In Surprised by Hope Tom Wright, one of our leading theologians, addresses questions including:

What do Christians hope for? To leave this wicked world and go to 'heaven' For the 'kingdom of God' to grow gradually on earth? What do we mean by the 'resurrection of the body', and how does that fit with the popular image of sitting on clouds playing harps? And how does all this affect the way we live in the here and now?

Then, having explained why Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus himself, he explores the biblical hope for 'new heavens and new earth'.

In this provocative and wide-ranging book, Tom Wright outlines the present confusion about future hope in both church and world and shows how the 'second coming' of Jesus, and the eventual resurrection, belong within that larger picture, together with the intermediate hope for 'heaven'.

For many, including mature Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Throughout Surprised by Hope, Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation - and if this has already begun in Jesus' resurrection - the church cannot stop at 'saving souls', but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.

Surprised by Hope is lively and accessible, it will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life not only after death but before it.