Honest Faith
6.30 - 8.30pm first Sunday of the month in the Lecture Hall
JULY HONEST FAITH:
Our next 'Honest Faith' session will be on Sunday 7th July at 6.30pm in the Lecture Room, Shrewsbury United Reformed Church, when we will continue viewing and discussing the DVD study series (produced by the Living the Questions team) ‘Violence Divine - Overcoming the Bible's Betrayal of Its Non-Violent God’ Filmed before a live audience in a workshop setting, professor and author John Dominic Crossan summarises the essence of his bestselling book "How to read the Bible and still be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis through Revelation" with the aim of showing a way forward for those seeking authentic Christianity for the 21st century.
This session is entitled ‘Sin and Escalatory Violence’ - “If you do well, will you be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7)
Questions include: (a) What is the only thing standing between us and our own destruction by escalatory violence? (b) What is the difference between “punishment from God” and “consequences for our actions”? (c) To what degree has a “guarantee of an afterlife” been motivation for your commitment to Christianity?
AUGUST HONEST FAITH:
On Sunday 4th August at 6.30pm in the Lecture Room we continue viewing and discussing the DVD study series ‘Violence Divine - Overcoming the Bible's Betrayal of Its Non-Violent God’
This session is entitled The Heart of the Torah” - “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” (Exodus 23:12)
Questions include: (a) How is the creation story about our identity – who we are? Why is this identity so critical to our lives? (b) What’s so great about Sabbath? Dominic Crossan says that the ideas of Sabbath creation, Sabbath day, Sabbath year, and the Sabbath jubilee is some of “the most radical stuff in the entire Bible.” Why? (c) How does an awareness of the tension between the royal, priestly, and military influences inform your reading of the Biblical text? Of today’s culture?
Some people sense that at its core, Christianity has something good to offer humanity. At the same time many have a sense that they are alone in being a "thinking" Christian and that "salvaging" Christianity is a hopeless task. What is needed is a safe environment where people have the permission to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask.
The DVD courses we follow seek to provide opportunities to explore the Christian faith for today's world considering a range of different topics with honest discussion where we are free to express differing views - thereby trying to offer an open-minded alternative to courses which attempt to give participants all the answers.
Some of us support 'Progressive Christianity Network Britain' which provides help and resources for groups such as ours - please see their website: www.pcnbritain.org.uk
Sessions are held monthly on the first Sunday evening of each month in our Lecture Hall - please check our monthly Church Newsletter for up-to-date information and news etc. If you would like to join us you would be very welcome to come to any (or to all) of the sessions. Each session is complete in itself so don't worry if you can't come every time. A warm welcome with refreshments from 6.30pm (a voluntary donation of £2 per person towards general costs suggested) with the aim of finishing by 8.30pm.
