” can sometimes miss the point, and how the New Testament vision is not escape from earth — but heaven and earth coming together in new creation.Support & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber → They can get 10% off by clicking hereFollow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievableFacebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievableTik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievableX: https://x.com/UnbelievableFE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three profound theological questions that sit right at the heart of Christian hope.Is our suffering somehow “redemptive”? What does Paul mean when he says he is “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions”? Tom explains how our suffering participates in Christ’s mission — without adding to the finished work of the cross.Next, they explore the rapture. Is 1 Thessalonians 4 really about believers escaping earth? Or is it about welcoming the returning King as heaven and earth come together?Finally, what does it mean to become “partakers of the divine nature”? Do Christians somehow become divine? Tom unpacks the ancient idea of theosis and shows how the New Testament speaks of transformation without collapsing the distinction between Creator and creature.Suffering. Resurrection. New creation.SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 If you’re enjoying this exclusive series, leave us a comment or share what you’re learning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you get from Church that you cant get from another community? Does the church actually offer a unique spiritual protection? And how should Christians navigate salvation, infant baptism, and bad teaching across different denominations? Today on Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle some of the tricky questions facing the church today. They look at why Christian community matters for spiritual health, how salvation is understood across denominations, and how bad teaching can arise, even among well-educated leaders. Along the way, they emphasize accountability, discernment, and the church’s calling to be a place of love, protection, and truth. They look at why Christian community matters for spiritual health, how salvation is understood across denominations, and how bad teaching can arise, even among well-educated leaders. Along the way, they emphasize accountability, discernment, and the church’s calling to be a place of love, protection, and truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can Christians work within unjust governments? What actually changes with the New Covenant? And what does the future hold for Anglicanism amid global shifts and internal tensions? Today on the podcast, Tom Wright and Mike Bird are answering your questions on faith, politics, and church life. How should Christians think about power and conscience? How did Jesus approach to political authority? How do the Old and New Covenants relate to one another, and why does Anglican liturgy continue to shape Christian faith across cultures? The conversation also addresses the challenges facing the Anglican Communion today including, authority, unity, leadership, and global growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does your everyday work really matter to God? Why did Jesus have to be fully human and fully divine? And how should Christians live faithfully while waiting for Jesus’ return? In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird explore how ordinary life fits into God’s extraordinary purposes.They discuss how all kinds of work, from manual labor to data analysis, can participate in building God’s kingdom, why the incarnation is essential to Christian salvation, and how patience, hope, and faithful action shape the Christian response to the long wait for Christ’s return. Today's episode challenges the idea that only “spiritual” activities matter and offers a vision of faith rooted in creation, resurrection, and daily obedience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who can be saved? What about those who have never heard the gospel? Do Christians earn rewards in heaven and what does God’s wrath really mean at the cross? Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle some of the most challenging and emotionally charged questions in Christian theology. They explore whether Salvation is limited by geography or history, how God’s justice and mercy relate to those outside the Christian story, and why the New Testament speaks about “rewards in heaven” without turning faith into a transactional system. The conversation also digs into the meaning of God’s wrath at the cross, showing why the cross must be understood as both victory over evil and substitution for humanity. This episode invites listeners to hold together faith, humility, mission, and mystery... without easy answers or simplistic formulas. Questions: 01:36 Who Can Be Saved? 11:30 Are There Rewards in Heaven? 19:55 God’s Wrath and the Cross Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was Christianity bad for the world? How should we talk honestly about the Crusades, colonialism, slavery, sectarian wars — and the church’s failures — without pretending the record is clean? In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird respond to three big questions: Is Christianity bad? Tom argues we must acknowledge the church’s worst moments without defensiveness, while also recognizing how Christian moral vision reshaped the conscience of the wider world. Also on today's episode listener's ask whether the “coming of the Son of Man” in Matthew 24 is about Jesus returning, or Jesus being enthroned? Tom points us to Daniel 7, showing why many “coming” passages are actually about vindication, authority, and enthronement rather than a literal end-of-the-world timetable.Finally Mike and Tom look at why isn’t Israel saved? Tom works through Romans 9–11, rejecting replacement theology and explaining Paul’s grief, the “remnant,” the grafting-in image, and the difficult phrase “all Israel will be saved.” Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here (Embed URL: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10)SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why does the Old Testament sometimes appear to treat women unfairly in cases of adultery? What was the purpose of the Nazirite vow, and why would anyone choose it? And what does it really mean to say that Christ is “present” in the Eucharist?Today, N.T. Wright and Mike Bird dive in on Ask NT Wright Anything to answer your three challenging and deeply human questions about law, holiness, and sacrament. Tom explores how Israel’s legal codes functioned within their ancient social world, how Jesus radically reframes judgment and mercy, and why Christians no longer apply Old Testament penalties in the same way. He then reflects on the Nazirite vow as an ancient form of radical consecration, an Israelite counterpart to later monastic devotion. Throughout, Tom insists that Scripture must be read as a coherent story rather than isolated proof texts, and that Christian faith is shaped not by abstract theories but by lived practices: meals, vows, forgiveness, and embodied worship. SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 If you’re enjoying this exclusive series, leave us a comment or share what you’re learning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do ordained ministers have “more” of the Holy Spirit than lay people? What exactly was John the Baptist doing when he baptised Jews before Jesus’ ministry began? And are the Thirty-Nine Articles still fit for purpose today?Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three questions that sit at the heart of church life, theology, and Christian identity in today's episode of Ask NT Wright Anything.Tom explains why ordination is not about spiritual hierarchy but authorised service, why the Holy Spirit belongs fully to the whole people of God, and how clergy exist to equip, not outrank, the church. He then situates John the Baptist firmly within Israel’s story of exile and hope, showing how baptism functioned as a powerful symbol of repentance and new Exodus rather than an early version of Christian conversion. Finally, Tom reflects candidly on the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England: why they were written, what they were trying to hold together, and why many of their answers belong to 16th-century debates rather than today’s questions.Throughout the conversation, Tom calls the church back to Scripture as the supreme authority, urges humility toward our theological inheritance, and reminds us that reform is not rejection—but faithful listening across time. Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here (Embed URL: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10)SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where is the Garden of Eden? What did Paul mean by our “earthly tent”? And does Genesis contain later edits, and if so, does that undermine Scripture?In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three of the most frequently misunderstood biblical questions.Tom explains why Paul’s language in 2 Corinthians 5 isn’t Platonic escapism but robust resurrection hope; why the “tent” points both to the tabernacle and to our mortal bodies; and how the early Christians understood “what is kept in heaven” as something destined ultimately for earth.Next, they turn to the location of Eden, and Tom challenges the assumption that Genesis 2 must read like Google Maps. They explore how ancient narrative works, what editing does (and does not) mean for inspiration, and why Genesis 1–2 gives us two complementary windows into creation, not a modern-style chronology.If you’ve ever wondered whether Genesis has contradictions, whether Paul believed in an intermediate state, or whether Scripture’s “oddities” weaken its authority, this episode will steady the ground beneath your feet, and deepen your appreciation for the beauty, richness, and layered texture of the biblical story.Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here (Embed URL: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices