When one is feeling particularly dismal, it's always good to have a book with a title like "Surprised by Hope" on hand. I prefer to be "Surprised by Joy," but hope is quite nice. Especially when hope is presented by N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham. I must admit that I have not read much Wright in the past, but when I given an uncorrected proof of this book, I decided to meet it as a challenge. Theology may become dry, but discovering typos never gets old. Not that finding the typos would do any good, as the final version is in print, but it gives me as good a chance as any to imagine myself as an editor.

Thus far, I am enjoying the content more than the typos.

One section hit me in particular. Wright discusses the problem of being either too optimistic or too pessimistic about the present world. I don't think I've ever erred on the optimism side. I study too much history. If we are too optimistic, we place too much importance on this world, and if we are too pessimistic, we place too little. Seems as though faith is about standing on a teeter-totter of paradoxes, but, well, it doesn't just seem that way. It frequently is. Anyhow, I'm doing the best to keep my balance, and Wright is remarkably helpful in this endeavor.