Well-known Biblical scholar, N. T. Wright is releasing a new book which he says is meant to "help you to understand how we are to talk about God, how we are to live in the present pandemic, how we recover from it, and what is the church’s calling in the midst of it all."

Initially, Wright says in a video posted online, he was hesitant to write a book on this topic. However, he says, "I found myself involved more and more in conversations with people saying, 'What is God doing?' and 'Is this a sign of the end?' and 'What does the Bible say about it?'"

Engaging in these constant conversations of a virus spread over the earth drove the author to go even deeper into the Bible and share what he found. 

As Wright reflected on the life and death of Jesus Christ, alongside the many other disasters that took place in the Bible, he saw a pattern.

In the book, Wright shares three questions that the disciples of the early church asked when they faced a calamity. They were:

  1. Who is going to be most at risk?
  2. What needs to be done to help?
  3. Who can we send? 

Wright believes there is a time to mourn and lament alongside those who are being affected, whether it be from coronavirus or something else. 

"Out of that lament, which we are called to share, then there is a call to action," he says. "But we can't just jump straight into that, the knee-jerk reactions. We've got to spend time prayerfully in that lament." 

He thinks this viewpoint of stepping into the pain first, allows Christians the compassion needed to be a light in this present time of the global pandemic. 

The audio and eBooks of God and the Pandemic will be available by June 2, with the paperback for sale on July 7.