Study Notes for March 3rd Impact University Book Club meeting
Rumors of Another World -- pages 161 -1 206
1. " ..... all religions share a sense of living in a disoriented world ....." (Henry Adams -- p. 163). They also share a common (though it is expressed in many different ways) cure. What? (Do you think this is an adequate definition of what religion is and does)?
2. Yancey asserts that many Swedes have "turned away from church" and yet theirs continues to be "an admirable society." (p. 165) What, according to our author, explains this?
3. What does he see as a difference between Sweden which he admires and Soviet Russia which cannot be admired? (p. 165).
4. Yancey doesn't feel a need for God to supernaturally interrupt our world to prove his existence and that of the invisible world. "..... in part because I find the materialistic explanations of life inadequate to explain reality." (p. 171). What does he mean?
5. What was the "miracle on the River Kwai"?
6. What are "the settlements in advance" mentioned on p. 177? And in advance of what?
7. "Any remedy (to a world of corruption, commercialized sex and deteriorating values) must start with one person taking an immovable stand." (p. 181). What does this imply about the demand of the Gospel?
8. Yancey describes himself as having been "a child of the modern age." As such he had not believed in an invisible world ruled by spirits. This was the result of his "reductionist instincts." Now, however, he has changed and has no problem believing in the spirit world. He believes "much more is happening on this planet than is visible to the human eye." (p. 184). What caused the change? (p. 183).
9. Yancey wonders if we wouldn't realize a startling truth if Jesus stood beside us saying at times "I saw Satan fall." What truth? (See the statement on p. 190 which begins, "The ultimate destiny .......").
10. The story of "The Elephant Man" poses radically different questions to believers and nonbelievers. What questions? (pp. 195 - 197).
11. According to Charles Spurgeon when is the Church glorious? (p. 198).
12. What does the author mean in saying, "The key ..... is to think of myself as an amphibian ....."? (p. 200).
13. John Chrysostom (from the 3rd Century) asked with anguish of the unbelievers of his day, "How then can they believe?" What caused his anguished question?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Notes for February 25 meeting
Pages 127 - 157
1. "For a time I resisted thinking of God as an authority figure ......." (p. 128) We all tend to do the same, cherishing the freedom that enables us to choose to sin (do that of which God disapproves), ..... much as we resist other authority figures. But sometimes we gladly submit to authority. What changes resistance into happy compliance (with authority)? Why do we willingly submit to doctors, computer technicians, etc. (in many cases after stubbornly resisting them previously)?
2. "Taken together, the Ten commandments weave life on this planet into some kind of meaningful whole, the purpose of which is to allow us to live as a peaceful, healthy community under God" (p. 134). What does that say about how to be happy and fulfilled? What does it say about the frenetic, success/pleasure-driven pace at which we live?
3. "In many ways, sin is the punishment for sin" (p. 135). "...... (Jesus) "came not merely to save us from the punishment for sin but to save us from the sin itself" (p. 135). Sin we allow to grow is a form of selfish reductionism. It keeps us from "experiencing shalom" and we "end up with a sick and disconnected self" (p. 139). Do you agree? If so, restate the concept in practical terms.
4. Paraphrase Augustine's statement: "The soul lives by avoiding what it dies by desiring" (p. 139).
5. What do you think Kierkegaard meant by likening the human condition to "a person who has a three-story house and who yet insists on dwelling in the dank cellar." (p. 144)?
6. Yancey in the 2 chapters being considered tonight refers several times to the "shalom" which God desires for us. What is your understanding of the term?
7. There is a "path" (p. 144) which we must travel to get from the frightening/discouraging place where sin places us back to a healthy relationship with God. What are the four necessary experiences along the way?
8. What parallel does Yancey see between physical pain and guilt (p. 145 - 146)?
9. "Cognitive dissonance" is a "sort of euphemism for guilt...." (p. 146). How so? What does the phrase describe?
10. "Guilt deserves my gratitude" (p. 146). Why?
11. In what sense should guilt have "directional movement" (p. 147)?
12. Yancey names two "barriers to repentance" (p. 149). What are they? Why, in relation to them, do "our secrets control us" (p. 149)?
13. " ..... the object of repentance is what we turn toward, not what we turn away from" (p. 156). How does the NT story of the prodigal son illustrate that truth?
Pages 127 - 157
1. "For a time I resisted thinking of God as an authority figure ......." (p. 128) We all tend to do the same, cherishing the freedom that enables us to choose to sin (do that of which God disapproves), ..... much as we resist other authority figures. But sometimes we gladly submit to authority. What changes resistance into happy compliance (with authority)? Why do we willingly submit to doctors, computer technicians, etc. (in many cases after stubbornly resisting them previously)?
2. "Taken together, the Ten commandments weave life on this planet into some kind of meaningful whole, the purpose of which is to allow us to live as a peaceful, healthy community under God" (p. 134). What does that say about how to be happy and fulfilled? What does it say about the frenetic, success/pleasure-driven pace at which we live?
3. "In many ways, sin is the punishment for sin" (p. 135). "...... (Jesus) "came not merely to save us from the punishment for sin but to save us from the sin itself" (p. 135). Sin we allow to grow is a form of selfish reductionism. It keeps us from "experiencing shalom" and we "end up with a sick and disconnected self" (p. 139). Do you agree? If so, restate the concept in practical terms.
4. Paraphrase Augustine's statement: "The soul lives by avoiding what it dies by desiring" (p. 139).
5. What do you think Kierkegaard meant by likening the human condition to "a person who has a three-story house and who yet insists on dwelling in the dank cellar." (p. 144)?
6. Yancey in the 2 chapters being considered tonight refers several times to the "shalom" which God desires for us. What is your understanding of the term?
7. There is a "path" (p. 144) which we must travel to get from the frightening/discouraging place where sin places us back to a healthy relationship with God. What are the four necessary experiences along the way?
8. What parallel does Yancey see between physical pain and guilt (p. 145 - 146)?
9. "Cognitive dissonance" is a "sort of euphemism for guilt...." (p. 146). How so? What does the phrase describe?
10. "Guilt deserves my gratitude" (p. 146). Why?
11. In what sense should guilt have "directional movement" (p. 147)?
12. Yancey names two "barriers to repentance" (p. 149). What are they? Why, in relation to them, do "our secrets control us" (p. 149)?
13. " ..... the object of repentance is what we turn toward, not what we turn away from" (p. 156). How does the NT story of the prodigal son illustrate that truth?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Book Club Study Notes for February 18
Rumors of Another World, pages 99 - 125
1. "Why only rumors and not proofs of another world?" (p. 99). How would you answer? Why would God allow the world to exist with such misery, only hinting that something better is possible? What "advantage" (p. 103) do human beings have over the rest of creation which Yancey seems to think may contribute to our understanding of this dilemma?
2. "God wants to set me free; evil attempts to enslave." (p. 106). Is there a sense in which God can't give us the freedom which makes us human beings without also giving us the freedom to submit to being enslaved by evil?
3. "Sinful people create sinful structures, which may then take on a life of their own." (p. 107). What does this say about government, corporations, families? What does it say about the church?
4. If greed is a "deadly sin" (p. 108 -- as it was considered by the ancients), what did it kill (destroy)?
5. What is the "liberal-optimist" view of human nature? What is its opposite?
6. Yancey was given a deep sense of sin in his childhood. He finds it "something strange" that in the modern world "fear of sin ....... has nearly disappeared." (p. 116). Why do you think it's so?
7. "What are we missing if we delete (sin) from our vocabulary?" (p. 117). How would you answer?
8. "Modern society is caught in a dilemma." (p. 117). What is it?
9. We don't like (or often use) the word "sin." In regard to our personal failings we tend to think of ourselves as victims of the actions of others (or circumstances). This is a reductionist approach to explaining our behavior. Explain the following statement from p. 121 -- "Every time addicts repeat the twelve steps, they reject a reductionist view of life." They come helplessly to a "Higher Power" to confess that something is very wrong in their lives and that they alone are responsible? Does it seem to you that organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous may sometimes state the spirit of the Gospel better than the church?
10. What is "healthy-minded faith"? What are "morbid-minded Christians"? Which does Yancey seem to think more accurately assesses uur world and our lives?
11. "Christians have a most realistic view of humanity, believing that human beings have failed, are failing, and will always fail." (p. 124). Do you agree?
Rumors of Another World, pages 99 - 125
1. "Why only rumors and not proofs of another world?" (p. 99). How would you answer? Why would God allow the world to exist with such misery, only hinting that something better is possible? What "advantage" (p. 103) do human beings have over the rest of creation which Yancey seems to think may contribute to our understanding of this dilemma?
2. "God wants to set me free; evil attempts to enslave." (p. 106). Is there a sense in which God can't give us the freedom which makes us human beings without also giving us the freedom to submit to being enslaved by evil?
3. "Sinful people create sinful structures, which may then take on a life of their own." (p. 107). What does this say about government, corporations, families? What does it say about the church?
4. If greed is a "deadly sin" (p. 108 -- as it was considered by the ancients), what did it kill (destroy)?
5. What is the "liberal-optimist" view of human nature? What is its opposite?
6. Yancey was given a deep sense of sin in his childhood. He finds it "something strange" that in the modern world "fear of sin ....... has nearly disappeared." (p. 116). Why do you think it's so?
7. "What are we missing if we delete (sin) from our vocabulary?" (p. 117). How would you answer?
8. "Modern society is caught in a dilemma." (p. 117). What is it?
9. We don't like (or often use) the word "sin." In regard to our personal failings we tend to think of ourselves as victims of the actions of others (or circumstances). This is a reductionist approach to explaining our behavior. Explain the following statement from p. 121 -- "Every time addicts repeat the twelve steps, they reject a reductionist view of life." They come helplessly to a "Higher Power" to confess that something is very wrong in their lives and that they alone are responsible? Does it seem to you that organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous may sometimes state the spirit of the Gospel better than the church?
10. What is "healthy-minded faith"? What are "morbid-minded Christians"? Which does Yancey seem to think more accurately assesses uur world and our lives?
11. "Christians have a most realistic view of humanity, believing that human beings have failed, are failing, and will always fail." (p. 124). Do you agree?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Study Notes for February 12th Meeting -- Rumors of Another World -- Pages 59 - 95
1. "Our lives form some sort of pattern whether or not we consciously arrange it." (p. 60). "These life patterns grow out of natural desires and longings." (60). "Everyone has such longings, and how we respond to them depends largely on what we believe about why we're here." (60). Ture or not true? Elaborate.
2. Yancey argues that natural human desires are part of God's creation (which God said was "good") and that they are to be fulfilled according to God's plan. To either gratify them "without inhibition" (p. 62) or to squelch them "altogether" (p. 62) is to create a critical imbalance. (I believe he would have us infer that it is a very common imbalance). He states further that he "came back to Christianity because it made the most sense of the world around (him), in part by achieving the necessary balance. But what Christianity does in striking this balance, the churches he knew showed "no such balance."
What is your experience with the church? Do you agree that we have somehow gained the reputation of "being anti-pleasure"?
3. The abuse of pleasure arises when pleasure is viewed "as an end in itself rather than a pointer to something more" (p. 63) -- i.e., a rumor of another world. Thus the title of this chaptger, "God Loveth Adverbs." What does the phrase mean?
4. How does a "sense of calling" enhance our ability to find success in our pursuit of "fulfillment and meaning"? (p. 64). How does this sense help us to maintain the balance discussed earlier (Question #2)?
5. "Societies that have abandoned the sacred, such as in the secular West, exalt sexuality to a new and lofty status." (p. 74). Wow! Ain't it the truth! But, at the same time, Yancey says he knows of "no greater failure among Christians than in presenting a persuasive (healthy I think he means) view on sexuality." (p. 74). Is he right?
6. Yancey describes our (both the church's and the culture's) view of sex as being "schizophrenic." (p. 76). What does he mean?
7. "Society's schizophrenia develops from an attempt to reduce sex between humans to a purely physical act." (Remember last week's discussion of "reductionism"). A popular song asked, "Why does it have to be right or wrong? Why can't it just be?" How does a "rumor from another world" answer? (P. 77 -- "......the real damage in sexuality occurs ________."
8. Remember C.S. Lewis's description of the things which we elevate to sacred status when we forsake that which is truly sacred (God). He calls them the "sweet poison of the false infinite." Then read the final paragraph on p. 77, bearing in mind the emphasis on unrestrained sexuality in the culture (often includinig within the church). Please comment.
9. In summary, Yancey believes sexuality to be "a powerful rumor of transcendence" which the church has silenced by its prudery. Do you think he's right? Or is it possible that sexuality is overrated both by the culture and by people like Yancey, that it is just one part of the entirety of what it means to be human -- and spoken of too much (as in this chapter)?
10. Respond to the following statement: "A life of resisting temptation and pursuing purity involves a loss, yes, but also a gain, the very gain promised by Jesus in the Beatitudes." What is lost? What is gained?
11. What is the "second love" referenced on p. 94?
1. "Our lives form some sort of pattern whether or not we consciously arrange it." (p. 60). "These life patterns grow out of natural desires and longings." (60). "Everyone has such longings, and how we respond to them depends largely on what we believe about why we're here." (60). Ture or not true? Elaborate.
2. Yancey argues that natural human desires are part of God's creation (which God said was "good") and that they are to be fulfilled according to God's plan. To either gratify them "without inhibition" (p. 62) or to squelch them "altogether" (p. 62) is to create a critical imbalance. (I believe he would have us infer that it is a very common imbalance). He states further that he "came back to Christianity because it made the most sense of the world around (him), in part by achieving the necessary balance. But what Christianity does in striking this balance, the churches he knew showed "no such balance."
What is your experience with the church? Do you agree that we have somehow gained the reputation of "being anti-pleasure"?
3. The abuse of pleasure arises when pleasure is viewed "as an end in itself rather than a pointer to something more" (p. 63) -- i.e., a rumor of another world. Thus the title of this chaptger, "God Loveth Adverbs." What does the phrase mean?
4. How does a "sense of calling" enhance our ability to find success in our pursuit of "fulfillment and meaning"? (p. 64). How does this sense help us to maintain the balance discussed earlier (Question #2)?
5. "Societies that have abandoned the sacred, such as in the secular West, exalt sexuality to a new and lofty status." (p. 74). Wow! Ain't it the truth! But, at the same time, Yancey says he knows of "no greater failure among Christians than in presenting a persuasive (healthy I think he means) view on sexuality." (p. 74). Is he right?
6. Yancey describes our (both the church's and the culture's) view of sex as being "schizophrenic." (p. 76). What does he mean?
7. "Society's schizophrenia develops from an attempt to reduce sex between humans to a purely physical act." (Remember last week's discussion of "reductionism"). A popular song asked, "Why does it have to be right or wrong? Why can't it just be?" How does a "rumor from another world" answer? (P. 77 -- "......the real damage in sexuality occurs ________."
8. Remember C.S. Lewis's description of the things which we elevate to sacred status when we forsake that which is truly sacred (God). He calls them the "sweet poison of the false infinite." Then read the final paragraph on p. 77, bearing in mind the emphasis on unrestrained sexuality in the culture (often includinig within the church). Please comment.
9. In summary, Yancey believes sexuality to be "a powerful rumor of transcendence" which the church has silenced by its prudery. Do you think he's right? Or is it possible that sexuality is overrated both by the culture and by people like Yancey, that it is just one part of the entirety of what it means to be human -- and spoken of too much (as in this chapter)?
10. Respond to the following statement: "A life of resisting temptation and pursuing purity involves a loss, yes, but also a gain, the very gain promised by Jesus in the Beatitudes." What is lost? What is gained?
11. What is the "second love" referenced on p. 94?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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).
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).
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen --
Please remember that our new book club discussion is to begin Monday, February 4 at 6:30 p.m.
______________________
"Rumors of Another World"
Philip Yancey
From the back cover:
Please remember that our new book club discussion is to begin Monday, February 4 at 6:30 p.m.
______________________
"Rumors of Another World"
Philip Yancey
From the back cover:
A CROSSINGS BOOK CLUB EDITION
Is the visible world around us all there is?
Is faith in an unseen world wishful thinking?
Listen to the Rumors .....
Philip Yancey
invites you to join
him on a journey of
discovery and consider
"rumors of another world"
that could point the way to
a new life of beauty, purpose,
and freedom.
In Rumors of Another World:
What on Earth Are We Missing?
he grapples honestly with major life questions.
Walk with Philip through the borderlands of belief
-- a place between doubt and faith --
and see if you don't find a hopeful new perspective
for your life.
Philip Yancey has written twelve award-winning books, with four sell-
ing over a million copies each, including What's So Amazing About Grace?
He and his wife live in Colorado.
______________________________
The book is readily available on the various bookseller websites (Amazon, Half.com., etc.). Linda Ghignone reports that it can be purchased for approximately $5.00.
Please check your email and this blogspot Monday for the study notes which will guide our first week's discussion. IF YOU HAVE PROCRASTINATED (Something rare but of which some of us are occasionally guilty) and have not yet purchased your book, come to the meetings anyway.
CM
Friday, December 14, 2007
Study Notes for Chapter 7 -- The Scars of God
The 7th Word From the Cross -- "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
1. Only Luke of the four gospels records these words. Matthew and Mark tell us that they were said loudly, as a cry. The normal human tendency is to civilize the words, to show Jesus as confident, with very even emotions as he says them. What do you think? Why did they come out as a "loud cry"?
2. We are adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus (p. 231). His cry on the cross as he crossed into the darkness of death (what to us is inspite of our faith, the Great Unknown) is the cry we all make. What we know about eternity we know by faith, by trust, ....... but by definition these things imply a degree of doubt. What does this say -- if anything -- about the degree to which Jesus identified with our humanity? ("Faith can be holding fast to the promise even as we are haunted by the thought, 'Maybe I just imagined it.' This is not blind faith but faith with eyes wide open to all the evidence to the contrary.") (p. 233). "It follows that the story of Jesus is not about the exploits of a Superman whom we call true God and true man, it is the story about us." (p. 245-246).
3. Respond to this statement from p. 232: "There are grown-ups who pretend, and then there are those who have grown up to know the 'second naivete' of our utter dependence."
4. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" was a cry of desolation. "This Seventh Word is a cry of trust, hurled almost defiantly, into the absence of the One of whom Jesus spoke when he said, 'Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me." (p. 232). If you agree with this statement from Neuhaus, at whom or what was Jesus "almost defiantly" hurling these words?
5. "Stumbling our way toward home, we worry to ourselves about the unworthiness of our love, only to discover that it has already been attended to. It was taken care of in that representative moment, that vicarious moment in which he cried out, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,' ......." (p. 235). "To fret about the quality of our love is to miss the point?" (p. 235). HOW SO? And what is "re-presented in the Eucharist until the end of the world...." (p. 235)
6. Read the remarkable paragraph on p. 239 which begins, "The scars of God, the Second Person ........." Share your thoughts regarding it.
7. What do the following statements mean: A. "Faith is assent" -- p. 240. B. "Faith is trust" -- p. 241.
8. Respond to the following statement: "'Into your hands I commend my spirit' is finally a cry of triumph, and it is more believably that because it does not simply come after but catches up and comprehends the earlier cry, which is also the cry of broken humanity, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (p. 247). (See also -- "The defeat and the hope must be ever held together; the hope is not finally hopeful unless it has taken into account everything that contradicts hope." (p. 248).
9. Discuss the meaning of the following statement: "Then the body of Christ was on the cross, and now the Body of Christ, the Church, is on the cross, and with it the whole of humanity." (p. 252). (Remember the assertion of an earlier chapter that the way of the cross for any of us is cruciform shaped).
10. As Jesus uttered these last words from the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Discuss the possible meaning of this: (see pp. 253-255).
11. What has "always been, and is today, the great offense of Christianity"? (p. 256). Why?
12. If "God who is love is identified by his scars" what muist be said about the modern tendency to downplay the significance of the cross? ("We must not turn away from what we have done to God, lest we be found to have turned away from what he has done for us." -- p. 257).
13. Let's end this semester's book club with the beautiful, descriptive words found on pp. 259-260: "The silence of that silent night, holy night, the night when God was born was broken by the sounds of a baby, a mother's words of comfort and angels in concert. Holy Saturday, by contrast, is the sound of perfect silence. Yesterday's mockery, the good thief's prayer, the cry of dereliction -- all that is past now. Mary has dried her tears, and the whole creation is still, waiting for what will happen next." "Meanwhile, if we keep very still, there steals upon the silence a song of Easter that was always there. On the long mourners' bency of the eternal pity, we raise our heads, blink away our tears and exchange looks that dare to question, 'Could it be?' But of course. Tht is what it was about."
The 7th Word From the Cross -- "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
1. Only Luke of the four gospels records these words. Matthew and Mark tell us that they were said loudly, as a cry. The normal human tendency is to civilize the words, to show Jesus as confident, with very even emotions as he says them. What do you think? Why did they come out as a "loud cry"?
2. We are adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus (p. 231). His cry on the cross as he crossed into the darkness of death (what to us is inspite of our faith, the Great Unknown) is the cry we all make. What we know about eternity we know by faith, by trust, ....... but by definition these things imply a degree of doubt. What does this say -- if anything -- about the degree to which Jesus identified with our humanity? ("Faith can be holding fast to the promise even as we are haunted by the thought, 'Maybe I just imagined it.' This is not blind faith but faith with eyes wide open to all the evidence to the contrary.") (p. 233). "It follows that the story of Jesus is not about the exploits of a Superman whom we call true God and true man, it is the story about us." (p. 245-246).
3. Respond to this statement from p. 232: "There are grown-ups who pretend, and then there are those who have grown up to know the 'second naivete' of our utter dependence."
4. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" was a cry of desolation. "This Seventh Word is a cry of trust, hurled almost defiantly, into the absence of the One of whom Jesus spoke when he said, 'Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me." (p. 232). If you agree with this statement from Neuhaus, at whom or what was Jesus "almost defiantly" hurling these words?
5. "Stumbling our way toward home, we worry to ourselves about the unworthiness of our love, only to discover that it has already been attended to. It was taken care of in that representative moment, that vicarious moment in which he cried out, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,' ......." (p. 235). "To fret about the quality of our love is to miss the point?" (p. 235). HOW SO? And what is "re-presented in the Eucharist until the end of the world...." (p. 235)
6. Read the remarkable paragraph on p. 239 which begins, "The scars of God, the Second Person ........." Share your thoughts regarding it.
7. What do the following statements mean: A. "Faith is assent" -- p. 240. B. "Faith is trust" -- p. 241.
8. Respond to the following statement: "'Into your hands I commend my spirit' is finally a cry of triumph, and it is more believably that because it does not simply come after but catches up and comprehends the earlier cry, which is also the cry of broken humanity, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (p. 247). (See also -- "The defeat and the hope must be ever held together; the hope is not finally hopeful unless it has taken into account everything that contradicts hope." (p. 248).
9. Discuss the meaning of the following statement: "Then the body of Christ was on the cross, and now the Body of Christ, the Church, is on the cross, and with it the whole of humanity." (p. 252). (Remember the assertion of an earlier chapter that the way of the cross for any of us is cruciform shaped).
10. As Jesus uttered these last words from the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Discuss the possible meaning of this: (see pp. 253-255).
11. What has "always been, and is today, the great offense of Christianity"? (p. 256). Why?
12. If "God who is love is identified by his scars" what muist be said about the modern tendency to downplay the significance of the cross? ("We must not turn away from what we have done to God, lest we be found to have turned away from what he has done for us." -- p. 257).
13. Let's end this semester's book club with the beautiful, descriptive words found on pp. 259-260: "The silence of that silent night, holy night, the night when God was born was broken by the sounds of a baby, a mother's words of comfort and angels in concert. Holy Saturday, by contrast, is the sound of perfect silence. Yesterday's mockery, the good thief's prayer, the cry of dereliction -- all that is past now. Mary has dried her tears, and the whole creation is still, waiting for what will happen next." "Meanwhile, if we keep very still, there steals upon the silence a song of Easter that was always there. On the long mourners' bency of the eternal pity, we raise our heads, blink away our tears and exchange looks that dare to question, 'Could it be?' But of course. Tht is what it was about."
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Study Notes for Chapter 6
The Sixth Word from the cross: "It is finished."
1. This statement should be taken to mean "it is consummated, fulfilled, brought to perfection." (p. 187). The remainder of the chapter deals with what this means. As you read, focus on the material regarding the subject of sacrifice as it relates to this consummation. What has been finished? Why did it require the death of God?
2. What does Neuhaus mean when he says, "The outcome of the human project is incontestable, but it is still contested ........." (p. 191)? How does his phrase "It is finished but it isn't over" affect your answer? (Also see the two beautifully worded sentences near the top of p. 193 which begin, "It is finished" does not mean that suffering and loss.........").
3. Although these words from the cross certainly are triumphant and although they represent a victory by God in behalf of mankind and a world God loves, life on the earth continues to often be a "slice of hell." (p. 194). What does Neuhaus (and by extension Peter De Vries in The Blood of the Lamb) mean in saying that life's realities "mock any response other than rage and despair."? (p. 194). Why did Jesus finished work leave the world in such a tragic state?
4. What do you picture in your mind when you read the words of Peter De Vries (again in The Blood of the Lamb) "..... how long, how long is the mourners' bench upon which we sit, arms linked in undeluded friendship -- all of us, brief links, ourselves, in the eternal pity." How is the cross and Jesus' assertion "It is finished" spoken there to be seen in relation to the mourners' bench and the eternal pity? (Consider the following two sentences from p. 198 as you consider these things: "In the experience of abandonment by God we are most securely embraced in the love of God." "Every heartbroken cry of 'Oh, my lamb" is taken up and finally overtaken in 'Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,' in whom is our peace.").
5. Respond to the following statements from p. 203: "We are participants in this drama, although exactly how we do not know. We have not seen the entire script; our lines are given us one at a time." "Clear laws of cause and effect are thrown into consternation." " .....God's loss of everything on the cross ........ is our only hope that all is not lost."
6. What does the phrase "redemptive suffering" (p. 207) mean to you? As it relates to Jesus? As it relates to us?
7. Neuhaus argues that "Neither the liberals nor the existentialists nor the liberationists do justice to 'It is finished.'" (p. 215). What he believes they miss (and miss greatly and significantly) is the biblical concept of "sacrifice" which he argues is at the heart of this word from the cross. "Remove the idea of sacrifice, the reality of sacrifice, from Christianity and it becomes something other than Christianity." (p. 216). He says a number of things on p. 216 which help us to undertstand the concept of sacrifice. Two are that a sacrifice is "an act of ..... worship" and an "act that intends to change a relationship by way of making reparation or making amends." How did the finished work of Christ, which included the cross, accomplish those two things?
8. What is so-called "critical consciousness"? (p. 217). How does it tend to "deconstruct" everything we believe? What do its proponents mean when they say something we believe is "culturally constructed"? How might they judge believers naive regarding the "primitive" notion of sacrifice? What is the grace of "second naivete" (an understanding reached on the far side of critical analysis and debunking)? (p. 217).
9. Why does God (who by definition is self-sufficient, needing nothing) need us so much that the finished work of the incarnation led Jesus to the cross? Why does he bind himself to his people ........ making himself "vulnerable, as it were, to his own creatures"? Neuhaus says "The only answer is _______" (p. 223).
10. What does the phrase "O necessary sin of Adam" (p. 224) mean?
9.
The Sixth Word from the cross: "It is finished."
1. This statement should be taken to mean "it is consummated, fulfilled, brought to perfection." (p. 187). The remainder of the chapter deals with what this means. As you read, focus on the material regarding the subject of sacrifice as it relates to this consummation. What has been finished? Why did it require the death of God?
2. What does Neuhaus mean when he says, "The outcome of the human project is incontestable, but it is still contested ........." (p. 191)? How does his phrase "It is finished but it isn't over" affect your answer? (Also see the two beautifully worded sentences near the top of p. 193 which begin, "It is finished" does not mean that suffering and loss.........").
3. Although these words from the cross certainly are triumphant and although they represent a victory by God in behalf of mankind and a world God loves, life on the earth continues to often be a "slice of hell." (p. 194). What does Neuhaus (and by extension Peter De Vries in The Blood of the Lamb) mean in saying that life's realities "mock any response other than rage and despair."? (p. 194). Why did Jesus finished work leave the world in such a tragic state?
4. What do you picture in your mind when you read the words of Peter De Vries (again in The Blood of the Lamb) "..... how long, how long is the mourners' bench upon which we sit, arms linked in undeluded friendship -- all of us, brief links, ourselves, in the eternal pity." How is the cross and Jesus' assertion "It is finished" spoken there to be seen in relation to the mourners' bench and the eternal pity? (Consider the following two sentences from p. 198 as you consider these things: "In the experience of abandonment by God we are most securely embraced in the love of God." "Every heartbroken cry of 'Oh, my lamb" is taken up and finally overtaken in 'Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,' in whom is our peace.").
5. Respond to the following statements from p. 203: "We are participants in this drama, although exactly how we do not know. We have not seen the entire script; our lines are given us one at a time." "Clear laws of cause and effect are thrown into consternation." " .....God's loss of everything on the cross ........ is our only hope that all is not lost."
6. What does the phrase "redemptive suffering" (p. 207) mean to you? As it relates to Jesus? As it relates to us?
7. Neuhaus argues that "Neither the liberals nor the existentialists nor the liberationists do justice to 'It is finished.'" (p. 215). What he believes they miss (and miss greatly and significantly) is the biblical concept of "sacrifice" which he argues is at the heart of this word from the cross. "Remove the idea of sacrifice, the reality of sacrifice, from Christianity and it becomes something other than Christianity." (p. 216). He says a number of things on p. 216 which help us to undertstand the concept of sacrifice. Two are that a sacrifice is "an act of ..... worship" and an "act that intends to change a relationship by way of making reparation or making amends." How did the finished work of Christ, which included the cross, accomplish those two things?
8. What is so-called "critical consciousness"? (p. 217). How does it tend to "deconstruct" everything we believe? What do its proponents mean when they say something we believe is "culturally constructed"? How might they judge believers naive regarding the "primitive" notion of sacrifice? What is the grace of "second naivete" (an understanding reached on the far side of critical analysis and debunking)? (p. 217).
9. Why does God (who by definition is self-sufficient, needing nothing) need us so much that the finished work of the incarnation led Jesus to the cross? Why does he bind himself to his people ........ making himself "vulnerable, as it were, to his own creatures"? Neuhaus says "The only answer is _______" (p. 223).
10. What does the phrase "O necessary sin of Adam" (p. 224) mean?
9.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Notes for Chapter 5 of Death on a Friday Afternoon
The Fifth Word from the cross:
"I thirst."
1. "Reflections on this Fifth Word ..... traditionally refer to the Church's missionary impulse, an impulse driven by Jesus' thirsting for souls." (p. 145). Surely Jesus was literally thirsty as he endured the physical agony of the cross. Do you think this is all that he intended to convey by saying "I thirst" ----- or are Neuhaus and those to whom he refers in this quote accurate in thinking that he meant more (much more)? (Or is it to be taken with the previous cry of the "derelict" -- "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" -- cf. Psa. 63:1 = "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.")
2. In a circular argument -- illustrated by Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity -- the author says "those who kneel at his cross share his thirst, which is both a thirst for him and for all for whom he thirsts." What does he mean in saying that in serving others ("Jesus in distressed disguise") we offer a drink and "our thirst is quenched. I thirst. I quench." (p. 146).
3. A significant paragraph (pp. 152-153) begins with this statement: "Along the way to the kingdom, to share in the cup is to share in his suffering." It ends with this statement: "The Church is sent to all the world, hyssop in hand." What does the author mean?
4. The Church believes that the gospel is "quite simply, 'the truth.' It is the true story about the world and everybody in the world. That is an insufferably arrogant assertion, unless it is true." ............. "The Church imposes nothing. She only proposes. But what she proposes she proposes as the truth." (p. 156). Is it arrogant to believe/assert that the gospel is exclusively true?
5. "The way of the Christian life is cruciform. Jesus did not suffer and die in order that we need not suffer and die, but in order that our suffering and death might be joined to his in redemptive victory." (p. 159). Without his drinking the dregs of his cup of suffering (Gethsemane and Golgotha), there could be no redemption for the world. What then does this mean to those who are his followers? What, if anything, does it say to you regarding the way the gospel is commonly presented and understood.
6. "It is not that Christ did not do enough, but that he invites us to participate with him in the salvation of the world." (p. 160). How so? Does this say anything about how we should pray? Does it say anything about the times when we pray to be relieved of suffering and are met with silence?
7. Neuhaus views the urgency of the Christian mission being to "alert the world to its story, which is the story of the amazing grace by which it is redeemed." (p. 160). That does make it urgent. But it's a different kind of urgency than that of the missions conference Neuhaus attended as a seven year old boy. What's the difference?
8. "The crucial point is that those who are saved without knowing the name of Jesus the Christ are nonetheless saved by Jesus the Christ." (p. 167). Respond to that assertion. Is it "the crucial point?" Is it true?
9. If it is assumed that those who've never heard the gospel are saved in their ignorance (It would seem people can't be held responsible for obeying that which they've not heard), Neuhaus yet argues that there is an urgency to our telling the gospel to the world? He makes his argument with the following statements: "Our very humanity is at stake in our bearing witness to the truth." (p. 168) "Possessing the truth and sharing the truth are not two things, but one." (p. 168) ".....the more we give the more we possess." (p. 169). "..... love is either shared or lost." (p. 172). "Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is ignorance. What others have a right to know they also have a need to know, if in fact it is the truth about their lives." (p. 172). "The driving motivation of evangvelism is the irrepressible desire to communicate what shall be on he basis of what already is, ......" (p. 176). Respond to these statements.
10. "The Greek word that speaks of Christ emptying himself is kenosis, and authentic missionary work, whether with the neighbor next door or in a distant and exotic culture ......., is always kenotic." What does he mean? Do you agree?
11. What does Neuhaus mean by the following statement? ".... the proclamation of God's love in Christ is the most important thing the Church does, because it is what she does uniquely."
12. Respond to the following statement: "Every Christian participtes in the mission of the Church, but, high-voltage mission festival rhetoric notwithstanding, not every Christian has the specific call to be a missionary." (p. 178). What specific call does every Christian have? (cf. the 4 sentences on p 180 which begin as follows: "The Christian life is about living ........") and the following statements on p. 182: "Christ thirsts for those who throw away their lives in the everydayness of duties discerned and duties done." "Through such lives his mission is advanced, often in ways that elude our sure perception."
13. According to Neuhaus, why does God send out missionaries? (p. 182). What do they find when they in their mission work "come upon the most forsaken" of people? (p. 183).
The Fifth Word from the cross:
"I thirst."
1. "Reflections on this Fifth Word ..... traditionally refer to the Church's missionary impulse, an impulse driven by Jesus' thirsting for souls." (p. 145). Surely Jesus was literally thirsty as he endured the physical agony of the cross. Do you think this is all that he intended to convey by saying "I thirst" ----- or are Neuhaus and those to whom he refers in this quote accurate in thinking that he meant more (much more)? (Or is it to be taken with the previous cry of the "derelict" -- "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" -- cf. Psa. 63:1 = "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.")
2. In a circular argument -- illustrated by Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity -- the author says "those who kneel at his cross share his thirst, which is both a thirst for him and for all for whom he thirsts." What does he mean in saying that in serving others ("Jesus in distressed disguise") we offer a drink and "our thirst is quenched. I thirst. I quench." (p. 146).
3. A significant paragraph (pp. 152-153) begins with this statement: "Along the way to the kingdom, to share in the cup is to share in his suffering." It ends with this statement: "The Church is sent to all the world, hyssop in hand." What does the author mean?
4. The Church believes that the gospel is "quite simply, 'the truth.' It is the true story about the world and everybody in the world. That is an insufferably arrogant assertion, unless it is true." ............. "The Church imposes nothing. She only proposes. But what she proposes she proposes as the truth." (p. 156). Is it arrogant to believe/assert that the gospel is exclusively true?
5. "The way of the Christian life is cruciform. Jesus did not suffer and die in order that we need not suffer and die, but in order that our suffering and death might be joined to his in redemptive victory." (p. 159). Without his drinking the dregs of his cup of suffering (Gethsemane and Golgotha), there could be no redemption for the world. What then does this mean to those who are his followers? What, if anything, does it say to you regarding the way the gospel is commonly presented and understood.
6. "It is not that Christ did not do enough, but that he invites us to participate with him in the salvation of the world." (p. 160). How so? Does this say anything about how we should pray? Does it say anything about the times when we pray to be relieved of suffering and are met with silence?
7. Neuhaus views the urgency of the Christian mission being to "alert the world to its story, which is the story of the amazing grace by which it is redeemed." (p. 160). That does make it urgent. But it's a different kind of urgency than that of the missions conference Neuhaus attended as a seven year old boy. What's the difference?
8. "The crucial point is that those who are saved without knowing the name of Jesus the Christ are nonetheless saved by Jesus the Christ." (p. 167). Respond to that assertion. Is it "the crucial point?" Is it true?
9. If it is assumed that those who've never heard the gospel are saved in their ignorance (It would seem people can't be held responsible for obeying that which they've not heard), Neuhaus yet argues that there is an urgency to our telling the gospel to the world? He makes his argument with the following statements: "Our very humanity is at stake in our bearing witness to the truth." (p. 168) "Possessing the truth and sharing the truth are not two things, but one." (p. 168) ".....the more we give the more we possess." (p. 169). "..... love is either shared or lost." (p. 172). "Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is ignorance. What others have a right to know they also have a need to know, if in fact it is the truth about their lives." (p. 172). "The driving motivation of evangvelism is the irrepressible desire to communicate what shall be on he basis of what already is, ......" (p. 176). Respond to these statements.
10. "The Greek word that speaks of Christ emptying himself is kenosis, and authentic missionary work, whether with the neighbor next door or in a distant and exotic culture ......., is always kenotic." What does he mean? Do you agree?
11. What does Neuhaus mean by the following statement? ".... the proclamation of God's love in Christ is the most important thing the Church does, because it is what she does uniquely."
12. Respond to the following statement: "Every Christian participtes in the mission of the Church, but, high-voltage mission festival rhetoric notwithstanding, not every Christian has the specific call to be a missionary." (p. 178). What specific call does every Christian have? (cf. the 4 sentences on p 180 which begin as follows: "The Christian life is about living ........") and the following statements on p. 182: "Christ thirsts for those who throw away their lives in the everydayness of duties discerned and duties done." "Through such lives his mission is advanced, often in ways that elude our sure perception."
13. According to Neuhaus, why does God send out missionaries? (p. 182). What do they find when they in their mission work "come upon the most forsaken" of people? (p. 183).
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Chapter 4 -- Discussion Notes
The 4th Word from the cross -- "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
1. Throughout the book Neuhaus has frequently referrred to Jesus as a "derelict." How do you feel about his use of that very harsh term? ("...... the English word 'dereliction' catches the desperation of the scene.")
2. The author defines the term in the opening sentence of the chapter: "......the derelict, the abandoned one." It brings to the fore the urgent question of whether Jesus was truly abandoned on the cross. Was he? If yes, why? If no, why did he cry out ("The Greek word used suggests that he screamed with a loud cry, .....Why!!!!" --p. 103)?
3. "'Dereliction' is an apt word for the times we call modern" (p. 104). From that assertion the author words a scathing assessment of the current world. What is he referring to when he says, "No matter how many fairy tales we tell, when we know that they are fairy tales, they cannot re-enchant the world." (p. 104)?
4. "Dover Beach" (easily found on the Internet) is a famous poem which speaks of a "long, withdrawing roar." What is it that withdrew and is gone ....... and has left us with "fragmentation, alienation, forsakenness, abandonment"? (p. 105). Spend some time thinking about this. (In what sense is this gloom the result of our being forsaken by God? In what sense is it the result of our forsaking God?).
5. WWI destroyed a sense of optimism that many prior to 1914 possessed, a belief in "the inevitability of progress." (p. 107). But perhaps the greatest loss was of a place to turn in our disillunionment. Neuhaus says with bewilderment (while considering the fact that the "presumably enlightened century" -- the 20th -- loosed more rivers of blood and piled up more corpses than any century in history), "Yet our nights are not torn by the scream, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Why is this so? What did "the enlightened century" do with God? Or what did we learn in our enlightenment about God? (That he doesn't exist? That he is impotent?)?
6. What does the following statement mean? -- "Our world is filled with pitiable Last Men and Last Women, as well as secular nihilists." (p. 108). Why does life have no definable meaning to them? Why then do they contnue to insist that their "lives have meaning"?
The 4th Word from the cross -- "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
1. Throughout the book Neuhaus has frequently referrred to Jesus as a "derelict." How do you feel about his use of that very harsh term? ("...... the English word 'dereliction' catches the desperation of the scene.")
