Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World by Tom Wright

Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World Reviews

• 
  Justin Wiggins

  This is another moving book by my favorite modern day theologian and ancient historian that has been greatly encouraging, challenging, and spiritually nourishing. If I was not a Christian, I would still find Wright sane, and respect him as someone who writes seriously and poignantly about the first century, who Jesus was, how The Bible came to be canonized, liturgy, the sacraments, and the virtues of faith, hope, and love. His critique of the materialistic enlightenment worldview, rapture theology, brainwashing, pseudo-historical drivel, and the dangers of fundamentalism, is very much applauded. I like how he really gets to the heart of what Christianity was in the first century, and how today, even with so many denominations it bewilders the mind, that there is a unifying factor in Christianity- what C.S.Lewis called Mere Christianity, which is found in the Nicene Creed.
  
  In this book, Wright's focus on The Gospel of John is quite interesting in how he correlates it to the human longings for justice, beauty, spirituality, love, freedom, and what power looks like in the context of agape love- The Creator taking on the full force of evil, sin and suffering as a Jewish Aramaic speaking Rabbi in the first century, and through His Death and Resurrection, offering hope in the here and now, and what is to come, rather than power being used by thugs, crackpots, and charlatans in power making people's lives hell, getting their fill, and living under the delusion that they are a deity. I am thankful that The Great Artist is making all things new, and that gives me hope, and even when I struggle to believe this is so- "help my unbelief" is one of the best prayers one can pray, as I have found.
• 
  Mikejencostanzo

  It’s middle school English class. “Boys and girls, list all the abstract nouns you can.” Your mind races, “Uh. Freedom. Love. Truth.” In Broken Signposts, Author N.T. Wright selects seven of these classic “abstract” concepts, and explains how sin has twisted them, but not beyond recognition. Wright skillfully uncovers how they were meant to function, while simultaneously leading readers through the Gospel of John, if you can picture that.
  
  Upon first opening this book, I was bracing myself for a scholarly, discussion of abstract terms. Blah, blah, blah. Right? What I wasn’t prepared for was how Wright repeatedly swept me off my feet with theological surprises. It’s like I’m holding this box that contains a Bible story I’ve heard a million times before, and Wright says, “Open the box.” Inside is the story, but it’s different than I’ve ever experienced it before. At first alarm bells are ringing, “Is it heresy?” “This sounds like nothing I’ve heard in Sunday school before.” But I lift the story up out of the box and examine it more closely. “Yes. This is true to God’s Word.” In fact, looking at it in this different light is perhaps truer. Richer. Better.
  
  Sound crazy? Here’s an example. Wright ushers us into a chapter dedicated to the concept of “Spirituality” and we’re looking at the story of the foot-washing in John 13. Rather than focusing on “Isn’t Jesus giving us a lovely example of Christian service?” Wright is asking us to think about why Jesus would give this picture of cleansing what is dirty right before he goes to the cross. In the author’s words, “The foot-washing scene indicates what is going on: the disciples are already ‘made clean’ by the word Jesus has spoken to them (John 13:10, 15:3), but Jesus’ coming crucifixion, symbolized by the foot washing, will cleanse them completely.” And then I marvel “Of course! Why have I never seen it this way before?”
  
  Broken Signposts was really quite a thrilling read, theologically. And yet, while so many concepts jumped “out of the box,” for me, they were thoroughly in keeping with sound biblical doctrine. Five stars.
  
  I received Broken Signposts free in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
  
  ~Jen
• 
  Fred

  Accessible but profound, NT Wright has once again given the church a great gift. Looking at seven longings in the human heart including justice, spirituality, beauty, love and power he shows how various accounts in the Gospel of John answer these questions. Wright calls these topics "broken signposts" because the desires behind something like justice, truth or beauty are real. But outside of the revelation of God in Christ, they do not lead us any place.
  Wright's book could be a small group or Sunday school curriculum with each chapter being a week of group study.
• 
  Alec Welch

  On the high side of 3 stars. This was a solid reflection on how the way of Jesus (particularly as it is presented through John’s Gospel) makes sense of several key impulses and facets of human life. Matters like beauty, spirituality, power, love, and freedom point to the reality of something greater than what humans can construct, on our own. Jesus completes the map that we hope truly exists. Classic NT Wright.
• 
  Aaron Crofut

  I am at a complete loss. Somewhere back in September, I came across a review of this book. I'm vaquely aware of the existence of Wright, mostly because I have heard he has an excellent book on St. Paul, but the review painted this book as a real heavy blow against the senselessness of the modern world.
  
