THE PROBLEM OF GOD Study Guide Questions

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2 THE PROBLEM OF GOD Study Guide Questions Introduction Questions: 1. The longer you re a Christian, the more you come to realize that faith requires skepticism. What have you recently been skeptical about in your faith? Do you tend to lean into your doubts, or away from them? 2. How does an informed faith, enhance, and enrich your beliefs? When you question your beliefs, do you respond by seeking answers to your skepticism, or blindly continuing to believe your conclusions? 3. What factors present Christianity as the most rational, and distinct position in the marketplace of ideas? What of its origins, meaning, morality, and destiny support this worldview?

3 Chapter 1 The Problem of Science questions: 1. The narrative of a secular worldview states, Science is based on truth and evidence, while faith is based on hopeful thinking and legend. How have you found the dichotomy between faith and science to be misguided? Have you found them to support, suppress, or oppose one another? 2. Think about a naturalist worldview, compared to a Christian worldview, and identify a couple things that are contrary to Christianity about the Naturalist worldview. How does the biblical worldview challenge it? 3. Think about, or discuss the following questions from a naturalistic perspective: Why is there something rather than nothing? What happens to a person at death? How do you determine right or wrong? How did matter create mind? Why do human beings have consciousness and not just instinct? 4. What are your thoughts about the idea that everyone has a faith position? What was your first thought when it was noted that even in denying any faith, you align with alternative beliefs. Do you agree, or disagree with this?

4 Chapter 2 The Problem of God s Existence questions: 1. What evidence (physical, moral, or otherwise) have you seen that helps to affirm, or deny your belief in God? Is there any evidence that would cause you to disbelieve your current conclusion? 2. Think, and try to find the root of your personal convictions. What has caused you to define what is right and wrong? 3. Does the scientific evidence of the beginning of the universe, and its the finetuning cause you to believe something outside of it likely created it? 4. Think of counterevidence for not believing in God. Do your best to truly detail any rational explanation that would provide an adequate framework for the existence of our universe, our consciousness, etc., 5. How could you use the evidences/arguments in this chapter in a conversation with a friend or family member who doesn t believe in God?

5 Chapter 3 The Problem of the Bible questions: 1. What are the doubts/questions you have had to confront in relation to the Bible, and why? (Read the list on page 61, and see if you have had similar doubts, and questions!) What issues do you hear from people most often in regard to their doubts about the Bible? 2. If you were faced with evidence that caused the Bible to be reliable, would you be willing to retire your skepticism, and exercise faith in Jesus? Why or why not? 3. Have you found contradictions in the Bible? Think critically about ways you may have placed a standard on the Bible that you wouldn t on yourself, or other historical texts. 4. How does understanding the Old Testament and New Testament as a progression, differ than viewing it as a divide? Does this change your appreciation for the differences in the teachings between the Old and New Testament? 5. In developing your trust, or mistrust of the Bible, how much have you considered the historical scrutiny it has been placed under? Does this level of scrutiny render it more valid than other historical documents? 6. Talk about how the discussion of Context, paragraph, genre, etc., has helped you resolve some of the issues you/others may have with the Bible.

6 Chapter 4 The Problem of the Christ Myth questions: Christ was constructed by the church as another mythical character in the same mold as hundreds of other stories told throughout history in different cultures. 1. Have you contemplated, or heard about the Christ Myth before? What ramifications would this have for Christianity if it were true? If rendered false, what ramifications does it have for humankind? 2. How did the eyewitness accounts of the physical resurrection of Jesus substantiate the claim that he existed, and cause Christianity to rapidly grow in the Roman Empire? 3. When coming to a conclusion on what to believe, how far do you regularly go to justify your beliefs? Do you pursue the original texts, or rely on secondary sources? What benefit does critical study play in developing our faith position? (The importance of the discipleship of the mind)? 4. Read the five accounts of Horus, Mithras, Dionysus, Attis and Krishna. What did you find interesting about the parallels between these five gods and Jesus? What stood out as the most interesting point of comparison? 5. How important, even in a postmodern western world, is the continued push for actual truth/history versus just settling for vague assumed critiques? 6. After reading the account of Tolkien and Lewis, has your awe for the true story (the gospel of Jesus) increased? How do all of the false narratives found in the myths of all the ages, actually increase our appreciation for the truth of Christianity?

7 Chapter 5 The Problem of Evil and Suffering questions: 1. How has the problem of evil and suffering changed your view and understanding of God? What emotion is stirred up, what questions arise? 2. Consider the David Hume quote, Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able to but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Why then is there evil? Can God and evil co-exist in our reality? Why, or why not? 3. Go through the Alvin Plantinga argument for why Hume s argument doesn t work. What is Plantinga saying? 4. Why does our ability to engage with evil and suffering on a personal level make it more difficult to deal with philosophically? Does a philosophical answer lessen the pain felt when faced with personal accounts of evil and suffering? 5. If you are, or have ever held a different worldview than Christianity, what is/was your answer for the problem of evil and suffering? 6. How does an acknowledgement of the existence of evil push us toward believing in God? 7. Think of times in your life you have seen something bad lead to something good. Have you ever considered that evil may make way for a greater good? What encouragement does this bring into your experiences?

