Chapter One: What about the flat tire?

“Several years ago we had an art show at our church. I had been giving a series of teachings on peacemaking and we invited artists to display their paintings, poems, and sculptures that reflected their understanding of what it means to be a peacemaker. One woman included in her work a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, which a number of people found quite compelling. But not everyone. Someone attached a piece of paper to it. On the piece of paper was written: ‘Reality check: He’s in hell.’ Really? Ghandhi’s in hell? He is? We have confirmation of this? Somebody knows this? Without a doubt? And that somebody decided to take on the responsibility of letting the rest of us know?” (page 1-2)

·      Gandhi was born a Hindu and practiced Hinduism all his life. As a common Hindu, he believed all religions to be equal, and rejected all efforts to convert him to a different faith. He was an avid theologian and read extensively about all major religions. He once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Later in his life, when he was asked whether he was a Hindu, he replied, "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew." Based on what we know of Gandhi’s life, do you think we can we determine his eternal destiny? How would you respond to the person who wrote the note?

·      Many people criticized Rob Bell, even before his book was released, due to a video based on this statement about Gandhi. They called him a “universalist” – a person who believes that all people will be eventually saved. Rob denies this and claims that his views are within orthodox Christianity. After reading “Love Wins,” in your opinion is Rob teaching universalism? Why or why not?

·      When Jesus’s disciple, Thomas, asked about the way to heaven, he answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) In a message preached after Jesus’ resurrection, the Apostle Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Based on these verses, what do you think of the Universalist’s claim that all people will be saved?

“Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select number ‘make it to a better place’ and every single other person suffer in torment and punishment forever? Is this acceptable to God? Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God? Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life?” (page 2)

·      The Population Reference Bureau estimates that 106,456,367,669 have lived on the earth since the beginning of time (http://goo.gl/K9V3). How do you respond to Rob’s questions? Do you think only a “select number” will be in heaven? Will most spend eternity in anguish?

·      Jesus said, ““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) But in Revelation 7:9-10, the Apostle John writes, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” How do you reconcile these two extremes – that only a few find the narrow road to heaven and yet a great multitude is there at the end?

·      The Apostle Paul wrote, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20) Based on this passage, do you think God is unfair to judge those who reject the “light” or understanding of God they have through creation?

·      The Apostle Paul continues, “When Gentiles (non-Jews, pagans), who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” Apparently another aspect of God’s judgment is based on how people respond to their conscience, which is God’s law written on their hearts. If a person who has never heard the story of the Bible obeys this “inner voice,” do you think they will be okay when “God judges people’s secrets?” Why or why not?

·      To religious Jews, Paul writes, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’” (Romans 2:4-6) Do you think God is unfair in judging humans for their behavior? Think about Hitler and others throughout history who have severely violated what our consciences tell us is right. Do you think it is just for God to punish them? Is it fair for all people to be punished for their actions? Why or why not?

·      “Retributive justice” is the theory that the punishment should fit the crime. Do you think it is unfair for a person to suffer for eternity for sins they have committed during their relatively short lifetime? Is the amount of time the issue or is it the seriousness of the offense? Do you think a crime against God is in a different category than the crimes we commit against other humans? (See http://goo.gl/Z7p8Y for a perspective on this topic.)

“If there are only a select few who go to heaven, which is more terrifying to fathom: the billions who burn forever or the few who escape this fate? How does a person end up being one of the few? Chance? Luck? Random selection? Being born in the right place, family, or country? Having a youth pastor who ‘relates better with the kids?’ God choosing you instead of others? What kind of faith is that? Or more important: What kind of God is that?”

·      Based on these and other questions in the book, do you think Rob finds the biblical teaching of hell incompatible with our human concepts of justice and understanding of what it means to be loving? If so, what do you think his primary basis for questioning it is?

·      Rob isn’t the only person who has struggled with God’s justice. God told Abraham, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family lived there, so Abraham said, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18: 20-21, 23-25) How does this story end? (See Genesis 19:1-29) What does this story tell us about God as the judge? Was it unfair of God to allow a few to escape (Lot and his daughters)? Do you believe “the Judge of all the earth” will do right? Why or why not?

·      Paul writes, “Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?” (Romans 3:3-6) What gives God the “right” to judge the human race?

·      Rob asks what the criteria is for God’s selection of some to be saved and other to be damned. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-33, 41,46) When you read this entire passage, you’ll see that this separation is based on people’s actions. The Bible teaches that we are saved by faith (Romans 3:21-31) but that true faith shows itself by actions (James 2:14-26). Based on this passage, do you think God’s selection is “random” or unfair? Why or why not?