  I grabbed a copy from the library. Good Lord, this is thin. Not physically, but mentally. Starting off comparing Sarte's most famous bon mot to Ikea furniture assembly? Spending more than a paragraph on this comparison? A tossed reference to a few Plato works, not including his Euthyphro, which is almost certainly the most relevant for the topic Wright is, well, writing about?
  
  Geez, even the signpost thing. No, not everything has to be deep, ponderous academic writing; I can and have spent hours loving G. K. Chesterton. But Chesterton's lamp post parable is classic, witty, and summed up the problem in a few lines that deep philosophers like Alasdair MacIntyre and Pierre Manent have wrote entire books on. Here we get a knockoff version of the same story, except it is sign posts this time, not lamp posts.
  
  Ok, I just picked up Heretics. Chapter One:
  
  "Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamp-post, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, "Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If Light be in itself good—" At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down. All the people make a rush for the lamp-post, the lamp-post is down in ten minutes, and they go about congratulating each other on their unmediaeval practicality. But as things go on they do not work out so easily. Some people have pulled the lamp-post down because they wanted the electric light; some because they wanted old iron; some because they wanted darkness, because their deeds were evil. Some thought it not enough of a lamp-post, some too much; some acted because they wanted to smash municipal machinery; some because they wanted to smash something. And there is war in the night, no man knowing whom he strikes. So, gradually and inevitably, to-day, to-morrow, or the next day, there comes back the conviction that the monk was right after all, and that all depends on what is the philosophy of Light. Only what we might have discussed under the gas-lamp, we now must discuss in the dark."
  
  Funny, witty, beautifully written, memorable...when you get to Wright's "sign post" story, you'll see why I no longer wanted his opinion on Beauty.
  
  I very, very quickly found myself skimming over entire paragraphs trying to find something to hold on to. To say I am flabbergasted is an understatement. It was a shock to me that I would not enjoy this work, even if I didn't agree with it; I would have liked at least something to disagree with. And like all people who can't quite believe what they are experiencing, I went to see if other people saw the same thing. To my complete bewilderment, I see on Goodreads multiple reviews highlighting this books erudition and scholarship.
  
  I am willing to believe Wright's other works contain original and important scholarship, but Broken Signposts? No.
  
  I would not hand this to any unbeliever and expect it to make any impression other than "wow, these Christians have horrible self-help books."
  
  Read the conclusion. The world is wrong, the signposts are broken down you see, but Christ makes sense of it all...and, sin? No, no mention of sin? I noticed in the first fifth of the book there was no mention of Original Sin, either. Everything seems wrong, but you are ok, of course. Stop, oh please stop downplaying the existence and importance of sin. That is the thing that is wrong, and it is wrong with you and it is wrong with me. Ignoring the truth of sin is why Christianity is so often written off as cheap escapism from the bad things in this world; Wright specifically says this in this book, about how wars and natural disasters and sickness are proof of the brokenness we need Christ to fix. He even throws in a woke statement about how as a Westerner, his understanding of the problem isn't even as good as those in other places.
  
  No. No. No. Christ did not come to save us from those things. He came to save us from our sins. Downplay that, and you downplay everything Christ did. And that is exactly how this book reads. By chance, I started (and finished) this book on the Feast of St. Stephen and am reading Dom Guéranger's commentary. He says, "May we never forget, that every Christian ought to be ready for martyrdom, simply because he is a Christian." That sort of thing you will not find in this book.
  
  I understand why one would want to read a book with a title like this. I implore you, read Chesterton instead, or perhaps even better, his friend and literary disciple the Venerable Fulton Sheen.
  