8 Chapter 6 The Problem of Hell questions: 1. Up until this point, what has been your understanding of hell? How did that understanding motivate you towards, or away from Christianity? 2. The wrath of God is often attributed to the Old Testament. How does Jesus frequent mention of hell, and its attributes change your perspective on the differences found in the Old Testament and New Testament account of God? 3. How has not liking the idea of hell caused you to develop beliefs around the existence of it? What other truths have you denied due to your preferences instead of critical study? 4. How might personal experience impact your understanding of justice? Have you ever witnessed an event that changed your philosophical considerations of justice into empathetic longings for justice? 5. Think for a moment on the characteristics of the love and tenderness of God. Now think for a moment on the characteristics of his righteousness and justice. Does God s love and tenderness negate his righteousness and justice, even if they are achieved through the means of hell? 6. Name another culture that believes something different to you. How do you determine which belief is superior? 7. What areas of your life are you needing to replace with a new affection for Jesus? How does the hope of each day being a new opportunity to repent give you encouragement for yourself, and others you love that don t know, and follow Jesus?

9 Chapter 7 The Problem of Sex questions: 1. Inside, or outside of any religious upbringing, how have you been taught to view sex (sex-is-bad, sex-is-god, or sex-is-appetite)? In your best understanding, what is the purpose of sex? What is admissible, and what is not? 2. In what ways have you seen cultural sexuality change in your lifetime? How has the priority of the autonomous self impacted our societies ability to function in sexually healthy ways? Has this been good, or bad for our culture? 3. How is a healthy and robust sex-life God s desire for your sex-life? What context should sex be enjoyed within? What steps can you take to ensure this happens in your life? 4. Note your thoughts on The Case for Marriage study that noted married couples not only being more emotionally satisfied, but also having more frequent, and better sex. In what ways does this encourage a biblical application of marriage, and sexual ethics? 5. If good sex takes practice, what steps can you take with your spouse to increase the frequency in which you practice, and learn one another s bodies? Be creative, and try something new this week! 6. How has sex in many ways become the ultimate pleasure of our time? How might a Christian perspective oppose this narrative, while still identifying sex as a wonderful gift to be enjoyed? 7. Is sex void of any moral value? What queues from society, or your experiences validate, or invalidate this growing sex-is-appetite belief? 8. How do sexual restrictions actually enhance sexual pleasure, and not limit it? Does our host culture oppose, or encourage the act of allowing sexual restrictions?

10 Chapter 8 The Problem of Hypocrisy questions: 1. In your own experience, how has the poor behavior of Christians impacted your belief about Christianity, and its beliefs as a whole? What do you think encourages the thought that Christians must be perfect? 2. Does Christianity s history of terrible actions cause you to second guess, or hesitate to be aligned with it? What would it take to change the perception of Christianity? 3. Why is the correct response when confronted about the hypocrisy in the Church to apologize for the horrible things done in the name of Christ? How does this set the stage for healing, and reconciliation? 4. When assessing Christianity, it is best done by investigating its central teachings, and teacher, Jesus, and not it s followers, the church. Why is this important for anyone looking further into Christianity to understand that the fact there are hypocrites in the Church, affirms it s ability to transform lives? 5. What is the difference between a Christian, and a cultural Christian? Why is it difficult to identify cultural Christians from real followers of Christ, and what queues can help identify the difference? 6. In what ways does the growth of a Christian identify their genuine love for Jesus, more than their ability to play the part of a Christian? How have you grown in the last month in your relationship with Jesus? 7. Think of adequate, fact based responses for the claims against Christianity that specifically speak to hypocrisy in the historical, and current church. Why is it important to have true responses in a world of misinformation, and skepticism around truth claims?

11 Chapter 9 The Problem of Exclusivity questions: 1. Why is the exclusivity of Christianity such a difficult, and polarizing topic? In what ways is Christianity inclusive, while holding to an exclusive means of salvation? 2. How have you found Christianity to be narrow-minded, and judgmental? In what ways have these observations been proven, or disproven by your interaction with Christians? How have you personally been narrow-minded, and judgmental? 3. In what way is holding an exclusive faith position different than denying others the right to believe, and practice what they believe? 4. How does cultural pluralism differ from metaphysical pluralism? Which is right for a Christian to fight for, and which would render Christianity s central message invalid? 5. We learned that more worldviews than Christianity claim exclusivity. In what way is tolerance offensive, actually counteracting the peace-making effect it is trying to achieve? 6. What worldview have you previously held to be the best choice amongst the marketplace of ideas? Has looking more critically at some of the largest skepticisms of Christianity changed your view at all? If so, in what ways? 7. What passages teach the exclusivity of Christianity as the only way to God? How can you explain this to a friend and make them understand why this is the most rational and loving of all the worldviews?

12 Chapter 10 The Problem of Jesus questions: 1. What has been the primary source of information regarding what you believe about Jesus Christ? Why is what you believe about Jesus, more important than believing in his existence, and in fact the central question of our lives? 2. If understanding, and knowing Jesus is that important, what are you doing to grow your knowledge and understanding of Him? 3. In what ways have you been skeptical about Jesus claim to be God? What encouraged, or discouraged your belief in this claim? How is it possible Jesus be both fully God, and fully man? 4. Of the many claims of Jesus listed on page 222, what description do you most honestly believe? How does the question, Is Jesus Christ God? confront the most crucial belief of every world religion? 5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the center of Christianity. How you deal with the claim that Jesus physically, literally rose from the dead will either support, or reject God s plan for your life. What do you believe about the resurrection of Christ, and why? If you believe it, what does it mean for you today as you live your life? 6. Sometimes we re stopped from making important life decisions due to a fear of change. What are you afraid to lose if you give your life to Jesus, maybe for the first time, or maybe to a further extent than you ever have? What do you have to lose, and what do you have to gain?