Happy Friday, friends! Hope you’ve had a great week and are enjoying “Another Gospel?” Here are this week’s questions:
Chapter 1: Crisis of Faith
*Have you heard of the term “progressive Christianity” before? If you have not, are you surprised to learn how it can pick apart at all of which Christians tend to hold near and dear? If you have, where do you see its pervasiveness (social media, church, etc.)?
*Have you ever been thrust into a spiritual blackout like the author described (pg. 8)?
Chapter 2: Rocks in My Shoe
*Alisa describes one of the pebbles in her shoe to be her concern over altar calls. Are there any “traditional” parts of your religion/faith that sometimes give you pause or feel like a pebble in your shoe?
*“In the context of faith, deconstruction is the process of systematically dissecting and often rejecting the beliefs you grew up with” (pg. 24). In your opinion can deconstruction be healthy? Why or why not?
Chapter 3: Creeds, Cobbler, and Walter Bauer
*Did it surprise you to learn that there are other gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas? Why is the the inerrancy of Scripture such an important factor in our belief system?
*“In my view, it should be up to Jesus and the apostles to define what Christianity is” (pg. 41). Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
Scripture of the Week
1 Corinthians 15:3-5
Prayer of the Week
Father God, thank You for sending lifeboats our way. We cannot begin to imagine all that You are doing in our lives and all the ways that You have saved us and kept us. Help us to have eyes wide open to Your truth and keep our minds true to You. There is so much that the world wants us to believe and it can sound nice and even true sometimes but we know You are the truth and Your Word can be trusted. Thank You for having patience with us in our doubts and we pray that any doubts we have can lead us to a stronger and more firm faith in You. We love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
This is just the book I have been needing to read! đ¤
Iâve heard the term âprogressive Christianityâ but wasnât exactly sure what it meant. I think itâs very surprising and sad how far from the actual truth of Christianity this version is.
I can definitely relate to the spiritual blackout the author talks about – Iâm going through that right now actually. It can be very difficult for those whoâve grown up in Christianity because often we donât question the âwhyâ of the beliefs we have.
When the author said she was âthe one you would never worry aboutâ (page 5), it felt like my throat choked on my heart. Growing up in the church, accepting Christ at a young age, knowing the Bible stories – you âgetâ it…and so much of the time no one worries about you âfalling away,â âbacksliding,â (to use the church terms) or just questioning why you believe.
And most churches donât teach on or encourage questioning the faith – itâs seen as a negative thing. But itâs important to know both what and why you believe…this is where deconstruction comes in and why I believe it can be healthy. The pulling apart of oneâs beliefs is not to necessarily decide you donât want to be a part of it anymore, but done in order to deepen your understanding and as a result, your faith.
Knowing is half the battle, as they say, and the more one knows, the more challenging things can be most of the time. Weâre left to untangle the yarn of information weâve discovered. Additional or adjusted information can try to get (and often becomes) weaved into the actual truth. That is why it is so important to look at the Bible first and then compare whatever else youâve found against it – not the other way around.
I have heard there are other Gospels and am now interested in looking into them to have a better understanding of how they donât relate to the true Scriptures. The inerrancy of Scripture is so important because if it is fallible, in any way, we have no hope. Christ is either our only chance for redemption, or we are screwed.
Progressive Christianity is essentially Christianity altered to fit manâs liking. I agree with the author when she says that Christianity should be defined by Jesus; the apostles were taught what Christianity was through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, so they did not really define it but shared it and lived it out.
âThe truth hurtsâ is a common phrase we like to use when we know deep down something is right but have a hard time accepting it. The real Truth, Jesus, hurts/aches for us, and allowed Himself to be hurt by us in order to save us. We need to let His Truth sink into us.
Scripture is hard to understand; there are many things that are hard to grasp – some things we may not like or have a hard time accepting. When I come across areas that are challenging, I dive deeper, assuming I am either wrong or not comprehending correctly. Between me and Godâs Word, Iâm only kidding myself if I think Iâm right. đWe need to rely on Him to help us understand and not try to create our own, âacceptable,â progressive version.
I think you really hit the nail on the head by saying Progressive Christianity is an altered version fit to man’s liking. I can’t understand this way of picking and choosing what you like from Scripture and tossing out the rest. Or thinking of Jesus as merely a buddy and not Savior. I do think it’s important to know why you believe what you believe and it can be healthy to progress in your Christianity but like the author said to not progress beyond truth. I think when we start to pick and choose then we’re on sinking sand. Christianity isn’t always going to be easy or likeable – it can be hard to digest. But there has to be a standard of truth, a plumb line to measure things against and I think we have it in historical Christianity. Everything else won’t hold up. And if it’s all based on what I like or don’t like it’s not solid enough to stand on and that’s what pushes me back to God’s Word and His Truth. I think last year I really went through a spiritual blackout – I was questioning everything, my views about things were changing and I didn’t like where they were headed. I find if I’m agreeing with the world on everything then I’m probably not in line with Scripture so that led me back to a desire to pursue Truth and what you ended with “relying on Him to help us understand and not try to create our own… version.” It’s tough but if it isn’t about salvation and what God provided in Jesus then there’s no hope.