  And by the way, I spent a stupid amount of time today trying to find that review that put this book in my hand in the first place. Can't find it now. That seems appropriate.
• 
  Ben

  I think this will be most helpful for those who are already somewhat familiar with the biblical text, especially the book of John. Wright's discussions of justice, love, and power are excellent. Some of the others feel like they need a bit more fleshing out. On the whole, Wright does a good job showing how our longings for freedom, justice, love, etc. are redefined and fulfilled in Jesus.
• 
  Walter Harrington

  In Broken signposts, N.T. Wright discusses seven concepts that the majority of people would agree are necessary for happiness human flourishing: Justice, Spirituality, Relationships, Beauty, Freedom, Truth, and Power. Yet, though these are ideals we seek, they are hardly ever realized in practice, leaving us to seek ideals that we know should be upheld, yet are always just beyond our grasps.
  
  Wright calls these ideals signposts, pointers to a truer reality that is meant for our present world. But the signposts are broken because our world is broken.
  
  Nevertheless, a broken signpost can still point, however dimly, to its true end. Wright takes the reader on a journey through the book for John to show how the Christian message in Jesus lays claim to and develops these ideals. John points us to Jesus, showing us the true goal that each of the signposts is supposed to be highlighting.
  
  John shows us how Christianity makes sense of the world, and how it reveals our true nature and the ideal in which the world is supposed to operate.
  
  I believe that his more academic treatment of this subject, though with fewer signposts, is his History and Eschatology. This book isn't written for an academic audience, but rather for a popular audience as a meditation on these seven ideals and how they all point to Jesus. Or rather, how Jesus brings all these ideals together in his incarnation, sacrifice, and resurrection. Jesus is, at last, the true human, pointing us to the true reality.
  
  I enjoyed this book, though Wright can sometimes get a little wordy, speaking in flowery language that can be hard to follow. Sometimes it's hard to see his point clearly because of the decoration he uses to paint his picture. But I would guess that is at least somewhat intentional.
  
  Some of the concepts he unpacked, especially dealing with power and freedom, I found surprisingly helpful and was able to see them in a new light. I do think that these signposts point us to a greater reality, their brokenness by human sin notwithstanding.
  
  Overall it's a good book. Definitely not my favorite of his, but good nonetheless.
• 
  Robert D. Cornwall

  We live in a world full of promise, and yet a world filled with broken promises. There are signposts that speak to these realities. While they are promising, they are also broken. NT Wright offers seven signposts that can help us make sense of the world, though we must recognize that they are currently broken and need fixing by God. These signposts are commonplace across cultures, though differently understood.
  
  The seven signposts are justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. Wright explores each of these signposts, noting where and why they are broken. Then he addresses them, offering a way forward, through the lens provided by the Gospel of John. In his view, the way to retrieve and heal these broken signposts is through Jesus.
  
  Wright concludes this exploration of the signposts by suggesting that the story of Jesus "offers a new framework for understanding the world -- the framework of victory over corruption and death itself and the launching of the new creation." He continues: "John tells us what the creator God has done, is doing, and will do, through his Son and his Spirit, to put things right." (p. 192). Such is the challenge before us. For Wright, it's important to recognize that it is God who will do this work, though we have a role to play. Still, it's God's work!
  
  I think this relatively brief and lively book will be a word of encouragement for difficult times.
• 
  Jeremy

  I generally like this kind of stuff...Signals of transcendance, etc. This is how Wright does natural theology in a underdetermined way. Creation bears witness, not in a some rationalistic way, offering some airtight logic, but rather, as a broken signpost...and arrow pointing upwards, but easily misinterpreted, etc.
  
  Wright uses the Gospel of John to make his case. It reminds me of his Gifford lectures on naturaltheology, but simplified, and pointed more directly towards John's theology.
• 
  Alisa

  NT Wright is an incredible scholar who has the wonderful ability to write devotional books that disseminate truth in a very easy to access manner.
  
  In this book, Wright uses the Gospel of John to discuss what he calls the broken signposts of justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. He shows his readers how these splintered signposts can still direct us to a proper course, if we view them through the lens of Scripture.
• 
  Eduardo Lima

  muito legal a ideia dos indicadores fragmentados, ideias que apontam para o Criador mas que foram corrompidas, precisam de redenção, não apontam para onde deviam apontar. o jeito que o Wright mostra eles no livro de João é muito interessante. apesar de sempre adorar os insights, ainda tem algo com o jeito que ele escreve/a tradução que é um pouco estranho pra mim.
• 
  Jerry Hillyer

  Listened to the audiobook on a recent trip to NC. Excellent production. And another great book from Tom Wright.
• 
  Loren

  Fresh thinking, well written, thoughtful scholarship.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Broken Signposts. It has expanded the depth and horizons of John's gospel, the Bible story of creation, sin, and redemption for me. As in all of Wright's books--at least the several that I have read--Jesus is the central figure around which everything else orbits.
  
