Ask NT Wright Anything – Episode Summary

Episode: Should we abandon our parents?

Date: October 26, 2025
Hosts: Mike Bird (Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia) & NT Wright (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, UK)
Podcast: Ask NT Wright Anything

Episode Overview

This episode addresses challenging theological and practical questions submitted by listeners, focusing on three main topics:

1. The meaning of Jesus' words about his followers doing "greater works" than him.
2. The significance and controversy of the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed.
3. The tension between devotion to God and family ties, specifically whether Jesus asks us to "abandon" our parents.

Wright and Bird combine scriptural insights, personal anecdotes, and pastoral wisdom to guide listeners through these often difficult topics, encouraging discernment, charity, and fidelity to Jesus.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. "Greater Works Than Jesus": What Did He Mean?

(Starts at 03:18)

• Listener Evelyn Barton asks about John 14:12, where Jesus says his followers will do "greater works." As a recovering Pentecostal, she wonders if this calls her to miracles beyond Jesus, which she finds daunting.

NT Wright's Response

• The text "hits ordinary people...in the face" since Jesus' works seem insurmountable.

  "I'm not quite sure what Jesus had in mind when he said greater works than these, but I am 100% sure that he didn't mean lesser works than these will ye do because I go to the Father." (Tom Wright, 05:21)

• The key is found in “because I go to the Father.”

  • With Jesus' ascension, his “followers through the power of his Spirit” are empowered for a global mission, which Jesus in his earthly ministry did not undertake directly.
  • Jesus' ministry was localized; the church goes worldwide, building diverse communities unimaginable in first-century Palestine.

• Building inclusive communities (Jew and Gentile, slave and free) is a form of these "greater works."

  • Paul and Barnabas' diverse congregations are “extraordinary tasks… something that Jesus had not attempted to do.”
  • Jesus' mission was Israel-focused, but the church brings the blessing to all nations (echoing Abrahamic promise).

Mike Bird's Contribution

• Connects the sending of the Holy Spirit (John 7) to the ability of the church to reach “the ends of the earth.”

  "You're part of the church that's done great things and continues to do."
  (Mike Bird, 10:29)

• Reassures Evelyn: She doesn't need to perform dramatic miracles to be included in Jesus' promise.

Memorable Moment

• On the scale of the church after Jesus:

  "You couldn't have foreseen that when Jesus was in the upper room with the disciples. But that's where we are…"
  (Tom Wright, 11:26)

2. Does the Filioque Clause Matter?

(Starts at 11:29)

• Listener John Anderson asks about the line "and the Son" (filioque) in the Nicene Creed: Is it theologically correct? Did the Western church have the right to change the Creed?

Church History Recap (by Mike Bird)

• Original Creed: The Spirit proceeds from the Father.
• "And the Son" added in the West, partly to strengthen Jesus’ divinity in response to Arianism.
• Formalized in 1014; East and West split over the change.

NT Wright's Analysis

• The real issue is church unity, not just wording:

  "Ever since that time a thousand years ago, the Greek church has looked across at its sister in Rome and said, how come you just change the rules?"
  (Tom Wright, 13:58)

• Unity and Charity:

  • Christian unity should have prevented unilateral changes.
  • References Philippians 2 and Ephesians 4 on striving for unity.

• Personal Note:

  • The Scottish Episcopal Church omits the filioque, aiming for solidarity with the early church.
  • Cultural dynamics also affect church decisions.

• Theological Complexity:

  • Both "Father and Son" and "Father alone" as senders of the Spirit can be justified scripturally (see John 14–16); theological models are attempts to capture the mysterious Trinity.

  "My own hunch is that both those models are simply later philosophical ways of trying to say the really mysterious thing which the New Testament does say."
  (Tom Wright, 17:25)

• Pastoral Guidance:

  • Urges focus on charity and unity more than metaphysical technicalities.
  • Prayer and practical Christian living matter more than perfect doctrinal formulations.

Mike Bird's Emphasis

• Theologically, "from the Father and the Son" guards against any route to the Holy Spirit that avoids Jesus.
• However, changing the Creed was like “someone coming to your house and changing the Wi-Fi password.”

Notable & Lighthearted Moments

• Theology joke about "Repeal the Filioque clause" protest sign when Pope Benedict visited the UK.

