God and the Pandemic" by N. T. Wright is a book that will provide you with comfort, and hope. It tells us of God's sovereignty, it talks about God's plans.

I love that the author added verses to back up what he was saying in this book.

"God and the Pandemic" by N. T. Wright is a profound and timely exploration of the theological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wright masterfully weaves together biblical wisdom, theological insight, and compassionate reflection to address the profound questions raised by the global crisis. The book's positive aspect lies in its ability to provide hope, comfort, and a fresh perspective on the intersection of God's sovereignty and human suffering. However, some readers may find the theological discussions dense and challenging to navigate without a strong background in Christian theology. Nevertheless, "God and the Pandemic" offers a valuable resource for those seeking a deeper understanding of faith in the midst of crisis, guiding readers toward a more profound trust in God's purposes even in times of uncertainty.

Helpful book exploring God's hand in the pandemic. It walks a fine line between God being sovereign and God being good.

This short book provides a helpful perspective on the COVID 19 pandemic, tackling some of the understandable questions that many have been asking over the last year and a half: Why did it happen? Is God saying something to us through it?
I confess that I struggled with many of the overly simplistic answers many Christians seemed to be giving to these kinds of questions at the height of the pandemic and I hesitated to read this book, fearing it would be more of the same.
On the contrary, N.T. Wright provides no easy answers and warns against jumping too quickly to spiritual answers. He urges readers to keep the big picture of Scripture in mind and to keep focused on Jesus rather than drawing too much from one event.. He encourages lament and honesty with God, he provides helpful reflections on the interaction between God's sovereignty and human free will, and encourages us not merely to get stuck in the question of "why?" but to seek how God wants us to respond.
I'd highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to explore a Christian perspective on the pandemic. It's particularly impressive that it was written at the height of the pandemic in April 2020, but still incredibly helpful a year on.

A year into the pandemic, and almost a year since this title was published, I wondered if it would still feel relevant. It does, partly because we are all still trying to process this virus that has disrupted the whole world and partly because the questions Wright addresses about God and disease are more universal than just related to Covid-19. While he addresses questions about why God allows deadly plagues, he doesn't give answers. Rather, he calls Christians to lament and prayer and to action. A quote I loved: "...when the world is going through great convulsions, the followers of Jesus are called to be people of prayer at the place where the world is in pain." And a question to ponder: "What, in particular, might it mean to say that 'as Jesus was to Israel, so the Church should be for the world'?" A book I could already reread.

This short book provides encouragement during a trying time. The author puts the current pandemic into perspective and reminds Christians that difficult times are also part of God’s plan.

This is a great look on the Pandemic and us as Christians. How we’re responding to it and others. I agree with the author N.T. Wright about understanding those who don’t want to shut down churches indefinitely. It could lead to a “silent” worship in our nation and the world. But we have to be safe also, because it’s a disease where you can be a carrier of it and not know. So we have to worship at safe distances, but we have to keep in mind to not let the secular world silence us, because they would like that. Many in the secular world would like to silence us. They’ve been trying to do it for many many years. But God doesn’t work just inside a building. He is everywhere and Christians/and the church need to be too. We need to reach out to the sick, dying, heartbroken, poor, from a safe distance, but do it. We need to keep doing as Jesus said, but safely. And our prayer life should be much stronger than it ever has been. I love this quote from the book “The garden is far less likely to grow weeds if we have been planting flowers” Keep planting flowers safely and we maybe can keep out the weeds that would destroy the flowers if they could. This book says so much more. You just have to read it. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read #GodandthePandemic and review with my honest opinion.

I did spend much of my time reading this book wondering whether it was an 80-page subtweet at John Piper’s “Coronavirus and Christ”--but even with that, it’s a lovely little book. As Wright reminds us, Jesus is not one for “vending machine theology” (sin in, punishment out), and we are called to work with God for good: in pandemic times and in all other times.

A short but very important read. I’m thankful for Wright’s words on the matter. I appreciate his careful explanation of how God loves us, even in a pandemic. Please try to read this book of you have the chance!