  Wright's writing reveals his deep theological training and ways of thinking, even in a work targeted for a lay readership. My guess is that anyone with a keen interest in the "signposts" of love, justice, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power will be find his thoughts stimulating and definitely worthwhile.
  
  Five stars. Highly recommended.
• 
  Benjamin Murray

  N. T. Wright has clearly meditated for decades upon the Gospel of John. This book is rich with crisp, clear, and beautiful reflections upon 7 themes found in the fourth Gospel.
  
  This book is written at a level which is approachable for anyone with a high school level education, yet also has such profound thoughts that even a seminarian or one who has been reading the Bible daily for decades will come away with insights to ponder. This is a book which can hit all levels of readers.
  
  The seven themes of justice, love, power, beauty, truth, spirituality, and freedom are the chapters of this book. Each of those themes are echoes of the good creation and the imago dei. But why are they echoes and not realities? Or better yet, why are they broken realities? N. T. Wright answers these questions and helps believers to know how to better pursue these themes in Christ so that we can be healthy and whole signposts in this very broken world.
  
  I purchased this book to help me dig into the big picture of John as I am doing an 8-12 week sermon series on it, and I have to say that this book has been absolutely perfect. If anyone is doing a sermon series, Bible study, Sunday School, or small group over John-- read this book!
• 
  Ethan

  Wright uses the Gospel of John to set forth seven "signposts" of what life is meant to be which have been corrupted in their present form: justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power.
  
  This work is for the lay reader, and if memory serves, represents a more lay approach to some of the premises from Wright's Gifford lecture on natural theology and new creation. Wright considers each of the seven principles/characteristics/what have you and shows what they are meant to be, why they are what they are, and how they find their fullness in what God is accomplishing in Jesus. The work also features "interludes" which provide assistance in understanding the Gospel of John to enhance the arguments made elsewhere.
  
  An excellent work and worthy of consideration, for Wright does well in the general framework, approach, and textual exegesis.
• 
  Reinhardt

  Another great book from NT Wright. It covers some of the same themes of his other books on Jesus and the kingdom. He frames the book around the gospel of John and some ‘signposts’. Signposts are some markers that humans have a bent towards, truth, beauty, justice, power, etc. The signposts are broken because they point imperfectly to the true way. It is as if the paint has faded, but if we look closely, we can see the sign and the direction it points.
  
  Dripping with wisdom and insight, it is well worth a read. It is short and simple, not academic. His warmth comes through, as if you’re having an intimate conversation with him.
  
  Recommended.
• 
  Lisa Degrenia

  A rich, theological discussion of seven universal desires- justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. Bishop Wright uses the Gospel of John brilliantly to illumine each theme for modern Christan living.
  
  This book would make a great addition to a list of commentaries for the Gospel of John for preachers and teachers. You'd need to search the book's index for the specific passage from John you're looking for since the scriptures are presented based on the theme, not chronology.
• 
  Bret Hammond

  Isn't it amazing when you can hear the author's voice in your head while reading his book?
  
  Excellent read. Someone has rightly said it's more like reading/listening to seven sermons from the Gospel of John. Very conversational and informative. I especially appreciated his approach to seeing Jesus as the new Temple through John's Gospel.
  
  I think this would make an excellent basis for a series leading up to Easter. I might do that next year!
• 
  Stephen long

  This is definitely One of Wright’s more simplistic books that is less academic and more accessible for the average reader. Loved the theme of the book and how he uses ideas like freedom, Justice, power, love, beauty, freedom, and spirituality to act as broken signposts that point to something more. And that in the story of the Gospel, these broken sign posts are being made right.
  
