Well today was the final day of the conference and it really was a phenomenal day in terms of the speakers and of course N.T. Wright. After a fitful night’s sleep (flashlight in hand) headed to the campus again this morning (a crisp blue sunny day all day) and set about to the task of prayer, worship and absorbing of loooooaaaads of theology. Dr. Pyles and I hung out again for the day which consisted of the following speakers:

 

– Kevin Vanhoozer: Wrighting the Wrongs of the Reformation? The State of the Union with Christ in Saint Paul and in Protestant Soteriology

– Jeremey Begbie: The Shape of Things to Come? Wright Amidst Emerging Ecclesiologies

– Markus Bockmuehl: Did St. Paul Go to Heaven When He Died? (Short answer – Yes)

– Edith Humphrey: Glimpsing the Glory – Paul’s Gospel, Righteousness and the Beautiful Feet of N.T. Wright (I admit this title made me VERY uncomfortable until Humphreys explained it was based upon the verse "beautiful are the feel of those who bring good news" Isaiah 52:7

– N.T. Wright: Paul and the People of God: Whence and Whither Pauline Studies and the Life of the Church

 

Another highlight of the day was going to visit the collection of Inklings books and source materials etc that the college has collected. I got some pics of C.S. Lewis’s desk, a wardrobe from his house, Tolkien things etc. etc. Very cool overall.

 

So much was said today that it will take a while to synthesize it all. Nevertheless a few key themes emerged in terms of the letters of Paul including the need for theology (faith seeking an understanding of God) to the church; how Paul’s understanding of Jesus unauguration of the kingdom and our own role as priests and kings within it to anticipate its complete fulfillment by God at the return of Christ.

 

Here are a few tidbits from the day to mull over.

 

– Wright was asked what justifies schism/disunity within the body…response – nothing.

– "You become like what you worship"

– "Don’t so stress the doctrine of your salvation that you fail to see what you were saved for…"

– "Christ in you the hope of glory for the whole of creation"

– The unity of the church is a primary sign to the world that there is a different way of being human that points to God. In this we have primarily failed.

– People are more likely to be right in what they affirm than in what they deny.

– Can faith become a work?

– Wright reacts strongly to platonic escapism he finds endemic within mych of western Christianity.

– Wright says Randy Alcorn’s view of Heaven is very much in line with his own (although he uses different terminology)

– All of our language about the future (the eschaton) is a set of signposts pointin into the fog

– "Church structure ain’t everything but no church structure ain’t anything" 🙂

 

The conference ended with a wonderful prayer and with all of the spekers gathering round Wright laying hands on him while about 3,000 of he rest of us delegates and students had hands extended in blessing during a prayer for him. Following this Wright offered a blessing and benediction for us and we closed in song.

 

Anyhow, it was a great conference that I have not done justice to and I am thankful to be here. You can download/listen to all of the presentations here: http://www.wheaton.edu/wetn/lectures-theology10.htm I encorage you especially to listen to the sessions by Wright.

 

I take the train back to Grand Forks tomorrow at 2:15 pm arriving Monday morning at some horrific hour and then driving back.