NT Wright expands on his Time Magazine article with typical thoughtfulness and non-defensiveness as he reasons his way through understanding how we think about God in light of tragedy, specifically in the current COVID pandemic. An easy to read, quick book with depth that goes beyond a typical book of this length addressing current events.

N.T. Wright explores the story of Christ through the lens of a pandemic and how God's promises remain true.

Presented with Wright's wisdom and sound approach, this is a timely and necessary book for our times. For many, the covid19 pandemic has created a world of anxiety that is unpredictable and frightening. For us, our friends, our family. With numbers of cases growing and the death rate rising, it is important to take hold of some core truths. I found that being able to articulate some of his ideas to friends was really key and I am grateful for that opportunity. Thank you for such a pertinent read.

The year 2020 will be best remembered as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the earliest books reflecting on a Christian response is John Piper's "Coronavirus and Christ." In that book, Piper offers six answers; that we should remember God is still at work; that he rules; that we ought to repent while we can; and that we should not lose hope. Our hope is not in odds or in healing but in Christ alone. However, as a reader, I sense that book seems to be written in a hurry to be published at the start of a worldwide lockdown earlier this year.

Instead of asking why, author and theologian NT Wright helps us deal with the question of what we could do. Like how Christ put his own life on the line for us, we ought to find ways to help one another as much as we could. Wright puts it very well that we ought not to be stoics just to fit into the system. Neither should we be like Epicureans who just accept the random things in life and just enjoy whatever we have left. He also cautions us against taking the platonic lifestyle that seems to elevate the afterlife over and above our present world. Worse, some people would even jump to conclusions to play the blame game. The two superpowers are famously at each other's throats with regard to assigning blame regarding the virus origins. Some would even claim the pandemic as the Armageddon. This book is to offer a Christian alternative to such philosophies that many of us practice unwittingly. Like any good biblical scholar, Wright begins with the Word of God.

From the Old Testament, there are lots of prophetic statements with regard to a cause-and-effect explanation of disasters and pandemics. In Exodus, the Egyptians were punished because of their open defiance of God. In Amos, the Israelites suffered because they repeatedly failed to return to the LORD in repentance. It is thus easy to jump to conclusions about a similar explanation for our modern situation. Wright reminds us that both action and inaction have consequences. While the Bible has instances of retributive justice, not all circumstances occur in the same context. There are mysteries yet to be revealed, such as the suffering of Job. In fact, Wright points out that the book of Job does not even have a "resolution." Being able to deal with unresolved questions brings us to the place of lament. It calls for patient waiting and optimism that things will one day get better. Quickly, Wright moves on the the Person of Christ, in whom many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled.

From the gospels, we read about Jesus addressing some of the questions surrounding disasters in Luke 13:1-9; the sign of Jonah; and the reasons why the man was born blind (John 9). We are urged to look beyond the surface of physical tragedies to deal with a deeper "anti-kingdom forces" at work. Wright is showing us the way in terms of Christian living. We should not be paralyzed into inaction because we don't understand the reasons for the pandemic. Instead, we should do our best to do something positive in the light of much negativity. During the first century, Jesus was constantly pointing people to a future in him. How do we interpret the signs? Wright challenges us to learn to adopt a discerning attitude to ponder upon the words of Jesus and to trust that in due time, we will know the answers that we need to know.

From the New Testament, Wright skillfully weaves together the lessons from the whole Bible, to identify patterns then and how they could inform or shape our present responses to the pandemic. Three questions form the gist of the non-knee jerk reactions.

1) Who is going to be at special risk when this happens?
2) What can we do to help?
3) And who shall we send?

Wright then goes on to spell out our need to lament; how we can talk about God; how then do we live; and how we could recover from our present malaise.