  My two favorite chapters were beauty and power.
• 
  Abigail Hartman

  I think one of the saddest things - sadder than people never having heard the gospel at all - is when people have had enough exposure to church that they think they know what Christianity is all about and become inured to the actual gospel. Wright is extremely good at addressing different audiences and bringing out the multifaceted wonder of what God has done in and through Jesus, showing that the gospel is about much much more than going to heaven when we die. In this very short book, Wright takes up seven themes or ideals (justice, love, truth, spirituality, beauty, freedom, and power) and sketches how we consistently seek to achieve them in our societies and individual lives, yet are constantly frustrated by their apparent unattainability (I don't think that's a word, but it should be). Each of them, he argues, is intended as a signpost to the new, restored creation God is bringing about through the redemptive work of Christ, but until we see each of them through the lens of Jesus Himself, they remain broken signposts pointing nowhere - or nowhere good.
  
  This is a recent publication, and you can see the ways in which it's responding to issues that have seemed especially pressing in the media in the last few years. I think what elevates these conversational essays is the way Wright weaves in themes from the Gospel of John, exploring, provocatively but accessibly, the ways in which John treats these seven themes in his beautiful work. For instance, in discussing our core longing for spiritual connection and experience of something divine, Wright brings out perhaps /the/ message of John that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Israel's Temple: He is the 'place' where God dwells with His people. As a response to the frustrations and disappointments that so many feel with postmodern materialism and with societies' failure to live up to any of the seven ideals he outlines, Wright's presentation of the gospel is so timely.
  
  This is such a short book, it's probably bound to have weaknesses. His chapter on Power was the one where I had the most reservations - I found his suggestion that Jesus' kingdom is redeeming worldly powers to be off the mark, but it's one of those things where he has so little time to develop his point, maybe I misunderstood where he was going? - and his conclusion that we need to be involved in community 'projects' to foster these ideals in the wider society is (I think) based on a model of Christian engagement with the world/a perspective of how Christ's kingdom is coming that I don't share. Unfortunately, when churches (and oftentimes even individuals) turn to promoting different projects, they have a tendency to take their eye off the ball with regard to preaching the true gospel and end up replacing it with a gospel of their own. There's a lot more to be said on this topic, so it's fair enough that Wright doesn't have room here to hash things out in more depth. However, I think the points he does make on this topic point to the fact that he is weak on the individual, personal aspect of salvation (not that he misses it entirely, he just de-emphasizes it too much in my opinion) and also on God's judgement. I'm not sure he deals with the topic of God's judgement of individuals at all in this book, and he doesn't discuss how this fits with God's love for individuals and the world He created. In a work that does seem to be apologetic, this feels more than a little one-sided. It's like if a child were in the street and you told him to come out of it because there are cookies in the house and failed to mention that, oh yeah, there's also a car coming and he's in danger. Not a perfect analogy, but as compelling and on-point as Wright's work is, I do think it's missing something fundamental by failing to deal almost at all with what happens in the long run if we fail to respond appropriately to Jesus.
  
  On the other hand, I do think Wright is wonderful at shedding light on the riches of God's work of salvation and at getting us out of the rut we may have fallen into in thinking that it's only about our atomized selves and about 'going to heaven when we die'. He brings the new creation squarely back into the picture. In spite of my issues with some aspects of his work (this isn't a one-stop shop, if anything is), I do hope many people pick this up and see the answer to the brokenness of the world around us.
• 
  Dave Courtney

  I easily could have breezed through this book with llittle problem. Wright tends to write in two ways- with an academic focus or a pastoral focus. This just might be his most pastoral work yet.
  
  I took my time with it though, and I'm really glad I did. It's a book that works really well as a meditation or devotional. It was born out of his past work, one more academic, the other more pastoral (Simply Christian), where he has been picking up on the idea of these signposts. What he means by signposts are universal truths that appear evident throughout the human experience whether you are a Christian or not. Things we can all say exist and are self evident in creation and human experience. And what he plays this towards is the idea that although we all understand the self evident need of these signposts, all of us, Christian or not, also intituitively know that they aren't working quite as well as they should. They are "broken" signposts in some shape or form.
  
  Take justice for example. We all know that justice is necessary and important. The problem is we also know there is injustice in the world. The question then is, how do we address this, a question that unfolds from two angles- first, what does injustice in the world say about the the existence and character of God, and second, how does Chrsitianity help us to make sense of injustice in the world. Same with love, beauty, truth.
  