2. The author defines the term in the opening sentence of the chapter: "......the derelict, the abandoned one." It brings to the fore the urgent question of whether Jesus was truly abandoned on the cross. Was he? If yes, why? If no, why did he cry out ("The Greek word used suggests that he screamed with a loud cry, .....Why!!!!" --p. 103)?
3. "'Dereliction' is an apt word for the times we call modern" (p. 104). From that assertion the author words a scathing assessment of the current world. What is he referring to when he says, "No matter how many fairy tales we tell, when we know that they are fairy tales, they cannot re-enchant the world." (p. 104)?
4. "Dover Beach" (easily found on the Internet) is a famous poem which speaks of a "long, withdrawing roar." What is it that withdrew and is gone ....... and has left us with "fragmentation, alienation, forsakenness, abandonment"? (p. 105). Spend some time thinking about this. (In what sense is this gloom the result of our being forsaken by God? In what sense is it the result of our forsaking God?).
5. WWI destroyed a sense of optimism that many prior to 1914 possessed, a belief in "the inevitability of progress." (p. 107). But perhaps the greatest loss was of a place to turn in our disillunionment. Neuhaus says with bewilderment (while considering the fact that the "presumably enlightened century" -- the 20th -- loosed more rivers of blood and piled up more corpses than any century in history), "Yet our nights are not torn by the scream, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Why is this so? What did "the enlightened century" do with God? Or what did we learn in our enlightenment about God? (That he doesn't exist? That he is impotent?)?
6. What does the following statement mean? -- "Our world is filled with pitiable Last Men and Last Women, as well as secular nihilists." (p. 108). Why does life have no definable meaning to them? Why then do they contnue to insist that their "lives have meaning"?
7. The worst thing that could possibly happen has already happened -- On a certain Friday afternoon God was killed. Given that, to what does the following statement refer? -- "To be sure, at the heart of darkness there is also hope, because the worst word is not the last word."
8. Neuhaus sees hope in the hoplessness of the cross, light in the utter darkness. Perhaps it's not overstating the case to say that there was a touch of optimism in the horrible cry from the cross. "One who cries out, 'My God, My God' -- although he be crying to a God experienced as absent -- has not lost hope." How might the cry of a derelict who had lost hope differ from Jesus's cry?
9. What are the "American specialties of long standing" mentioned on p. 117? What role (if any) does the cross play in the practice of these American specialties?
10. What in the world has happened to a culture that believes it to be a "mark of sophistication" to reduce "wonder to banality"? (p. 125), to treat "reverence as vulgar; irreverence (calling a crucifix submersed in a bottle of urine art) as chic" (p. 125)?
11. How does "radical subjectivism" (p. 126) judge the motives/actions of one who jumps in a river to save a drowning child and another who watches from the bank as the child drowns?
12. What does the following statement mean? "It is precisely in the darkness of abandonment that God's power shines through our human weakness." (p. 136).
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Thanks to all of you for wrestling with chapter two which deals with Jesus's words to the "good" (really?) thief -- and what that man's story might say about the rest (all the rest) of us. The word "stimulating" seems inadequate to describe the great meeting Monday night. I hope you'll continue the discussion with posts to the blog.
Amy Jonakin has offered to bring a cake (or something) next week. If someone wants to relieve her of that duty (since she did it only a week ago), please say so.
Discussion questions/ideas for Monday, November 19:
The third word from the cross -- "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from tht hour the disciple took her to his own home."
1. To what does Neuhaus refer in his use of the phrase "A Strange Glory"?
2. "Did (Mary) know, as she stood there by her dying son, that this was the way of the strange glory by which he would conquer sin and death?" (p. 72). What do you think Mary knew as she stood with John at the foot of the cross?
3. In what sense is the following statement true? "That was her body on the cross, for Jesus, virgin born, had no body other than the body he had received from Mary." (p. 73).
4. Neuhas says of the "docetists" that they, "thinking to honor God ........ denied the ways of God." What does he mean? Of whom is he speaking when he says further, "Such Christians are still with us today."
5. Read these sentences together and if they seem true to you, restate them in your own words: "They could not have been closer, Jesus and Mary, and yet there was a strange distancing." (p. 75). "The love that lets go is never easy. Such love has to be learned." (p. 75, 76).
6. Jesus spoke of his "hour." Of what was he speaking? He says also that Mary had to experience that "hour."
So, according to the author, must we. "In relation to Jesus, there is no way to be part, to have part, except to take part in his 'hour.'" (p. 76). Do you agree? How do we do that?
7. "Some Christians who have an intense devotion to Mary are embarrassed and offended by (the) Gospel passages that suggest a distancing between Jesus and his mother." (p. 78). Neuhaus says they are wrong, that they fail to understand that "in this distancing love is a deepening of discipleship." What does he mean?
8. Neuhaus insists that "Mary cannot be honored enough." But he recognizes that she can be honored wrongly, thereby being not honored at all (in fact, dishonored). What is he talking about? How do you feel about it?
9. In a social commentary, the author says, "In all our promotion of empowerment, fulfillment, self-esteem and self-actualization, we should know what we are doing. We are rejecting the very heart of what it means to be a Christian." (p. 81). "Maybe we have grown so accustomed to living against the grain of our humanity that we have confused ourselves about which way the grain runs." (p. 81). His example of how to do right regarding this subject is Mary. What does he mean?
10. Was Mary helpless as she stood before Jesus on the cross? Was there anything she could/did do to help him there? "Stabat Mater dolorosa" (p. 82).
11. Why is there hope "in the heart of darkness"? (p. 83)
12. Mary was, like all of us, a disciple by grace. And yet, it was her consenting to the announcement that she would bear God's son, that made her and our discipleship possible. Without her consent we couldn't be Christians. It's in this context that Neuhaus and others use the phrase, "the effect us the cause of the cause." They don't mean that be just flowery verbiage, but to mean something profound. What do you think?
13. In what sense does Neuhaus argue that John was Jesus as he stood with Mary at the cross. How could that be true of all of us? (That we are Jesus, the children of Mary).
14. How does the following statement relate to the role of Mary in relation to the church, to us: "For adults to turn and become children, to live again in a world of miracle and play, requires a larger horizon than that provided by the mother. The mother as Thou was but to prepare the way for an encounter with a greater Thou who is able to comprehend the contradictions of one's ever more complex existence." (p. 100).
Amy Jonakin has offered to bring a cake (or something) next week. If someone wants to relieve her of that duty (since she did it only a week ago), please say so.
Discussion questions/ideas for Monday, November 19:
The third word from the cross -- "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from tht hour the disciple took her to his own home."
1. To what does Neuhaus refer in his use of the phrase "A Strange Glory"?
2. "Did (Mary) know, as she stood there by her dying son, that this was the way of the strange glory by which he would conquer sin and death?" (p. 72). What do you think Mary knew as she stood with John at the foot of the cross?
3. In what sense is the following statement true? "That was her body on the cross, for Jesus, virgin born, had no body other than the body he had received from Mary." (p. 73).
4. Neuhas says of the "docetists" that they, "thinking to honor God ........ denied the ways of God." What does he mean? Of whom is he speaking when he says further, "Such Christians are still with us today."
5. Read these sentences together and if they seem true to you, restate them in your own words: "They could not have been closer, Jesus and Mary, and yet there was a strange distancing." (p. 75). "The love that lets go is never easy. Such love has to be learned." (p. 75, 76).
6. Jesus spoke of his "hour." Of what was he speaking? He says also that Mary had to experience that "hour."
So, according to the author, must we. "In relation to Jesus, there is no way to be part, to have part, except to take part in his 'hour.'" (p. 76). Do you agree? How do we do that?
7. "Some Christians who have an intense devotion to Mary are embarrassed and offended by (the) Gospel passages that suggest a distancing between Jesus and his mother." (p. 78). Neuhaus says they are wrong, that they fail to understand that "in this distancing love is a deepening of discipleship." What does he mean?
8. Neuhaus insists that "Mary cannot be honored enough." But he recognizes that she can be honored wrongly, thereby being not honored at all (in fact, dishonored). What is he talking about? How do you feel about it?
9. In a social commentary, the author says, "In all our promotion of empowerment, fulfillment, self-esteem and self-actualization, we should know what we are doing. We are rejecting the very heart of what it means to be a Christian." (p. 81). "Maybe we have grown so accustomed to living against the grain of our humanity that we have confused ourselves about which way the grain runs." (p. 81). His example of how to do right regarding this subject is Mary. What does he mean?