“Some Christians believe that up to a certain age children aren’t held accountable for what they believe or who they believe in, so if they die during those years, they go to be with God. But then when they reach a certain age, they become accountable for their beliefs, and if they die, they go to be with God only if they have said or done or believed the ‘right’ things. Among those who believe this, this age of accountability is generally considered to be sometime around the age of twelve. This belief raises a number of issues, one of them being the risk each new life faces. If every new baby being born could grow up to not believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child’s life anytime from conception to twelve years of age would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever. Why run the risk?” (page 4)

·      First question, is there a biblical basis for the belief that children go to heaven if they die before the age of twelve? Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16) Another passage that  supports this idea is 2 Samuel 12:22-23. When David’s child died, he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Since we know that David is in heaven, it makes sense to assume that his child is there too. Another passage is 1 Corinthians 7:14. Paul is writing to encourage Christians to stay with their unbelieving spouse. “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” (See also Deuteronomy 1:39.) Do you believe that children go to heaven if they die before they are old enough to understand the gospel? Why or why not?

·      Rob says that, given the horror of eternity in hell, you could build the case that it would be better to terminate a child’s life before they become old enough to understand the gospel than risk their rejection of Christ and eternal judgment. How do you respond to the idea of killing children to save them from hell? In your opinion, what are the flawed assumptions in this argument? In your opinion, what is Rob’s reason for bringing up this “thorny” emotional issue?

One of the primary questions Rob asks in Love Wins is about the basis for salvation. He tells the story of a atheist high school student who was killed in a car accident (page 3). He writes, “And that raises another question about this high school student’s death… what exactly would have to happen in that three-year window (between the age of accountability and his accident) to change his future? Would he have had to perform a specific rite or ritual? Or take a class? Or be baptized? Or join a church? Or have something happen somewhere in his heart? Some believe he would have had to say a specific prayer. Christians don’t agree on exactly what this prayer is, but for many the essential idea is that the only way to get into heaven is to pray at some point in your life, asking God to forgive you and telling God that you accept Jesus, you believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, and you want to go to heaven when you die. Some call this ‘accepting Christ,’ other call it the ‘sinner’s prayer,’ and still others call it ‘getting saved,’ being ‘born again,’ or being ‘converted.’” (page 4-5)

Rob returns to this question again on pages 10 through 18. “Is it what you say, or who you are, or what you do, or what you say you’re going to do, or who your friends are, or who you’re married to, or whether you give birth to children? Or is it what questions you’re asked? Or is it what questions you ask in return? Or is it whether you do what you’re told and go into the city?” (page 16-17)

·      Since our eternal future is at stake, doesn’t it seem that the Bible would be very clear about how a person can be saved from God’s judgment? The Apostle John writes, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13) Based on this passage, how can a person “know that they have eternal life?”

·      Paul expressed it this way: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9-10) Many of the other things Rob mentions in the book are outward indications that a person has “confessed Jesus as Lord” – not the way to receive salvation. Later in Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul clarifies this issue, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Do you think Paul makes the way of salvation clear? How would you explain it in your own words?

·      When Nicodemus asked Jesus how a person could be enter God’s kingdom, Jesus replied, “You are Israel’s teacher and do you not understand these things?” (John 3: 10) Then he explains it: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18) Later, in a different passage he adds, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24) There are many other similar passages in the Bible about the way of salvation. Why do you think Rob is making it seem unclear? In your opinion, how is his argument in this book served by the assumption that the way of salvation is confusing?

“If the message of Jesus is that God is offering the free gift of eternal life through him – a gift we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds – and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren’t those verbs? And aren’t verbs actions? Accepting, confessing, believing – those are things we do. Does that mean, then, that going to heaven is dependent on something I do? How is any of that grace? How is that a gift? How is that good news? Isn’t that what Christians have always claimed set their religion apart – that it wasn’t, in the end, a religion at all – that you don’t have to do anything, because God has already done it through Jesus?” (page 11)

·      The Apostle Paul wrote, “We maintain that a person is justified (declared righteous) by faith apart from the works of the law.” (Romans 2:28) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24) Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5) Paul contrasts salvation by faith and salvation by “the works of the law.” Do you think Rob is implying that the process of faith – the repentance of sin, acceptance of Christ as our Savior, and confession of our faith to others – is a “work” and therefore negates the idea that it is a gift based on the grace of God? If so, do you agree? Why or why not?

