Hanging by a Thread: The Questions of the Cross

by Samuel Wells

Sam Wells reflects on the challenges to our understanding of Christ's crucifixion that arise today. Discussing six biblical stories, he affirms that, in the face of these challenges, the cross has an enduring power to shape how we live.

61 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2016

About the author

Samuel Wells (PhD, University of Durham) is vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican Church at Trafalgar Square in London. He previously served as dean of the chapel and research professor of Christian ethics at Duke University. Wells is the author of several books, including Be Not Afraid, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics, and Transforming Fate into Destiny: The Theological Ethics of Stanley Hauerwas. He also coedited, with Stanley Hauerwas, The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but profound book, to come back to time and again.

[Harry Allagree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short work of 61 pages. It will probably be of interest primarily to Christian believers, but might catch the eye of some skeptics or non-believers. Wells establishes the theme right from the beginning: "There was a time when the cross was an answer...Today the cross is no longer an answer. Today the cross is a question...about God, about existence and about us. In the days when the cross was an answer we didn't need to pay attention because we already knew the answer...that Christianity confirmed everything we already believed about existence. Now that the cross is a question we fear to pay attention because we find the question so frightening and we're terrified to face it because we are afraid it may not have an answer. And our faith will be hanging by a thread." Thus, the book's title.

Wells explores six themes: story & history; the question of knowledge & trust; mortality/death; meaning & purpose; power & its uses; and love as "being with", rather than "being for".

It's a good presentation. Obviously not the last word, given that it's only 61 pages, but a stimulating place to start.

[Nixy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third time I’ve read this book and it goes deeper each time. The now almost ubiquitous and legalistic approach to the cross in orthodox/reformed circles carries too many contradictions.

While amazing prophecies anticipated the suffering servant, many also predicted a warrior king. Jesus’ fulfilment of some but not all prophets suggests that the OT is all too human rather than purely divine or infallible. Before Jesus, some indeed heard that still small voice, while others sought to turn god into their servant, to reward and punish, to justify and underpin their actions. So Jesus had to come to show us the true nature of God. As Dr Wells says, inter alia, that the coming of Jesus was the end of scripture, he reminds us of our fallibility.

While the ancients too often saw God in a 6 mile high pulpit, Jesus joins each of us in our personal cockpit. And that is a truth that sustains. Thank you for pointing us back to the poetry, the mystery, and the depth and breadth of the cross.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Samuel Wells explores the events of Good Friday in light of contemporary challenges. I was moved to tears by his passionate arguments which seemed to expound the way that I think about my own faith and by his powerful statements of conviction. It has become the most highlighted book on my Kindle!
He builds up his arguments throughout only to knock them down again, so that his reader is left hanging by a thread, wondering how the cross can stand up to such scrutiny. This book asks its readers to reconsider their image of Jesus, to ask those questions that trouble them, to strip it all back until all that they're left with is the image of Christ on the cross, and then to find the answer in the beating heart of God.

[Nina Tweddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very slim - only 61 pages long. But it really packs a punch. It is very much in Sam Wells distinct style of delivery. If you have heard him preach before, it is almost like reading an e-book - his voice comes clear through the pages.

The book describes Sam Wells's distinct view of faith & Christianity and I think it aimed primarily at people who would describe themselves as Christian, but he then challenges the way they may view God, and also the way the Church as an entity has encouraged us to consider God. It certainly challenged me and this is a book I will have to re-read a number of times before I can confidently say what effect it has had.

[Peter Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Wells has written a wonderful brief reflection on "The Questions of the Cross." I so enjoyed the book, and will be offering it as one of my recommended books for my parishioners from our church to read this Lent. Marvelous reflections.

[Jdshankles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be one of my favorite books on the cross. At 60 pages, I might read it every Lent.

[Erin Goettsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is accessible, and really smart and thoughtful. Excellent Lent read, way better than the title/cover would indicate.

[Bryony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on the atonement I've ever read.