  Wright is essentially expanding on the signposts he has already brought to the surface, locating 7 now in total. And in so doing he walks through some of the key elements of relational existence, both in their self evidence (we all value truth) and in their self evidential brokenness (we all intuitively know that truth and truthfulness is not always something that we build our lives on). In this sense, what Wright is doing here is a kind of modern apologetic. But he does so without feeling the need to berate a world living with these broken signposts, but rather to suggest that should you feel these are borken ideas, these are ideas that Christianity has long been interested in confronting.
  
  The one thing I will say on this front is that this is the kind of apologetic that one genuinely needs to want to hear in order to really gain something from. If you feel living in a world of admittedly broken signposts is perfectly fine, and that we have the ability to address these things on our own without God or Christianity, then chances are this book is not going to feed your soul or convince you otherwise. This is not the kind of book that is looking to argue you out of a position. However, if you are someone who feels lost, who feels a need for something that can help make sense of what is not right, this book should be a welcome voice. It's a heartfelt, genuine, intimate, and passionate work born from ideas that mean a lot to Wright simply on a personal level. And what I found refreshing is that while Wright doesn't shy away from challenging some misperceptions on the side of the Church, he also is not afriad to be his orthodox, neo-consertive self. He wears his faith with clarity, and unapologetically so. If that disqualifies this from the academic realm, he seems perfectly okay with that.
  
  Which brings me to the last element of the book, a narrative decision that fits perfectly with everything I wrote above, and that is the decision to pair the different signposts, each given a chapter, with an additional chapter on the Gospel of John. This functions then both as an apologetic and a scriptural commentary on his favorite Gospel at the same time, which was very much what he was hoping to achieve (having listened to some interviews). Having that Gospel open beside you actually acts as a great complimentary exercise to reading this book. He doesn't really go verse by verse in a neat or linear way, but if you leave space to visit the sections that he is dealing with as he walks through each signpost I think you will gain a lot in terms of how to read and understand John better.
  
  Really appreciated having a new work by one of my favorite authors and my favorite theologian/Christian thinker. Always cherish my time spent with his reflections, and this proved to be a great companion through the late fall and early winter days leading up to Advent (and a bit beyond).
• 
  Andrew Barrett

  Broken Signposts by N.T. Wright is a helpful follow-up/update on his previous book, Simply Christian. In that book, he describes the four themes of justice, spirituality, relationships, and beauty as “echoes of a voice,” namely, the voice of God in whom such themes originates.
  
  In this work, Wright changes his governing metaphor from “echoes of a voice” to “signposts” (albeit "broken" signposts) and adds three additional themes to the previous four: freedom, truth, and power. He then takes these seven signposts and demonstrates how they direct our attention to God’s intentions for the world in Christ, particularly as they are presented in the Gospel of John.
  
  Two criticisms:
  
  1) Wright struggles to interpret John on John’s own terms. Yes, he illuminates John's use of new-creation themes, but the Johannine use of the trial motif and John’s concern to emphasize Jesus’ unique Sonship were noticeably underutilized by Wright. I found this surprising seeing as how both of those themes offer strong support to the overall point(s) Wright wants to make.
  
  2) The chapter on truth is the worst in the book. Wright uses inspiring rhetoric to make an ambiguous point about "truth" vaguely equating to love and new creation. He spends frustratingly little time considering Jesus’ identification AS the truth (John 14:6), choosing instead to prioritize Jesus' exchange with Pontius Pilate (and Pilate's provocative question, "What is truth"; cf. 18:38). That climactic exchange is doubtless worthy of our attention, but not at the expense of Jesus' self-identification as "the truth." If the governing argument in the book is that all of these "signposts" ultimately point to and find arrival in the person of Jesus, it baffles me that John 14:6 would not be the primary passage of emphasis. If it had not been for the following chapter on power, this chapter would have reduced my review to 3 stars.
  
  The chapter on power, however, is worth the price of the book! God created the world to be ordered, not chaotic, and to establish order you need to exercise power. Wright artfully demonstrates how, broken of a signpost "power" no doubt is, the opposite, anarchy, is not a sufficient alternative. Instead the Christian is to recognize Jesus as the fullest representation of BOTH God’s power (i.e., dominion) and the power meant to be exercised by humanity. That power is the power of self-giving love, and it is a powerful capable of, very literally, redeeming the cosmos.
  