My Thoughts
==============
Wright is absolutely spot on when he cautions us from adopting quick-fix knee-jerk reactions to the current pandemic. In fact, it is not just the pandemic but the nature of human beings to react to problems by asking the why question. Whether earthquakes or tsunamis, floods or wildfires, or human problems like massacre, shootings, tragedies, etc, the question of why will almost almost pop up. When that happens, instead of conserving our resources toward constructive rebuilding, we play the blame game. Some might even blame God. Such thinking triggers all kinds of irrational conclusions which are either over-simplistic or fail to recognize the nature of mysteries. For every question that poses the why, there is a corresponding reaction that says "What if it is not?" Superficial binary answers will fail to accommodate the multiple perspectives in between because of the differences of contexts. I am glad that the author begins with the cautionary note for us not to jump to quick answers but to appreciate the questions.

We need to learn the art of waiting and to lament while we are still in the midst of the pandemic. So what if we know the answers to the why question? That does not solve our present crisis and need for a vaccine. Perhaps there are positive lessons that we could learn. The pandemic could be an opportunity for us to bring about a positive change in mindset. For instance, we are observing better hygienic habits and community awareness through social distancing. We learn to better appreciate our normal activities of the past like global travel, going to the office, interacting with people in public, going out to a restaurant, enjoying singing in church, and so on. Many of these things are taken for granted, until the pandemic hits. I would say that many people are longing to go back to the "normal days." Unfortunately, we might not see that for a while. We might have to bear with a new normal, whatever that normal is.

I appreciate Wright's cautiously optimistic approach not to give quick-fix answers but to show us practical ways in which we can think about God, about the pandemic, and what we could do during this time. When we distance ourselves from any sort of theodicy or over-analysis, we would be better placed to see the bigger picture of what it means to live better as a community.

Nicholas Thomas Wright is Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and was formerly Bishop of Durham in England. His books include How God Became King, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, Jesus and the Victory of God, and Paul and the Faithfulness of God, as well as the New Testament for Everyone commentary series & Bible translation.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Zondervan and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

N.T. Wright brings his experience as a theologian and bishop to bear in evaluating what he believes an authentic Christian response to the COVID-19 pandemic should be. Readers familiar with Wright will readily pick up on fundamental principles he’s laid forth in more comprehensive works. Here he readily applies them to a concrete situation, showing the coherence and applicability of his larger endeavor. Wright aims to deconstruct two popular Christian responses related to COVID: last days and punishment for sin. Most fundamentally he points to Christ’s Incarnation and Pascal Mystery as being the definitive heralding and call to repentance events, not plagues, wars or famines. He then explores the role of lament and prayer as proper responses, a Jobian posture of faith seeking understanding while dwelling in mystery. While the work has valuable insights, the reader might disagree with some of Wright’s proposals or desire a more comprehensive treatment.

As one would expect from a book written quickly at the beginning of a global catastrophe, <i>God and the Pandemic</i> is not a particularly profound book, nor did it address the wider social implications that arose because of the virus. That being said, the author writes in a conversational and accessible way while discussing passages from the bible that help our understanding of how to think of and live through hard times—such as the Coronavirus. Although this book addresses the pandemic by name, it really is applicable to any catastrophe. As Wright points out, this is the only global pandemic <i>that we have lived through</i>, but humans have short memories and we tend not to consider those things which happened before we were alive. Wright’s book will be helpful for those looking for comfort during this time by simply exploring scripture and dismissing apocalyptic theories, but I imagine we’ll have to wait until the Coronavirus has played out to a get a book that explores it in depth.

My first encounter with N.T. (Tom) Wright was when I had to read his book New Testament and the People of God in four weeks as a beginning undergrad in Theology. My experience with that book has two distinctives, first, I found myself unbelievably tired and further almost two years later, I've yet to progress more than halfway through the book. However for those familiar with Wright's popular level material, including the brilliant podcast "Ask NT Wright Anything" podcast which is number three on our list of top 5 podcasts that are a bit more practical or accessible, you'll be familiar with Wright's passioned tone backed by his years of Anglican ministry.

