Chocolate and Cheese - Insights from Tom Wright
Tom Wright is one of my favourite authors.
I like the way he writes.
I like what he writes.
I like his knowledge of original Biblical text, which he so generously shares.
I like his humour.
Every book of his I’ve read has been challenging and informative, teaching me new things.
His latest book (written with Michael F. Bird), Jesus and the Powers, was released yesterday, and it’s on my TBR list. I understand there will be some podcasts on it soon, too - Tom is recording them as we speak.
I recently read Wright’s Into the Heart of Romans.
On the cover, Tom Wright is referred to as ‘Paul’s greatest living interpreter’.
I have no reason to disagree.
The book is, in my opinion, excellent.
Wright takes us behind the Biblical text, exploring the places and people within.
More from Tom here: https://www.admirato.org/courses/heart-of-romans
But what about the man behind the text of Into the Heart of Romans?
What about him, and his approach to writing?
Tom kindly gave us some glimpses:
EO: What’s your favourite colour?
TW: Dark Blue. (OK, I’m an Oxford man)
EO: I’ll let you off! I’ll also highlight your words in dark blue below. How about that…
EO: What made you begin writing?
TW: No idea. Words and music were always present in our house, and writing was as obvious a thing as playing the piano. I suppose at school I enjoyed writing essays for class, and it went from there. My mother, in her 90s, looked at a shelf of my books and said, ‘Well, when you were a little boy, I always said you had too much to say for yourself.’
EO: Don't they say that Mothers are always right…..?!
EO: Which part of the writing process do you enjoy most?
TW: Most of it! I love mapping things out for a book or an article – getting the ground plan done. Once I know where I’m going and get a ‘starter’ – hopefully a lively way into the subject – then it’s fun to watch the metaphors and illustrations arriving and doing business with one another . . . I really like revising, too, tidying things up: computers make that so easy (I well remember in the 1970s when we did everything by hand or old-fashioned typewriter and revising things was a real bore). And I like proofreading, making sure things really say what they should.
EO: Which part of the writing process do you find most challenging?
TW: There are rare occasions when I have a real ‘writer’s block’ and that can be frustrating. Or if an editor says ‘I really like THIS bit but I want you to revise THAT bit quite heavily’ – when I thought I’d got it straight . . . And don’t get me started about copyeditors . . .
EO: What encourages you as you write?
Seeing an argument come together and flow. Often the ‘writer’s luck’ principle of an illustration just happening along and then developing in ways you hadn’t imagined . . .
EO: What advice would you give someone who wanted to write a book?
TW: Bob Dylan said ‘I’ll know my song well before I start singing’. Answer: the years of patient reading round a subject pay dividends . . . don’t be in too much of a hurry. But when you sense that it’s really time to get going, get going . . .
EO: You write as N.T Wright and as Tom Wright. I understand that your N.T books are written in a more academic style than your Tom books? What is it like to write in two different styles?
TW: I don’t really think of it like that. I have various different audiences in mind for various different projects and so it comes out differently. I have tried, though, to make my more ‘academic’ books readable, and to make my less academic books nevertheless rigorously thought through, even if all the detailed working isn’t visible.
EO: Some helpful and encouraging writer-food for thought there.
What about food-food.....do you prefer chocolate or cheese?
TW: Close choice, but chocolate just wins. Except it’s Lent just now. And actually I’m a both/and sort of person: have you ever tried a cheese sandwich with dark chocolate added?
EO: I haven’t. But if it fuels you, perhaps we’ll make it the official ACW diet!
EO: Tell me a favourite Bible verse, and why?
TW: 2 Cor 5.21 – when properly understood!! God made Jesus (who knew no sin) to be sin for us, so that in him we might become, might embody, God’s covenant faithfulness. I know that’s not the usual translation but it’s what Paul meant; check out the Isaiah background to the next couple of verses, where the Servant is given as a covenant to the people. Christian ministry consists of being set free from sin so that we can embody, before the world, as Paul did, the fact that the creator God is faithful to his covenant. That has been a real encouragement to me over the years.
EO: Thank you. That's a really helpful insight to that verse for me, and I'm sure for others, too.
EO: Thank you so much for talking to me, Tom.
How can we, ACW, pray for you?
TW: Thank you! For health and strength. For the family, esp. my two daughters, now in their 40s, both battling long term health issues. For Maggie and me moving half our belongings up to our new home on the Isle of Harris . . .
Father God,
Thank You for Tom. Thank You for his kindness, and for Your gifting in him. Thank You for his incredible learning and knowledge, and the way he shares that through his writing and speaking. He blesses so many. Please bless him in return, and equip him with the strength he needs; in every way.
We pray for his new book, that it will really help and encourage people.
We pray for Tom’s family, particularly thinking of his daughters. Father, You know. Please send them something that brings them joy today.
We pray for Maggie and Tom. Thank You for their ministry. Please help the move be as smooth as possible, and bless them both in their new home.
Great is Your faithfulness.
Amen