Surprised by hope : rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church / N. T. Wright.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Setting the Scene -- 1. All Dressed Up and No Place to Go? -- Confusion about Hope: The Wider World -- Varieties of Belief -- 2. Puzzled About Paradise? -- Christian Confusion About Hope -- Exploring the Options -- The Effects of Confusion -- Wider Implications of Confusion -- The Key Questions -- 3. Early Christian Hope in Its Historical Setting -- Resurrection and Life after Death in Ancient Paganism and Judaism -- The Surprising Character of Early Christian Hope -- 4. The Strange Story of Easter -- Stories Without Precedent -- Easter and History -- Part II. God's Future Plan -- 5. Cosmic Future: Progress or Despair? -- Option 1. Evolutionary Optimism -- Option 2. Souls in Transit -- 6. What the Whole World's Waiting For -- Fundamental Structures of Hope -- Seedtime and Harvest -- The Victorious Battle -- Citizens of Heaven, Colonizing the Earth -- God Will Be All in All -- New Birth -- The Marriage of Heaven and Earth -- 7. Jesus, Heaven, and New Creation -- The Ascension -- What About the Second Coming? -- 8. When He Appears -- Coming, Appearing, Revealing, Royal Presence -- 9. Jesus, the Coming Judge -- Second Coming and Judgment -- 10. The Redemption of Our Bodies -- Resurrection: Life After Life After Death -- Resurrection in Corinth -- Resurrection: Later Debates -- Rethinking Resurrection Today: Who, Where, What Why, When, and How -- 11. Purgatory, Paradise, Hell -- Purgatory -- Paradise -- Beyond Hope, Beyond Pity -- Conclusion: Human Goals and New Creation -- Part III. Hope in Practice: Resurrection and the Mission of the Church -- 12. Rethinking Salvation: Heaven, Earth, and the Kingdom of God -- The Meaning of Salvation -- The Kingdom of God -- 13. Building for the Kingdom -- Justice -- Beauty -- Evangelism -- 14. Reshaping the Church for Mission (1): Biblical Roots -- The Gospels and Acts -- Paul -- 15. Reshaping the Church for Mission (2): Living the Future -- Introduction: Celebrating Easter -- Space, Time, and Matter: Creation Redeemed -- Resurrection and Mission -- Resurrection and Spirituality -- Appendix. Two Easter Sermons.