1. One student expresses doubt about the significance of the changes Neo describes. Is Neo guilty of what this student sees as every generation's tendancy to perceive itself as living in a pivotal age of historic change and exaggerated importance? Is this an example of Lewis's notion of "chronological snobbery"? (See Chpter Four questions for an explanation of "chronological snobbery".) Discuss Neo's distinction between change and transition. Can you think of specific examples of each?
2. A young woman asks Neo if he is scared by all the talk of change. While affirming the dangers inherent in times of transition, Neo wonders aloud about the danger of simultaneously upholding the status quo. What are the risks of moving forward? What are the risks of maintaining the status quo? Are there other options? What might those be?
3. Even though she couches her question in humor, the same young woman seems more concerned with what she calls "major heresy". Heresy is a loaded and powerful word that can change the entire tone of a conversation by instilling fear. The word heresy is derived from the Greek word hairesis and means "to choose for oneself." It has come to mean departure from accepted or orthodox dogma, or teaching. What has Neo said that makes the young woman fear heresy? Is the word heresy bandied around to freely in Christian circles today? Why or why not?
4. In the modern era, "faith" has often come to mean an accepted set of doctrinal affirmations about Jesus, as opposed to a way of being or behaving in response to Jesus. Do you agree with this assessment?
5. Neo confesses that he believes the Holy Spirit is with us, as Jesus promised, and is leading us into a time of change (pg. 42). How do you respond to Neo's fear of lagging behind the movement of Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Do you see examples of this in the gospels or the Acts of the Apostles? When did Jesus' opponents and even his disciples have a difficult time keeping up with him? What were the issues and activities that distressed them?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Chapter 4 - What A Difference A Worldview Makes
1. At the philosphical heart of this book is the issue of worldviews, or how cultures create mental maps that function as working models of reality. Neo describes the transition from modernity to postmodernity by likening it to the last major worldview transition: from the medieval world to the modern one. Why is is helpful to compare our situation to another as we try to understand our present context?
2. Neo lists seven major factors that contribute to the shift from a medieval world to a modern world (pp. 29-30). Review the broader general categories and the specific event within each category that were transformational for the medieval world. Consider how each of these events are significant individually, and taken together, how they altered people's understanding of reality"?
3. Neo also identified recent events that fit the seven transitional categories (pp. 30-31). Can you think of other specific events of recent years that fit these categories? Why are each of these events significant individually, and taken together, how are they altering our understanding of our own "reality"?
4. Dan is distracted by something Neo says during his talk. He is reminded of a time when one of his theological heroes was criticized, specifically the work of Francis Schaeffer as he sought to articulate "the Christian worldviews". Why is Neo suspicious of such grand aims as Schaeffers?
5. Neo enlists the ideas of C.S. Lewis to illustrated "...how one's subjective posture affects what one sees and 'knows objectively'". What does that mean? Neo's words work to warn us of what Lewis later termed "chronological snobbery", that is, the temptation to think that because something is chronologically more recent, its claims to truth and goodness are automatically of greater value. Is this a significant point? How is modernity guilty of chronological snobbery? How can Lewis's words challenge us in this discussion?
6. Neo concludes by challenging his young audience to get buys building a new ship rather than trying to keep the old one afloat. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
2. Neo lists seven major factors that contribute to the shift from a medieval world to a modern world (pp. 29-30). Review the broader general categories and the specific event within each category that were transformational for the medieval world. Consider how each of these events are significant individually, and taken together, how they altered people's understanding of reality"?
3. Neo also identified recent events that fit the seven transitional categories (pp. 30-31). Can you think of other specific events of recent years that fit these categories? Why are each of these events significant individually, and taken together, how are they altering our understanding of our own "reality"?
4. Dan is distracted by something Neo says during his talk. He is reminded of a time when one of his theological heroes was criticized, specifically the work of Francis Schaeffer as he sought to articulate "the Christian worldviews". Why is Neo suspicious of such grand aims as Schaeffers?
5. Neo enlists the ideas of C.S. Lewis to illustrated "...how one's subjective posture affects what one sees and 'knows objectively'". What does that mean? Neo's words work to warn us of what Lewis later termed "chronological snobbery", that is, the temptation to think that because something is chronologically more recent, its claims to truth and goodness are automatically of greater value. Is this a significant point? How is modernity guilty of chronological snobbery? How can Lewis's words challenge us in this discussion?