10. Was Mary helpless as she stood before Jesus on the cross? Was there anything she could/did do to help him there? "Stabat Mater dolorosa" (p. 82).
11. Why is there hope "in the heart of darkness"? (p. 83)
12. Mary was, like all of us, a disciple by grace. And yet, it was her consenting to the announcement that she would bear God's son, that made her and our discipleship possible. Without her consent we couldn't be Christians. It's in this context that Neuhaus and others use the phrase, "the effect us the cause of the cause." They don't mean that be just flowery verbiage, but to mean something profound. What do you think?
13. In what sense does Neuhaus argue that John was Jesus as he stood with Mary at the cross. How could that be true of all of us? (That we are Jesus, the children of Mary).
14. How does the following statement relate to the role of Mary in relation to the church, to us: "For adults to turn and become children, to live again in a world of miracle and play, requires a larger horizon than that provided by the mother. The mother as Thou was but to prepare the way for an encounter with a greater Thou who is able to comprehend the contradictions of one's ever more complex existence." (p. 100).
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Thank you for the thoughtful contributions to the blog this week. Please keep them coming. They're wonderful!
I know some have found the mechanics of posting your thoughts difficult. I've asked Sonya Guice (someone who knows how to converse with computers) to post some instructions to help us.
Thanks are due to Amy Jonakin for the brown sugar pound cake (with brown sugar icing no less) this week. And to Darrel Washington for the coffee. And thanks to Linda Ghignone for volunteering to provide something to munch on on the 12th.
Please consider the following things in preparation for the Book Club meeting scheduled for Monday, November 12............
Death On A Friday Afternoon -- Chapter Two -- Judge Not
1. Study the following fascinating (at least to me) statements and tell what they mean to you: "Whatever else (he) had stolen in (his life), .....the 'good thief' stole at the end a reward he did not deserve." (p. 35). "Traveling in the ragtag company of those on the way to paradise and seeing Dysmas up there in the lead, we .........." (p. 43).
2. In what sense does Neuhaus, following the lead of Dorothy Sayers play, The Man Born to be King, say of Jesus and Dysmas, side by side on their crosses, that "in some strange way, each is bearing the pain of the other."? (p. 37).
3. What point does this chapter make, based on the story of the "good thief", about the quality of faith necessary to enable Jesus to enter our lives and to bring wonder to us? (2nd paragraph, p. 38). See also the following related statement on p. 42: "Look at him with whatever faith you have and know that your worry abvout your lack of faith is itself a sign of faith."
4. "The Church, the community of faith, is the people ahead of time." (p. 39). How does this iluminate the discussion began on p. 38 about the "disputed sovereignty" of Jesus?
5. "Paradise" (perfection) is what Jesus promises the good thief. Neuhaus says that must be our goal too, that we can settle for nothing less and that perfection is that for which we all long withing a longing marked by "hunger and dissatisfaction." Put in your own words the meaning of the following statement from p. 39: "What we long for is touched in our exaltations; in our devastations it is known by its absence."
6. What does the imagery in the following statement mean to you? "A new tree of life, the tree of the cross."
7. Neuhaus speaks of the "very old and attractive idea ...... that in the end, everyone will be saved" (p. 43) What in the story of the good thief leads to that idea?
8. How do you feel about the following question, based on the assertion in I Timothy that God "desires all to be saved"? --- "Is it possible that God's purpose will be thwarted?" (p. 44)
9. We cannot be like God and not "desire" that all will in the end be saved. But what is the difference between "desire" and "hope?"
10. On the subject of universal salvation the author argues (as I believe he would on a myriad of subjects) that we should possess a certain "cognitive humility." (p. 50). What does he mean? ("It would seem to be the unanimous experience of Christian thinkers and mystics that, the farther they travel on the roads of thought and contemplation, the more they know that they do not know.") (p. 53).
11. "Given the evidence of Scripture and tradition, we cannot deny that hell exists. We can, however, hope that hell is empty." Share your thoughts on that statement.
12. If hell is and shall remain empty, what is the purpose of all the Bible talk about it. Neuhaus says it is "admonitory, cautionary, a warning and alarm." What are your thoughts?
13. Spend some time with the long paragraph on p. 70. Be prepared to share your thoughts.
11.
I know some have found the mechanics of posting your thoughts difficult. I've asked Sonya Guice (someone who knows how to converse with computers) to post some instructions to help us.
Thanks are due to Amy Jonakin for the brown sugar pound cake (with brown sugar icing no less) this week. And to Darrel Washington for the coffee. And thanks to Linda Ghignone for volunteering to provide something to munch on on the 12th.
Please consider the following things in preparation for the Book Club meeting scheduled for Monday, November 12............
Death On A Friday Afternoon -- Chapter Two -- Judge Not
1. Study the following fascinating (at least to me) statements and tell what they mean to you: "Whatever else (he) had stolen in (his life), .....the 'good thief' stole at the end a reward he did not deserve." (p. 35). "Traveling in the ragtag company of those on the way to paradise and seeing Dysmas up there in the lead, we .........." (p. 43).
2. In what sense does Neuhaus, following the lead of Dorothy Sayers play, The Man Born to be King, say of Jesus and Dysmas, side by side on their crosses, that "in some strange way, each is bearing the pain of the other."? (p. 37).
3. What point does this chapter make, based on the story of the "good thief", about the quality of faith necessary to enable Jesus to enter our lives and to bring wonder to us? (2nd paragraph, p. 38). See also the following related statement on p. 42: "Look at him with whatever faith you have and know that your worry abvout your lack of faith is itself a sign of faith."
4. "The Church, the community of faith, is the people ahead of time." (p. 39). How does this iluminate the discussion began on p. 38 about the "disputed sovereignty" of Jesus?
5. "Paradise" (perfection) is what Jesus promises the good thief. Neuhaus says that must be our goal too, that we can settle for nothing less and that perfection is that for which we all long withing a longing marked by "hunger and dissatisfaction." Put in your own words the meaning of the following statement from p. 39: "What we long for is touched in our exaltations; in our devastations it is known by its absence."
6. What does the imagery in the following statement mean to you? "A new tree of life, the tree of the cross."
7. Neuhaus speaks of the "very old and attractive idea ...... that in the end, everyone will be saved" (p. 43) What in the story of the good thief leads to that idea?
8. How do you feel about the following question, based on the assertion in I Timothy that God "desires all to be saved"? --- "Is it possible that God's purpose will be thwarted?" (p. 44)
9. We cannot be like God and not "desire" that all will in the end be saved. But what is the difference between "desire" and "hope?"
10. On the subject of universal salvation the author argues (as I believe he would on a myriad of subjects) that we should possess a certain "cognitive humility." (p. 50). What does he mean? ("It would seem to be the unanimous experience of Christian thinkers and mystics that, the farther they travel on the roads of thought and contemplation, the more they know that they do not know.") (p. 53).
11. "Given the evidence of Scripture and tradition, we cannot deny that hell exists. We can, however, hope that hell is empty." Share your thoughts on that statement.
12. If hell is and shall remain empty, what is the purpose of all the Bible talk about it. Neuhaus says it is "admonitory, cautionary, a warning and alarm." What are your thoughts?
13. Spend some time with the long paragraph on p. 70. Be prepared to share your thoughts.
11.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Death On A Friday Afternoon -- Chapter One
Items for discussion:
1. "I invite you to be open to the thought that this time that you are now calling the present is Holy Week, for all time was there, is there, at the cross." How do you interpret that difficult, but important, statment?
2. "Stay a while in the eclipse of the light (the horrors of the terrible day that we call 'Good' Friday), stay a while with the conquered One. There is time enough for Easter." "In this killing that some call senseless we are brought to our senses." "..... we will not know what to do with Easter's light if we shun the friendship of the darkness that is wisdom's way to light." Read together, what is the significance of those statements (all on p. 2)?
3. "....lightly, eagerly did (the prodigal son) leave the love that gave him life. He rushed to the light (which proved to be darkness)." Later he "came to his senses" and asked, "What am I doing, what have I done with my life?" (p. 3). What brought him to his senses? What does his experience teach us? How does "Good Friday bring us to our senses."?
4. What does the word "Recapitulation" mean as used on pp. 4 & 5?
5. Put into your own words the following statement from p. 5: ".....the only life to be trusted is the life on the far side of death."
