Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World by N. T. Wright

In 2005, renowned biblical scholar N. T. Wright’s book, Simply Christian, offered readers an introduction to the Christian faith in which Wright examined four themes—justice, spirituality, relationships, and beauty. He described them as “‘echoes of a voice’: when we ponder them, it’s as though we are hearing someone calling from just around the corner, out of sight.” Since then, Wright says, his thinking has developed and he has added three more areas that people also experience as “echoes of this voice—freedom, truth, and power.”   

Wright once considered these seven areas as universal themes, but he has come to see them as signposts: “Signposts name a reality and point us in a direction. Likewise, these seven signposts name realities that all human cultures value as well as pointing beyond themselves to the meaning of life, to the meaning of the world. They indicate, in fact, how we ought to ‘make sense’ of the world—how we ought to understand the way the world is and the challenge of being human within it.” However, Wright points out, because of the fallenness of humanity, these signposts always fail to deliver on what they promise. So, he says, they should be more accurately named broken signposts.  

Wright frames up his exploration of the broken signposts through the lens of the Gospel of John. Clearly and simply written—this isn’t an academic tome; it’s accessible to lay people—Broken Signposts does more than help readers make sense of the world. It also explores ways in which they can “contribute fresh ‘sense’” through how they live their lives and interact with others in their communities. Recommended as an excellent resource for anyone desiring to more fully understand the Christian faith and longing to live more faithfully into the biblical promise of a new creation, initiated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (HarperOne)