Is Christian History objectively bad?

Ask NT Wright Anything

Premier Unbelievable

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, History

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Was Christianity bad for the world? How should we talk honestly about the Crusades, colonialism, slavery, sectarian wars — and the church’s failures — without pretending the record is clean? In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird respond to three big questions: Is Christianity bad? Tom argues we must acknowledge the church’s worst moments without defensiveness, while also recognizing how Christian moral vision reshaped the conscience of the wider world. Also on today's episode listener's ask whether the “coming of the Son of Man” in Matthew 24 is about Jesus returning, or Jesus being enthroned? Tom points us to Daniel 7, showing why many “coming” passages are actually about vindication, authority, and enthronement rather than a literal end-of-the-world timetable.Finally Mike and Tom look at why isn’t Israel saved? Tom works through Romans 9–11, rejecting replacement theology and explaining Paul’s grief, the “remnant,” the grafting-in image, and the difficult phrase “all Israel will be saved.” Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here (Embed URL: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10)SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefeFacebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:02.1	Welcome to another episode of Ask Anteerrite Anything, the program where we try to answer your
1:08.2	questions about Jesus, the Bible and the life of faith. And I'm here
1:13.6	in London with Tom Wright. No more podcast recording for us, Tom. We are in person. No Zoom, no ether,
1:23.1	no virtual world. We're face-to-face, Tom, in London. And I was trying to figure out when we last actually met face-to-face, and I think it was actually something like five or six years ago. I know. Extraordinary, because we talk online such a lot. But it's very good to be here and, as you say, to see the new studios taking shape and got a lot of intriguing questions lined up, which we do. Yeah, quite challenging.
1:47.9	Yeah, I think we must have seen each other like three British prime ministers ago,
1:51.6	which could be at least a week, depending on what's happening in the news. And in these
1:57.8	wonderful posh new facilities that premieres, it's fantastic. So many great
2:03.4	things. I mean, you can still smell the fresh paint. Yeah, but you're right, Tom. We've got
2:07.6	great questions this week on, is Christianity bad? What's the deal with the coming of the
2:14.3	son of man? And why isn't all Israel saved? So let's jump straight into it.
	...

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