“One way to respond to these questions is with the clear, helpful answer: all that matters is how you respond to Jesus. And that answer totally resonates with me; it is about how you respond to Jesus. But it raises another important question: Which Jesus?” Rob tells about Renee Altson’s experience with an abusive father who raped her while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. And of a Muslim who won’t go to Mars Hill Bible Church because he had seen “Christians” murder Muslims. And the televangelists who portray Jesus as “anti-science, anti-gay, standing out on the sidewalk with his bullhorn, telling people that they’re going to burn for ever.” He goes on to say, “Do you know any individuals who grew up in a Christian church and then walked away when they got older? Often pastors and parents and brothers and sisters are concerned about them and their spirituality – and often they should be. But sometimes those individuals’ rejection of church and the Christian faith they were presented with as the only possible interpretation of what it means to follow Jesus may in fact be a sign of spiritual health. They may be resisting behaviors, interpretations, and attitudes that should be rejected. Perhaps they simply came to a point where they refused to accept the very sorts of things that Jesus would refuse to accept. Some Jesuses should be rejected.” (pages 6-8)

·      According to Jesus, one of the signs of the end of the world is an increase of “false prophets.” (Matthew 24:11, 24) Paul also warns us about Christian imposters. “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11: 13-15) Can you think of example of people or organizations that say they represent Jesus but don’t speak or act in a Christ-like way?

·      The Apostle Paul wrote about his own ministry, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2. How can you tell if someone is misrepresenting Jesus or his message? (See also  Matthew 7:15-20, Luke 6:26, and John 10:11-13.)

“Many would respond to the question, ‘Which Jesus?’ by saying that we have to trust that God will bring those who authentically represent the real Jesus into people’s lives to show them the transforming truths of Jesus’ life and message. A passage from Romans 10 is often quoted to explain this trust: ‘How can they hear without someone preaching to them?’ And I wholeheartedly agree, but that raises another question. If our salvation, our future, our destiny is dependent on others bringing the message to us, teaching us, showing us – what happens if they don’t do their part? What if the missionary gets a flat tire? This raises another, far more disturbing question: Is your future in someone else’s hands? Which raises another question: Is someone else’s eternity resting in your hands? So it is not only that a person has to respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do – but also that someone else has to act, teach, travel, organize, fundraise, and build so that the person can know what to respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do? At this point some would step in and remind us in the midst of all of these questions that it’s not that complicated, and we have to remember that God has lots of ways of communicating apart from people speaking to each other face to face…” (pages 9-10)

·      This section is the basis of the title of chapter one, “What about the flat tire?” Basically Rob is asking if we can trust God to get the message of the gospel to people in danger of eternal judgment. Aren’t the stakes too high to rely on humans who are easily confused, distracted, and can be delayed by something like a flat tire? What do you think about this issue? As you think about the bigger message of the book, why do you think Rob is raising this issue?

·      Rob quotes from Romans 10. The entire passage reads, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.’” (Romans 10: 14-15,18) Paul is saying that God is allowing humans to be part of preaching the message, but in verse 18, he makes it clear that this isn’t God’s only method. He quotes from Psalm 19 where David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4) Based on this, do you think God has other ways of getting his message to everyone around the world? What are some examples of the way God speaks without using humans?

·      Before Jesus left this earth, he said to his disciples, ““All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Statisticians say that there are about 2.1 billion Christians in the world today – about one-third of the world’s population. Most people have a Bible in their own language. There are over 1.3 million full-time missionaries. Do you think the church has been an effective witness? In what ways could we improve as God’s messengers? What are you doing personally to make sure the gospel message is delivered to this generation?

·      Jesus said, “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

Preface

Book Club Discussion Guide for Love Wins, by Rob Bell

The intention of this guide is to help discussion groups interact with Love Wins and compare it with Scripture. If you have other questions or comments, please join in. Quotes from Rob’s book are in italic. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version Bible translation, 2010, published by Zondervan (www.zondervan.com).

Preface

“I believe that Jesus’s story is first and foremost about the love of God for every single one of us. It is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love, and it is for everybody, everywhere. That’s the story. ‘For God so loved the world…’ That’s why Jesus came. That’s his message. That’s where life is found.” (vii)

·      Rob quotes from the following passage in John’s gospel. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18) What does this passage tell you about God’s love?

