Notes for February 4 meeting of the Impact University Book Club

Assigned reading -- Pages 9 - 58 of Rumors of Another World

1. What does Yancey mean by his use of the phrase "borderlands of belief?" (p. 9).

2. It is obvious that people want to believe there is another world which corrects the sadnesses of this one. But is it reasonable to believe there is another, better world? Or does "reason" eliminate faith?

3. In what sense is "reductionism" used to gain understanding of the nature of things? (p. 15). How does this work against an explanation of (or even a belief) in an invisible God? (p. 19).

4. Do you agree that "No society in history has attempted to live without a belief in the sacred, not until the modern West."? (p. 19) If so, why is it?

5. In what sense does this elimination of the sacred "change the story of our lives."? (p. 20).

6. "The reducers face their greatest challenge in trying to find a stable ground for morality." (p. 21). Explain. (Is morality without God or something like God possible?).

7. Moderns often do not need God. But "a society that denies the supernatural usually ends up elevating the natural to supernatural status." (p. 31) With this in mind, discuss C.S. Lewis's phrase the "sweet poison of the false infinite." (p. 32). What are some things people substitute for God?

8. Chapter 3 suggests that we can gain a greater insight into that which is rumored in our world by "making daily life sacramental." (p. 44). How so?

9. In dealing with our doubts about the existence of God and a better world, perhaps it is helpful to deal with the sense of foreboding this causes -- a sense that something is wrong. How do you feel about the following statement? "Perhaps the very sense that something is wrong is itself a rumor of transcendence ............. "

10. What in the creation does the following statement describe? ".....These creations harbor not just God's sparks but his very own image. He created them in order to reflect back something of himself, a privilege assigned to no other part of creation." (p. 53).