6. Neo concludes by challenging his young audience to get buys building a new ship rather than trying to keep the old one afloat. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
Chapter 3 - Dan Discovers Where the Cross Meets The Dream Catcher
1. As Dan journals about his response to his conversation with Neo, he imagines the potential responses and objections many of his Protestant friends might have: "We're not modern - we're biblical! We believe in 'sola Scriptura'! We follow the New Testament!" Did you have any of the same reactions, or others? If so, which ones? What do you think of Dan's analysis that the way we approach the Bible is severly conditioned by modernity?
2. Dan wonders if he can trust God beyond his own theological understanding. What does that mean? Is it possible?
3. Dan says, "I remember hearing a saying somewhere that he who marrie the spirit of the age is sure to be a widow in the next." What does that mean? Is this a good metaphor? Why or why not? Inherent in this quote is an assumption that there is a context-free position from which to assess the age in which one lives. Is there such a place? This quote also seems to imply, albeit subtly, that the preferable position from which to engage the world we inhabit is a place free of commitment and risk. Again, is there such a place, and if so, is it even desirable?
4. Reread the journal entry from September 7 (pp. 24-25). Dan highlights the differences between how we live and use language within the church (within a largely modern framework) and how we live and use language outside the church (the postmodern world). Do you agree there is a "disconnect" between how we talk about reality and how we live in reality? If so, where do you see the discrepancies?
5. The chapter ends with Dan sitting ona panel next to a prominent Christian thinker and leader for whom he has a great deal of respect. When asked whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about what they see coming in the new millenium, they have very different responses. How do you reconcile the two different worlds these people describe? Which story is more resonant for you? What story do you hear told more frequently in Christian circles? Why do you think this is so?
6. Reflect on and respond to the Native American dream catcher hanging by the cross.
7. Compare Dan's posture from Chapter One to Chapter Three. What has changed? Has your posture changed? If so, how?
2. Dan wonders if he can trust God beyond his own theological understanding. What does that mean? Is it possible?
3. Dan says, "I remember hearing a saying somewhere that he who marrie the spirit of the age is sure to be a widow in the next." What does that mean? Is this a good metaphor? Why or why not? Inherent in this quote is an assumption that there is a context-free position from which to assess the age in which one lives. Is there such a place? This quote also seems to imply, albeit subtly, that the preferable position from which to engage the world we inhabit is a place free of commitment and risk. Again, is there such a place, and if so, is it even desirable?
4. Reread the journal entry from September 7 (pp. 24-25). Dan highlights the differences between how we live and use language within the church (within a largely modern framework) and how we live and use language outside the church (the postmodern world). Do you agree there is a "disconnect" between how we talk about reality and how we live in reality? If so, where do you see the discrepancies?
5. The chapter ends with Dan sitting ona panel next to a prominent Christian thinker and leader for whom he has a great deal of respect. When asked whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about what they see coming in the new millenium, they have very different responses. How do you reconcile the two different worlds these people describe? Which story is more resonant for you? What story do you hear told more frequently in Christian circles? Why do you think this is so?
6. Reflect on and respond to the Native American dream catcher hanging by the cross.
7. Compare Dan's posture from Chapter One to Chapter Three. What has changed? Has your posture changed? If so, how?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Chapter 2 - Entering That Awkward Age, or Does Jonah Eat Bagels?
1. The topic of Dan's fear resurfaces in Chapter Two. As a pastor, Dan always feels the pressure to be the one who has the "answers". Neo seems to think this is a particularly modern sensibility, an age characterized by "debate, dialectic, argument, and discussion". What is the role of a leader in the church? Do we pay pastors to be the answer-men and -women? What is the cost of such an approach? How might the way we train such leaders dictate the kind of leaders we produce?
2. Sometimes a well-formulated question can be more productive than a matter-of-fact answer, even when it is "correct". Do you agree or disagree? Why?
3. Neo locates the greatest source of Dan's struggle as an issue of "immigration" from a faith shaped by the cultural forces of modernity into the reality of the postmodern world. After reading Neo's ten characteristics of modernity (pp. 16-18), do you agree with his assessment that Dan is facing an immigration problem? Have you ever struggled in the same way? If so, how have you described your struggle to others, if at all?
4. Neo divides the timeline of history into five eras: prehistory, the ancient world, the medieval world, the modern world, and the postmodern world. Have you ever considered history in these ways? What is helpful about these classificiations? Is there any danger in simplifying history in this way?
5. Consider the ten phrases introduced by Neo to describe modernity. Do you see examples of these themes in contemporary life, and in the church in particular? If so, where?
2. Sometimes a well-formulated question can be more productive than a matter-of-fact answer, even when it is "correct". Do you agree or disagree? Why?