6. In what way is the "real world" as we use the phrase to be equated to the distant country of the prodigal son?
7. "So then, this is our circmustance. Something has gone dreadfully wrong with the world" (p. 11). Do you agree? What is it that's gone wrong?
8. By what reckoning have we arrived at a point where "enlightened" people can declare "sin's injury a benefit, our weakness a strength, and the fall ....... a fall up rather than down."? (p. 13).
9. "Father, forgive them" (the first words from the cross). Forgiveness costs. There are four simple (and yet profound) truths that must be understood before we can possibly understand the concept of atonement. What are they? (PP. 21-22).
10. What point is Neuhaus making in pointing out the similar meanings of the words "complicity" and "complexity"? (p. 19).
11. State the theodicy question. How has it been used to declard that "God is guilty!"?
12. "To those who are accustomed to living in a world turned upside down, setting it right cannot help but appear to be turning it upside down" (p. 32). How does staying with Good Friday (with its horror) illuminate our understanding of that statement?
Items for discussion:
1. "I invite you to be open to the thought that this time that you are now calling the present is Holy Week, for all time was there, is there, at the cross." How do you interpret that difficult, but important, statment?
2. "Stay a while in the eclipse of the light (the horrors of the terrible day that we call 'Good' Friday), stay a while with the conquered One. There is time enough for Easter." "In this killing that some call senseless we are brought to our senses." "..... we will not know what to do with Easter's light if we shun the friendship of the darkness that is wisdom's way to light." Read together, what is the significance of those statements (all on p. 2)?
3. "....lightly, eagerly did (the prodigal son) leave the love that gave him life. He rushed to the light (which proved to be darkness)." Later he "came to his senses" and asked, "What am I doing, what have I done with my life?" (p. 3). What brought him to his senses? What does his experience teach us? How does "Good Friday bring us to our senses."?
4. What does the word "Recapitulation" mean as used on pp. 4 & 5?
5. Put into your own words the following statement from p. 5: ".....the only life to be trusted is the life on the far side of death."
6. In what way is the "real world" as we use the phrase to be equated to the distant country of the prodigal son?
7. "So then, this is our circmustance. Something has gone dreadfully wrong with the world" (p. 11). Do you agree? What is it that's gone wrong?
8. By what reckoning have we arrived at a point where "enlightened" people can declare "sin's injury a benefit, our weakness a strength, and the fall ....... a fall up rather than down."? (p. 13).
9. "Father, forgive them" (the first words from the cross). Forgiveness costs. There are four simple (and yet profound) truths that must be understood before we can possibly understand the concept of atonement. What are they? (PP. 21-22).
10. What point is Neuhaus making in pointing out the similar meanings of the words "complicity" and "complexity"? (p. 19).
11. State the theodicy question. How has it been used to declard that "God is guilty!"?
12. "To those who are accustomed to living in a world turned upside down, setting it right cannot help but appear to be turning it upside down" (p. 32). How does staying with Good Friday (with its horror) illuminate our understanding of that statement?
Monday, October 29, 2007
Discussion questions for Monday, October 29 meeting of Book Club:
(Comments via blog welcomed and encouraged)
1. What does this statement mean to you? "Good Friday is not simply the dismal but necessary prelude to the joy of Easter, although I'm afraid many Christians think of it that way."
2. Why -- if it was -- was Holy Week and the Crucifixion necessary?
3. Neuhaus intends the book to be "an exploration into mystery." What does that mean? What does it not mean
4. For what three groups of readers did Neuhaus write the book?
5. The following is one of the book's most controversial statements: If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything" (p. xi). What does it mean? Why is it controversial?
6. "It is finished," Jesus said from the cross. It is finished, but it is not over. To accompany him to his end is to discover our beginning" What do you think Neuhaus means by that statement? What (if anything) does it mean to you?
(Comments via blog welcomed and encouraged)
1. What does this statement mean to you? "Good Friday is not simply the dismal but necessary prelude to the joy of Easter, although I'm afraid many Christians think of it that way."
2. Why -- if it was -- was Holy Week and the Crucifixion necessary?
3. Neuhaus intends the book to be "an exploration into mystery." What does that mean? What does it not mean
4. For what three groups of readers did Neuhaus write the book?
5. The following is one of the book's most controversial statements: If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything" (p. xi). What does it mean? Why is it controversial?
6. "It is finished," Jesus said from the cross. It is finished, but it is not over. To accompany him to his end is to discover our beginning" What do you think Neuhaus means by that statement? What (if anything) does it mean to you?
Friday, October 26, 2007
Charlie Middlebrook
Ladies and Gentlemen --
It's been brought to my attention -- by more than one -- that some are having a bit of a time of it getting a copy of Death On a Friday Afternoon, ...... that it's on order but not yet here.
So let's do this. We will still plan to discuss chapter 1 Monday, but in a limited way, recognizing that some won't have read it. In addition, we'll talk about a well-written, relevant article sent to me by Chris Taylor. It deals with the fact that some of us are Catholics, some Protestants of one kind or another and some possibly something else. It's entitled "The Threefold Witness of the Church." You can easily Google it up. (Remember, our author, Richard John Neuhaus is a Catholic priest).
CM
It's been brought to my attention -- by more than one -- that some are having a bit of a time of it getting a copy of Death On a Friday Afternoon, ...... that it's on order but not yet here.
So let's do this. We will still plan to discuss chapter 1 Monday, but in a limited way, recognizing that some won't have read it. In addition, we'll talk about a well-written, relevant article sent to me by Chris Taylor. It deals with the fact that some of us are Catholics, some Protestants of one kind or another and some possibly something else. It's entitled "The Threefold Witness of the Church." You can easily Google it up. (Remember, our author, Richard John Neuhaus is a Catholic priest).
CM
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Charlie Middlebrook
Ladies and Gentlemen --
We did -- as announced -- have our first fall book club meeting last night (10/22/2007). But not to worry! You're not seriously behind. We simply introduced the book (Death on A Friday Afternoon) and its author, Richard John Neuhaus, something you can easily do for yourself via the internet. Type the essentials (title and name) into the Google search window and you'll find plenty to read that'll bring you up to speed.
Obviously (since I selected the book), I think DOAFA is very worth our time and attention. Most of the reviews I've read (there are many, some by literary royalty and others by commoners like most of us) give Neuhaus high marks for originality, passion and style. He wrestles with difficult concepts and draws his own conclusions, some of them controversial.I predict you'll be like me, at least in the sense that sometimes you'll want to shout your agreement and other times you'll just want to shout (in frustration). That's good because (even if there aren't better reasons) it'll make for lively discussion.
The assignment for this week is to read chapter 1 and be prepared to discuss it at Monday's meeting. And please in the meantime feel free to post comments (reactions) on this website.
We did -- as announced -- have our first fall book club meeting last night (10/22/2007). But not to worry! You're not seriously behind. We simply introduced the book (Death on A Friday Afternoon) and its author, Richard John Neuhaus, something you can easily do for yourself via the internet. Type the essentials (title and name) into the Google search window and you'll find plenty to read that'll bring you up to speed.
Obviously (since I selected the book), I think DOAFA is very worth our time and attention. Most of the reviews I've read (there are many, some by literary royalty and others by commoners like most of us) give Neuhaus high marks for originality, passion and style. He wrestles with difficult concepts and draws his own conclusions, some of them controversial.I predict you'll be like me, at least in the sense that sometimes you'll want to shout your agreement and other times you'll just want to shout (in frustration). That's good because (even if there aren't better reasons) it'll make for lively discussion.
The assignment for this week is to read chapter 1 and be prepared to discuss it at Monday's meeting. And please in the meantime feel free to post comments (reactions) on this website.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Impact University Fall Book Club
Welcome to our book club. The book club will start this week. The book we will be discussing is Death on a Friday Afternoon by John Richard Neuhaus (see link below).
If you would like to discuss the book in person and not online, you are welcome to attend the book club at the Impact Church of Christ building. We will begin discussing the book on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 7 pm in the main building. The address is 1704 Weber Street, Houston, TX 77007.
Death on a
Friday Afternoon
If you would like to discuss the book in person and not online, you are welcome to attend the book club at the Impact Church of Christ building. We will begin discussing the book on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 7 pm in the main building. The address is 1704 Weber Street, Houston, TX 77007.
Death on a
Friday Afternoon
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