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.” 

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Released on 19 Jan 2026