  One final note: As is often the case with Wright’s HarperOne publications, he manages to be readable in his prose but not diluted in his content. I’m always impressed by Wright’s ability to do that. Not many scholars have that ability.
• 
  Sue

  This is my first book by N T Wright, so I did not know what to expect. There was, in my opinion, no need to call the seven points he is writing about-justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth and power - signpost. It made little sense to me, but this is presumably my fault.
  The book is basically a treaty on the Gospel according to John. This particular book was not my favourite. Pragmatic as I am, I preferred the reading of the other apostles; John's language appeared too flowery and otherworldly for me. I doubt I would have read this book, if I knew it was all about John's narrative.
  At the end though, I gained a new understanding of the book of John thanks to Wright easy-read, but deep reflections.
  There is one point in the book which I would like to clarify; If I am not mistaken, Wright concluded in this book that Jesus' coming into the world was the fix of the world as God always intended to do. His birth, and especially His death and resurrection saved, in my opinion, many individuals, but I can not see the world fixed yet. I so do hope that Jesus will come again, and his second coming would be the way to restore and fix the world for once at all. I could see no pointing to this in the book and that left me with the impression that the Messiah from 2000 years ago was final, and it is up to us, Christians, to lift the broken posts to show the world how it should function. I for one would fail big in this and so I'll keep praying for His second coming and trust Him to fix those 'signposts'.
  Another thought concerning not only this book: In the past couple of years I am finding typos and mistakes in many books of today, which I did not see in the classics or any books published in the years before. Even here in this one - (page 153 citing a discourse of John 17:15-19) the word 'may' is mistakenly printed 'many'. Just one single letter, but it is there. I am asking: are the editors now so out of reach that even a Bishop can't afford them? Is the role of the editors finished? I know that our brain can read words with mixed letters, even so, shouldn't we care more for editing and should we accept this new approach to printed words? I wonder. (Publisher Harper One of HarperCollins)
• 
  Brandon Carter

  Another really solid book from NT Wright. He has a way of talking about very heady theological concepts that makes them easier and more accessible to the layperson. In this book he does this with John’s Gospel.
  
  Wright draws on Jesus’ story as told in John to discuss seven ideas that are important in our world. These ideas are pictured as signposts pointing to how the world is properly understood. These ideas, or signposts, are justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. Unfortunately, our corrupt world has broken those signposts. Considering all of these ideas through the lens of Jesus gives a glimpse of what the signposts should look like and how we, as His disciples, can go about repairing them. The process is both difficult and counterintuitive, but vital, in Wright’s estimation. I agree.
  
  Wright has something to say for all Christians here, including warnings, no matter which side of the political/theological spectrum one might themselves on. I admire that about him. In a world where conservatives stress doctrine and liberals stress works, Wright reminds us that both matter. We must recognize who Jesus claims to be (and is) and that recognition should motivate us to go into a world and live a life as He would have us live, as His image bearers.
  
  It’s a great book that tackles the current state of the world, as well as the state of Western Christianity, head on. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
  
  
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  Eric

  Anything by N.T. Wright is going to be wonderful and insightful, and this book fits into his pattern. This is really a follow up and further development of themes first voiced in his book Simply Christian. Whereas the original book spoke of 4 things - justice, spirituality, beauty and relationships - that we core yearnings of the human spirit that will reflect the dawning of God's Kingdom on earth, in this book that list is expanded to 7, and each are further developed: justice, love, spirituality, beauty, freedom, truth, and power. Each of these areas are explored and recognized for the "broken signposts" that they are - current realities that do not perfectly point the way to the kingdom, but could. And to illustrate each of these opportunities, Wright uses illustrations from St John's Gospel which offer key insights on each area. As always, I find new things in Scripture that I hadn't noticed or thought of before as I go through a book by N.T. Wright.
  
  While many seem to be abandoning Christianity as a way of making sense of the increasingly complex and technological world we live in, Wright offers a compelling argument that the tenets of Christianity as discussed in the book are needed, and yearned for, today more than ever.
  
  As with all Wright volumes, this one is highly commended.