The Heart of Christianity
Discussion 5 – Chapter Six
Jan. 1, 2024 | 11:00am PST
We have a 2-week stretch before our next discussion, and each chapter in this book builds upon the ones before it. If you have not yet finished any of the earlier chapters, please try to do so before reading chapter 6, which begins Part Two of the book.
Study Prompts
As in past sessions, these will form the structure of our discussion on January 1st.
- 2 meditations: On page 106, during his discussion on being “born again,” the author talks about a piece of scripture that contains the phrase, “The wind (Spirit) blows where it chooses.” (1) Please read through this section closely (pp. 103-106) to understand it’s context, and pray or meditate with this phrase before continuing on in your reading. (2) Please do so again when you reach page 111 or after finishing Chapter 6. You may want to write down in the margins or in a notebook anything that came up for you or where it led you, in praying with/exploring it deeper. Did you have the same experience each time, or was it different meditating with the phrase after further reading?
- “No one comes to (God) except through me.” Pay close attention to the section titled, “Dying and Rising in the Gospel of John” on page 111 and the follow-up on page 119. The 2nd & 3rd paragraphs look at John 14:6 through the lens of the Emerging Paradigm. How does this understanding of Jesus as “the Way” to God feel to you? Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
- Reminder: If you skipped up to page 119 for #2, don’t forget to go back and read everything in-between (and finish the chapter)!
Read
Before our next meeting,please:
- Be sure to read chapters 1-5 all the way through
- Read Borg Chapter 6 (pages 103-125)
Go to
[Session 1 study guide & video]
[Session 2 study guide & video]
[Session 3 study guide & video]
[Session 4 study guide & video]