Simply Jesus (Udemy.com)

So thankful for this deep dive. For the Gospels being broken down in such an approachable form. Wonderful way to dig further into the Word of God and receive more understanding of the full context of scripture.

Falamos muito sobre Jesus hoje em dia, mas será que o conhecemos realmente? N.T. Wright nos mostra o fruto de décadas de pesquisa sobre o Jesus histórico e, ao mesmo tempo, a profundidade da sua fé nesse mesmo Jesus. Saímos do curso renovados e cheios de esperança naquele que, sendo o ápice da história de Israel, morreu numa cruz e ressuscitou vencendo a morte e criando um mundo novo.

I'm excited to learn from a knowledgeable scholar who is going to bring the two disciplines of history and theology together. I'm ready to learn about the real Jesus! Half way through and I'm amazed at the new and different perspective I'm hearing about the scriptures. I've been a part of a church for most of my life, but as I progress through this study, the scales seem to be slowly falling from my eyes. Now that I have finished the course, I pray that God will work through me and that I can play a small part in ushering in God's kingdom here. May thy will be done on earth as in heaven. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to listen and learn from Professor Wright! Thank You!

There are a few areas where Dr. N.T. Wright wasn't as clear as I think he could have been. That is why I received 7 out of 9 quiz questions correct the first time, the second time, and I think the third in the same quiz. It wasn't until the 4th time taking the quiz I reached 9 out of 9 correct. In the 2nd, 3rd times taking the quiz, I kept getting the same two questions wrong, even though I listen to the lecture over and over again. Those points, I felt, weren't clear either in the lecture, or in the way the quiz questions were written. The questions I got wrong were the True and False questions. After knowing I got two questions wrong, with a 50% chance to get them right, I still got them wrong a number of times. I love N.T. Wright, his lectures and his books. I really think he "gets it". "He gets it", is the phrase my wife uses when she and I feel a minister or parishioner really understands Jesus' message and God's revelation in her and our opinion. We think Rev. Adam Hamilton also is one who "gets it" in contrast to ministers that preach and just don't fully grasp the revolutionary message of God in the Old and New Testaments. We listen to Dr. Wright and Rev. Adam Hamilton as much as we can, even though they live in different parts of the world and country than we do. Preachers that don't get it are preachers who, in our opinion, preach for instance that God is a God that wants us all to prosper financially or ones that say the Christian hope is that we can one day live on clouds playing harps and singing endlessly for eternity. They may be believers who believe the world will come to an end with fire and brimstone earth being destroyed and we will be with God having spiritual formless bodies. Ministers that don't "get it" may believe Jesus was just a prophet or that he wasn't resurrected, it is just a myth. Dr. Tom Wright does "get it". He has confirmed my beliefs and taught me many things I have never seen or connected with the New and Old Testaments. I also like Reverend Wright's sense of humor. He is quite engaging.

This was not simple Jesus. Quite the contrary. This course reviled just how complex Jesus is and how we need to see Him in context, within the world view of a first century jew. I now think that I understand just how new creation has begun and the Kingdom project inaugurated with the enthronement of Jesus as our King. New creation begins with the infilling of the Holy Spirit and works it's way out into the world as we worship the Lord.

Having grown up within several denominational expressions of "church," (namely, "Charisamtic/Non-Denom, Baptist, Assemblies of God) and now finally a confirmed Anglican in my late-twenties and early thirties, my formative experiences of Scripture and theology were not unlike all the simple, cursory mainline Evangelical understandings of who Jesus was/is and why He came. N.T. Wright first caught my attention as a voice I should be harkening to early into my life in the Anglican church, with "Surprised by Hope." That was several years ago, and now recently my desire to return to Scripture for a deeper look at the basics of who Christ is (also partly in preparation for a possible discernment process and seminary) has led me to this course, as well as to the text of "Simply Jesus" and Wright's own "Kingdom New Testament" translation. I trust Wright's gut and intuition, knowing that he has studied the whole of Scripture as well as other historical texts with the aim of finding out for himself what our Christian narrative is all about, who God is in Christ, indeed, who Jesus was/is, and how that all fits together with the story of Israel and God's redemptive work in the world and in the cosmos.

I am more comfortable in listening to his interpretations, than me reading it by my own. NT wright, though he can overload me with information, has done enough research for me to trust his views. I plan to keep exploring this website in order to reach the point of fully grasping the message. At the end of the course, I have learned some major things: you cannot read the gospels without having a clear backdrop or root system in the old testament because in jesus time that was what the people acknowledged as the highest.

First I did the Philemon Course as a try out, now the Simply Jesus Course as an introduction to the N.T. Wright 'Renewing minds trough biblical teaching'. Wright's energetic presentation somehow looks like a storm in itself - a rich storm. Finishing this course there's the ongoing inspiration to take time to think. (In contrast with Belle Brigade/Bob Dylan No time to think). Thanks.

Tom Wilson >>>>>+Willem 67Athum Very well said. I especially like this bit: "No god that demands it's followers have blind faith is worthy of worshipping, belief or respect." (Paraphrasing, of course)

The Simply Jesus course is amazing! The need to comprehend the scriptures / Jesus is much needed in today's society. Dr. Wright is like a scriptural chiropractor, as he teaches his students the foundational meaning of the bible through the 1st century writers. I found his way of teaching very easy to comprehend. There is so much to absorb that I found myself taking pages of notes. The only downside (if any), would be that some of the quiz questions were a little confusing to answer correctly. Although, that could just be me. I think this course could be a great bible study tool for small groups too.