This book may, unhelpfully, be named as the only application from Wright is within this current pandemic; however, while the main application and correction posed to the church is appropriate for this time it is nonetheless applicable beyond this time. This book will have a shelf life that extends into the future particularly whenever, in the comfortable Western World, we are confronted with our morality and lack of control over all aspects of life. When Tom works through the Old Testament in this book, he moves through several passages and psalms sometimes simply providing the reference alongside a brief synopsis, which drives readers back to the Bible as the central text. Different people in this time have different approaches to 'medical language' particularly pandemic, and thus people may indicate an issue with the vocabulary "proto-virus called 'idolatry and injustice'" however this may not be the case after this specific season and thus may be helpful for those reading in reflection. Even in light of this, Wright's tone is warm and pastoral with an emotional and passionate forcefulness behind it and it makes this book a wonder to read.

I was provided a digital copy of the book through NetGalley, but all thoughts included are my own.

I. Love. N. T. Wright's books. I've watched enough videos of him to sufficiently read the book in my head with his delightful British accent, not to mention enjoy the dry British sense of humor (is that where I got it from, being part English *and* Scottish myself?!). I may have jumped a little too much when I saw this book up on NetGalley for review.

Not my first Wright book, nor the last. I love his approachable style of writing and that he doesn't pull any punches!

For such a small book (87 pages), I sure found a lot to mark; my Kindle app informs me I have 75 highlights! Suffice to say, it's probably entirely too colorful (and I love it).

Wright does a fantastic job in "God and the Pandemic" at:
- recognizing both ends of the spectrum in overall Christian response to the covid-19 pandemic
- working to point the reader back to Christ and Scripture through it all
- asking pointed questions both for now and for "where do we go from here?"

I thoroughly appreciated Wright's expounding on the Old *and* New Testaments, particularly through the lens of the Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46). "If there is One God, and if he has come in the person of his own son to unveil his rescuing purposes for the world, then there can be no other signs, no other warning events, to compare with this one" (loc. 287, Kindle eARC). In that vein, from just a page or two before, "Trying to jump from [any event] to a conclusion about 'what God is saying here' without going through the Gospel story is to make the basic theological mistake of trying to deduce something about God while going behind Jesus' back" (loc. 280, Kindle eARC). I pray I deduce things about God properly, through the lens of Christ.

I found the book to be encouraging, helpful in talking me off the "omw rona" ledge (often a brink I find myself on after being on social media for any length of time), rooted in Scripture, and practical in its application. And now ... to actually apply what I read!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

How should Christians respond to the Coronavirus? How does it fit in with our worldview and how should we interpret it? There are many reactions out there right now, from conspiracy theories, interpreting Corona as a last call to repentance before the rapture, a punishment for our disobedience to masks being a satanic preparation to launch a dictatorship.

In his book, N.T. Wright attempts to put Covid into perspective. And I really liked how he refuted some of the wilder claims about Covid out there and tries to shift the conversation from the reasons for the current crisis to what we as Christians can do about it. However, I was a bit confused about his suggestion that right now is a time to lament. I felt as if he missed the potential that Christians have right now to reach people in new ways, rethink church structures and provide hope.

He also seems to reject the idea that God is in control or at least attempts to redefine it and is painting a picture of a sad God that is almost helpless in the current situation. While the first half of his arguments where he countered speculation and other claims about the significance of Covid was really good, he completely lost me in the second half.

Overall, it was a quick and easily comprehensible book which might serve as a great conversation starter, but the theology did not convince me.

I was given a copy of this book to review.

Bishop Wright has written a detailed and more than an understanding of how to view the COVID crisis. Many people see a crisis via their own worldview or from authors. Bishop Wright states that we need to use the worldview of Jesus instead.

I remain thankful for voices like that of N.T. Wright. Having theologians living through our times and being willing to bring their insights and truth into current situations like the pandemic is a gift. Jumping off an article written for Time magazine where Wright was shaping the response to the pandemic through the lens of lament is a quick and readable book. While not as in-depth as some of his other books, his reminders throughout that our hope does not need to be in this time and place is timely and comforting. If you need to reframe your thinking as the spread of this virus continues, be sure to pick up this book.