  "It is the most theological joke...99% of people did not even know."
  (Mike Bird, 22:37)

• Wright: “Creeds are not meant to cover everything. If they were, they would be as long as Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics or longer. Happily, we don't read the whole of the Dogmatics every Sunday morning in church. We just say the Creed.”
  (Tom Wright, 23:36)

3. Should We "Abandon" Our Parents to Follow Jesus?

(Starts at 24:15)

• Listener Holly Wajenberg asks:
  • How can she emotionally love God above her parents, when God feels distant and her parents are her real caregivers?
  • Is it truly required to be ready to give up family for God, when God “wasn’t the one who stayed up to rub my back when I was feeling bad or read me stories when I was a child?”
  • How to develop an emotional connection with a “God who refuses to talk back?”

NT Wright’s Thoughtful Response

• Acknowledges the goodness of Holly’s loving family, but notes the radical challenge in Jesus’ words about discipleship—especially given the centrality of family in his original cultural context.

• Cites the parable of the prodigal son and Jesus' sayings (e.g., "let the dead bury their dead," Mark 10).

• The call to follow Jesus isn’t a universal command to abandon parents, but a call to ultimate allegiance:

  "It doesn't say everyone must under all circumstances abandon parents...it's that Jesus himself is the one who claims our ultimate allegiance."
  (Tom Wright, 26:32)

• God has “spoken to us in and through Jesus”; Jesus is not a "silent" God. Our Western culture may default to imagining a distant God, but the New Testament presents a God who comes near and speaks.

• Discipleship sometimes requires hard choices when loyalties clash, but the commandment to honor parents stands unless it directly conflicts with following Christ.

  "If honoring your father and mother meant that you could say, therefore I’m not gonna bother following Jesus...then hang on...we’ve got to do some work here." (Tom Wright, 29:00)

• The challenge requires “prayer and discernment... with good pastoral, wise, discerning counsel.”

Mike Bird’s Pastoral Perspective

• Balancing love for family and God is about proper ordering (“disordered loves” if priorities are wrong).
• Shares personal anecdote:

  "When I told my parents I was leaving the army to go into Christian ministry, they weren't terribly pleased with me. They thought it was a stupid idea...But...I did have to go against my parents because they didn’t like what I was doing."
  (Mike Bird, 31:50)

Further Reflections

• Wright shares a friend's similar story and his own experience convincing parents of his academic path. Reaffirms the complexity but also hope for eventual reconciliation.

• Jesus invites us to ask for his living presence; he is not truly absent.

Selected Memorable Quotes

• "You couldn't have foreseen that when Jesus was in the upper room with the disciples. But that's where we are…"
  (Tom Wright, 11:26)

• "We are in a family which respects and trusts and loves one another. And families that do that don't just start doing these things unilaterally."
  (Tom Wright, 14:23, on the church and creeds)

• "Creeds are not meant to cover everything. ... Happily, we don't read the whole of the Dogmatics every Sunday morning in church. We just say the Creed."
  (Tom Wright, 23:36)

• "Our culture has tended still to be a sort of 18th-century deist culture... But the whole point of the biblical trinitarian vision is that no, the God who made the world has come forward to meet us in the person of His Son, in Jesus."
  (Tom Wright, 27:35)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 03:18 – “Greater works than Jesus” (John 14:12), Evelyn’s question
• 09:38 – Mike and Tom’s practical conclusion on “greater works”
• 11:29 – The filioque clause historical and theological discussion
• 17:25 – NT Wright on Trinity models and practical unity
• 22:37 – Bird’s filioque joke and further commentary
• 24:15 – Holly’s question: God vs. parental love, emotional connection, and allegiance
• 26:32 – Wright’s response on ultimate allegiance
• 29:00 – Conflict between honoring parents and following Jesus
• 31:50 – Bird’s personal story of faith vs. parental expectations

Closing Thoughts

Wright and Bird emphasize spiritual discernment, Christian unity, and pastoral sensitivity. They both recognize the emotional and theological difficulties of these questions, arguing for nuanced, thoughtful responses rather than simplistic answers. Their stories and humor make abstract doctrines personal and relatable, encouraging listeners to wrestle honestly with faith’s challenges—always, as Wright says, “in prayer and with good counsel.”

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