I. Reality and Religion
A. Reality is not simple; therefore religion cannot be simple.
B. Reality is often odd and not neat; therefore religion can be odd and not neat.
C. Reality is not what one would have guessed; therefore religion is not what one would have guessed.
II. The problem
A. Reality contains the bad and meaningless.
B. Reality also contains creatures like us who understand "bad" and "meaningless".
III. Two solutions
A. Christianity describes a world gone wrong
B. Dualism describes a world with two equal powers, one bad and one good, at war with each other.
1. What is the implication of universal "good" and "bad"?
a. If good and bad have universal meaning, then one is right and the other wrong.
b. Then there is a standard higher than either by which to judge between them, promulgated by the true God.
c. Then the "good" power is in the right relationship with God, and the "bad" power is not.
2. What are the natures of "good" and "bad"?
a. Goodness can be loved for its own sake; badness cannot.
b. Badness can exist independently but can only exist as spoiled goodness.
3. Dualism cannot work because the two powers are not independent; badness is dependent on goodness.
C. In Christianity, the war between goodness and badness is a rebellion or civil war.
1. We are in occupied territory.
2. The good king has come in an unexpected way to lead the resistance.
3. We are being actively attacked.
Discussion Questions: (pp. 40-46)
1. How has reality's complexity affected you? (pp. 40-42)
2. "God did not invent religion; it is God's statement of quite unalterable facts about Himself." How do you react to that? (p. 41)
3. What defect undermines dualism? Is evil always dependent on good? (pp. 43-45)
A. Reality is not simple; therefore religion cannot be simple.
B. Reality is often odd and not neat; therefore religion can be odd and not neat.
C. Reality is not what one would have guessed; therefore religion is not what one would have guessed.
II. The problem
A. Reality contains the bad and meaningless.
B. Reality also contains creatures like us who understand "bad" and "meaningless".
III. Two solutions
A. Christianity describes a world gone wrong
B. Dualism describes a world with two equal powers, one bad and one good, at war with each other.
1. What is the implication of universal "good" and "bad"?
a. If good and bad have universal meaning, then one is right and the other wrong.
b. Then there is a standard higher than either by which to judge between them, promulgated by the true God.
c. Then the "good" power is in the right relationship with God, and the "bad" power is not.
2. What are the natures of "good" and "bad"?
a. Goodness can be loved for its own sake; badness cannot.
b. Badness can exist independently but can only exist as spoiled goodness.
3. Dualism cannot work because the two powers are not independent; badness is dependent on goodness.
C. In Christianity, the war between goodness and badness is a rebellion or civil war.
1. We are in occupied territory.
2. The good king has come in an unexpected way to lead the resistance.
3. We are being actively attacked.
Discussion Questions: (pp. 40-46)
1. How has reality's complexity affected you? (pp. 40-42)
2. "God did not invent religion; it is God's statement of quite unalterable facts about Himself." How do you react to that? (p. 41)
3. What defect undermines dualism? Is evil always dependent on good? (pp. 43-45)
No comments:
Post a Comment
In your comment, please mention which discussion question or questions you are referring to.