View source for The Universe and Life but Not Everything by Anthony Christian Wright

{{infobox1
|title=The Universe and Life but Not Everything
|sort=Universe and Life but Not Everything
|author=Anthony Christian Wright 
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Spirituality and Religion
|summary=Anthony Christian Wright outlines his theory of the creation of the universe, using science, but which just happens to match an old one—the original one from Genesis in the Bible.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=140
|publisher=AuthorHouse
|website=
|date=June 2017
|isbn=1524682012 
|cover=Wright_Universe
|aznuk=1524682012
|aznus=1524682012
}}

I often wonder - usually after a moment of shaking my fist at the news on TV - what my manifesto for life and society would look like were I to write it down. I have all sorts of thoughts about these things, from the metaphysics of who we are and where we come from, right down to detailed critiques of quite insignificant government policies. I've never done such an exercise - mostly because I lack the time, the patience and the diligence required. It seems like an enormous task.

So I'm going to give a great deal of kudos to Anthony Christian Wright, who has had the discipline to do exactly this - ''The Universe and Life but Not Everything'' is the result.

The book begins with Wright's analysis of the birth of the universe. His is an intelligent design theory - using one universal law to explain the methods God used. In Wright's view, the universe was created not by a Big Bang but by a Slow Push. He also speaks of the Earth's ring of physical defences and how they are metaphorically explained in the Bible. It's a lengthy and very detailed analysis and much thought has clearly gone into it.

The second third of the book is taken up with Wright's personal manifesto, as it were. It covers everything you could think of: childbirth, health, debt, education, taxation, policing, even accounting practices. As you'd expect, I agreed with some of it - particularly Wright's views on poverty and indebtedness, which I too consider to be holding the whole of society back in a completely unnecessary way. And I disagreed with some of it, too - I am not in favour of corporal punishment of children for example, which Wright is. This second part of the book ends with an overview of the main organised religions - Wright is a considerable student of faith and I liked his curiosity and willingness to listen to others here.

The final section of ''The Universe and Life but Not Everything'' contains a commentary on the New Testament and the life of Jesus Christ. I'm an atheist myself and so have little to say of my own on this matter but I imagine this section will inspire a great deal of debate and disputation. Wright believes that Christ had secret children and goes into considerable detail on his textual justifications for this conviction. Again, it's clear that the time and thought Wright has put into this work is considerable.

As I said at the outset, I've often thought of trying to outline all things I believe about the world and how it should be but have never dared to try. So I do have a great admiration for Anthony Christian Wright, who not only has had the application and diligence to do just that, but also the courage to bring it to the wider world and invite opinions about it. At the very least, ''The Universe and Life but Not Everything'' will incite a discussion from his readers. And that is a very good thing.

If you're interested in reading about the ways in which Christianity relates to the modern world, you could look at [[Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel by Alexandre Christoyannopoulos]].

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