The Victorious Cross

Evil and the Justice of God
By N. T. Wright
IVP Books, 2006
(176 pages, $18.00, hardcover)

In Evil and the Justice of God, the renowned New Testament scholar N.T. Wright addresses the problem of evil and its relation to “the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion.” In the introduction he forthrightly states his limited purpose: “I do not pretend for a moment that I have here provided a full or even a balanced treatment either of the problem of evil or, more especially, of the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion. The central chapter of this book approaches Jesus' death from one angle which I believe to be deeply fruitful, but I am well aware that a more complete account of the meaning and saving effect of Jesus' death would need to raise and answer far more questions than I have even mentioned. . .”

In Part I, Wright describes the “new problem of evil” in the world. The older “problem of evil” was mainly a philosophical and theological issue. The new problem, as Wright sees it, is more a practical problem of social psychology that has three chief characteristics: “First, we ignore evil when it doesn't hit us in the face. Second, we are surprised when it does. Third, we react in immature and dangerous ways as a result.”

Wright suggests that our current difficulties in facing and dealing with evil stem from the “new nihilism” of postmodernity. By its radical questioning of truth and its deconstruction of the self, both of which undermine the idea of moral responsibility, postmodernism dehumanizes us, “reduce[s] human beings to mere ciphers,” and thus takes away our capabilities for dealing with human evil through repentance and restoration. He argues for a new “nuanced view of evil” which recognizes that Western democracy may not be a universal panacea, that evil has a real “supra-personal element within it,” and that good and evil battle in each one of us.

Chapter 2 presents a rich, masterful summary of the Old Testament's answer to the question “What can God do about evil?” Wright draws four main conclusions: The figure of “the satan” is certainly to be found, but the origin of evil remains a mystery. Human responsibility is clear. Human evil relates mysteriously with some kind of cosmic ill. In his project “of setting the existing creation to rights,” God does not reveal tidy explanations of evil or provide miraculous solutions, but works within creation through the ambiguous history of the chosen but flawed people of Israel , a history that reaches its climax in a flawless Suffering Servant.

In chapter 3, Wright urges a holistic rereading of the Gospels from the angle of the problem of evil. In doing so, he finds “a double story…of how evil in the world…reached its height, and how God's long-term plan for Israel (and for himself!) finally came to its climax.” He rapidly surveys the Gospel narratives and other parts of the New Testament, and argues that we should see the atonement within the larger picture of God's victory, in Jesus' death on the cross, over all evil—cosmic and global, supra-personal and personal.

In his last two chapters, Wright suggests ways in which Christians should implement Christ's victory in their interactions with the world. Some evangelical and some politically conservative Christians (they are not always the same) may want to add, or object, to some of Wright's suggestions, but they merit serious consideration.

In spite of Wright's limited goals, Evil and the Justice of God is a very significant work that explores a much neglected Scriptural theme about Jesus' death. In a mere bookworm's opinion, one challenge for Wright in his “further work” on this subject will be to paint the doctrine of atonement on a larger canvas without diminishing it or subduing its details. But then Wright may be the right theologian to do that.