Chapter 8 – Yeah, But What About the Other Guys?

1. Several times in the course of this discussion about other religions Dan gets aggressive, hostile and ultimately violent. Why does this topic provoke such strong reactions from Dan? Neo tells Dan he feels like “. . . we just switched gears from two friends talking sincerely and openly to a kind of inquisition.” Have you ever experienced this? What were you discussing? What was the result?

2. “Dan, when it comes to other religions, the challenge in modernity was to prove that we’re right and they’re wrong. But I think we have a different challenge in postmodernity. The question isn’t so much whether we’re right but whether we’re good.” What does Neo mean by this? Do you agree that this is an important challenge for Christians? Why or why not?

3. Does this distinction between right and good set up a false dichotomy, or have Christians been so far to the “right” side of the continuum that there must be a corrective swing? Do people who are not Christians view Christianity as a force for good in the world? Why or why not? Is this fair? What has your experience been?

4. Neo defines truth as more than mere factual accuracy; rather, he suggests, truth is ultimately being in sync with God. This presents an issue for Dan, who sees evangelism as trying to convince people of the truth (that is, the factual accuracy of our information about God.). Do you agree that in the modern era, Christian evangelism has largely been about convincing people of the truth?

5. Neo suggests that evangelism is more dance than conquest or argument. How does the dance image work for you? How do you respond to Neo’s description of some evangelism as “assault”?

6. How do you respond to Neo’s view of other religions?

7. Neo relates the story of a conversation with a Jewish man who was very hostile to the Christian faith due to his experiences of persecution. Dan asks if Neo felt obligated to defend the faith to this man. What do you make of this whole encounter? How do you react if you are the Jewish man in the story? How do you react to Dan’s impulse to “defend the faith”? What about Neo’s decision to model a different kind of Christianity for the Jewish man? Neo says, “Christianity isn’t salvation . . . the good news is.” He later elaborates: “I believe Jesus is the Savior, not Christianity.” How do you respond to these statements?

8. Why do you think Dan responds so intensely at the end of this chapter?