·      The Apostle Paul also wants people to focus on God’s love. He writes, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14) Why do you think Paul felt the need to pray that we would “grasp” the dimensions of God’s love? In what ways does it “surpass knowledge?”

“There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do. The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.” (vii-viii)

·      What do you think Rob means by Jesus’s story being “hijacked?” Has Jesus’ story been “hijacked” in your own experience? If so, how?

·      In the early church there were some leaders who wanted to make the good news about Jesus more palatable to Jews by combining aspects of their current beliefs with the new message. The Apostle Paul believed they were hijacking Jesus’s story and came down hard. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Why do you think Paul was so concerned about this?

“I’ve written this book for all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, ‘I would never be part of that.’” (viii)

·      Have you had this experience? What happened?

·      There are many examples in the Bible of people having a visceral reaction the Jesus’s story. For example, in Acts 7:51-54, the author (Luke) describes the response of the Jewish leaders to Stephen’s message. “When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.” How can we tell the difference between a negative reaction to the true story versus a negative reaction to a “hijacked” story of Jesus?

·      The Apostle Paul, still talking about people who were trying to hijack Jesus’s story to make it mare attractive to the Jewish culture, said, “The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” (Galatians 5:10-12) Obviously his pulse rate was up. In your opinion, how should we respond when someone hijack’s Jesus’s story and tries to remove the “offense of the cross?”

·      How do you respond to those who say they don’t want to change the message itself, just the methods of communicating it? What about when they change the message?

“This love compels us to question some of the dominant stories that are being told as the Jesus story. A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear. And so this book.” (viii)

·      What have you been taught about heaven and hell?

·      Is there any biblical basis for the idea that Christians will “spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell?” (See Daniel 12:2,3; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28; Revelation 20:14,15)

·      Why does Rob think this idea is misguided, toxic, and subversive? Do you agree? Why or why not?

“Second I’ve written this book because the kind of faith Jesus invites us into doesn’t skirt the big questions about topics like God and Jesus and salvation and judgment and heaven and hell, but takes us deep into the heart of them. Some communities don’t permit open, honest inquiry about the things that matter most. Lots of people have voiced a concern, expressed a doubt, or raised a question, only to be told by their family, church, friends, or tribe: ‘We don’t discuss those things here.’ I believe the discussion itself is divine. Abraham does his best to bargain with God, most of the book of Job consists of arguments by Job and his friends about the deepest questions of human suffering, God is practically on trial in the poems of Lamentations, and Jesus responds to almost every question he’s asked…with a question. My hope is that this frees you. There is no question Jesus cannot handle, no discussion to volatile, no issue too dangerous.”

·      Have you been afraid to ask hard questions, to express your doubts, and to wrestle with the things you’ve been taught? If so, why? What are you afraid of?

·      Does the fact that God includes questions and doubts in the Bible encourage you to express yours?

·      In Deuteronomy 29:29, Moses said, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Are there mysteries humans will never know the answers too? If so, how do you think they should be handled?

“At the same time, some issues aren’t as big as people have made them. Much blood has been spilt in church splits, heresy trials, and raging debates over issues that are, in the end, not that essential. Sometimes what we are witnessing is simply a massive exercise in missing the point. Jesus frees us to call things what they are.”

·      How do you determine which belief issues are essential and which are non-essential?

·      Are any of your beliefs worth dying for? Which ones?

·      In this book Rob challenges beliefs about the way of salvation, assurance of eternal life, heaven, hell, and the character of God. Do you consider any of these essential? Why or why not?

·      In your opinion what is “the point?”

“Nothing in this book hasn’t been taught, suggested, or celebrated by many before me. I haven’t come up with a radical new teaching that’s any kind of departure from what’s been said an untold number of times. That’s the beauty of the historic, orthodox Christian faith. It’s a deep, wide, diverse stream that’s been flowing for thousands of years, carrying a staggering variety of voices, perspectives, and experiences.”

·      Over the years there have been people who introduced new methods to connect with the changing generations. Others have tried to change the message to make it less offensive, or more attractive to people. Can you think of examples of either type of leader? In your opinion, which type is more dangerous? Why?

·      Paul warned the leaders of the Ephesian church, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30) How can you tell if someone is “a wolf” or a “shepherd”? (See Matthew 7:15-20, John 10:1-12)

·      How can you tell if something you are hearing/reading is true or false? (See Matthew 22:29, Ephesians 4:11-15, Hebrews 5:13-14)