NT (Tom) Wright is a renowned New Testament scholar. But what are his thoughts on the Old Testament? In this interview with Justin Brierley, host of the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast from Premier Unbelievable?, Tom responds to questions about the Old Testament sent in by listeners. (Find out more about NT Wright at www.ntwrightpage.com)
JB Andy Stanley, a popular megachurch pastor in the United States, recently caused controversy by saying that Christians should ‘unhitch’ their faith from the Old Testament. He says our faith rests on a historical event – the resurrection – not on the authority of an ancient book. What are your thoughts? Well, first, I don’t know Andy Stanley so I can’t comment directly on what he’s said. Of course, there’s an equal and opposite error among some churches in America where every last word of the Old Testament is deemed to be load-bearing theologically. And it may be he is speaking in reaction against that by saying, ‘For goodness sake, leave that behind and go with Jesus and the resurrection.’
Jesus and the resurrection are what Paul talks about on the Areopagus in Athens. Paul didn’t go back to the Old Testament at that point. However, Paul himself when he sums up his gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 says, ‘The Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and he was buried and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures.’ And when he’s explaining to the Corinthians what the resurrection is all about, he draws on Psalm 110, Psalm 8 and Psalm 2. He’s also pulling together all sorts of scriptural resources from Daniel, Isaiah, and particularly from Genesis 1, 2 and 3 as well.