3. Neo locates the greatest source of Dan's struggle as an issue of "immigration" from a faith shaped by the cultural forces of modernity into the reality of the postmodern world. After reading Neo's ten characteristics of modernity (pp. 16-18), do you agree with his assessment that Dan is facing an immigration problem? Have you ever struggled in the same way? If so, how have you described your struggle to others, if at all?
4. Neo divides the timeline of history into five eras: prehistory, the ancient world, the medieval world, the modern world, and the postmodern world. Have you ever considered history in these ways? What is helpful about these classificiations? Is there any danger in simplifying history in this way?
5. Consider the ten phrases introduced by Neo to describe modernity. Do you see examples of these themes in contemporary life, and in the church in particular? If so, where?
Chapter 1 - Sometime The Peacock Wish To Be The Seagull
1. An important theme throughout the book is the importance of dialogue around matters of faith. Everyone seems hungry to talk but afraid of the risks involved. Have you had relationships that felt safe enough to talk about your struggles and doubts regarding your faith? What made them so?
2. As the book opens, Dan is isolated; his wife is the only person with whom he discusses his difficulties. As a pastor he does not feel safe in having such dialogues with other people and as a result, he seems to fight loneliness and anger. Would you agree that pastors are not, to quote Neo, "regular people"? Why or why not? Does this tension contribute to the difficulty Dan has with self-disclosure? What risks are involved when a person cannot be honest?
3. Neo says to Dan, "Well, Reverend, it sounds like you could use a friend." In response to this simple invitation Dan is overwhelmed emotionally. How does the invitation to friendship change the nature of conversation? What kind of "posture" do friends take toward one another? What postures do we normally assume when we talk about matters of faith? What do you think it means to use a term like "posture" when talking about how people engage each other relationally.
4. One of the hallmarks of Christianity in the modern era is a focusing on the idea of truth. At the same time there seems to be a corresponding absence of honesty, especially when facing what we don't know or understand. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
5. Neo defies easy stereotyping: he's a scientist who believes firmly in evolution, and at the same time he is a committed Christian who firmly believes in God's direct involvement in creation. This position causes him to get flack from all sides. Without engaging in all the technical arguments of the debate over creation vs. evolution, do you believe it is possible for a person to hold these beliefs and still be considered a Christian? What other issues have become litmus tests or dividing lines for Christians?
2. As the book opens, Dan is isolated; his wife is the only person with whom he discusses his difficulties. As a pastor he does not feel safe in having such dialogues with other people and as a result, he seems to fight loneliness and anger. Would you agree that pastors are not, to quote Neo, "regular people"? Why or why not? Does this tension contribute to the difficulty Dan has with self-disclosure? What risks are involved when a person cannot be honest?
3. Neo says to Dan, "Well, Reverend, it sounds like you could use a friend." In response to this simple invitation Dan is overwhelmed emotionally. How does the invitation to friendship change the nature of conversation? What kind of "posture" do friends take toward one another? What postures do we normally assume when we talk about matters of faith? What do you think it means to use a term like "posture" when talking about how people engage each other relationally.
4. One of the hallmarks of Christianity in the modern era is a focusing on the idea of truth. At the same time there seems to be a corresponding absence of honesty, especially when facing what we don't know or understand. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
5. Neo defies easy stereotyping: he's a scientist who believes firmly in evolution, and at the same time he is a committed Christian who firmly believes in God's direct involvement in creation. This position causes him to get flack from all sides. Without engaging in all the technical arguments of the debate over creation vs. evolution, do you believe it is possible for a person to hold these beliefs and still be considered a Christian? What other issues have become litmus tests or dividing lines for Christians?
Introduction
"If I could seriously ponder ending my life, than I can do anything. I can change anything in my life. So instead of ending my life altogether, I'll end my life as I've been living it and start a new kind of life. I can now see a third alternative to the status quo and suicide." -Brian McLaren, Introduction (pg. xiv)
1. Why am I not the same kind of Christian I used to be?
2. What might a new kind of Christian be likew?
3. How might one become a new kind of Christian if one is so inclined?
1. Why am I not the same kind of Christian I used to be?
2. What might a new kind of Christian be likew?
3. How might one become a new kind of Christian if one is so inclined?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
A New Kind of Christian
"A New Kind of Christian's conversation between a pastor and his daughter's high school science teacher reveals the wisdom for life's most pressing spiritual questions can come from the most unlikely sources. This stirring fable captures a new spirit of Christianity - where personal, daily interaction with God is more important than institutional church structures, where faith is more about a way of life than a system of believe, where being authentically good is more important than being doctrinally "right", and where one's direction is more important than one's present location. Brian McLaren's delightful account offers a wise and wondrous approach for revitalizing Christian spiritual life and Christian congregations."
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