Discussion Guide

  1. Have you or someone close to you ever gone through “spiritual labor”? If so, how would you describe the process? The outcome?
  2. Alisa describes her faith as intellectually weak and untested before she began the class with the progressive pastor (see page 5). In what ways may your faith be vulnerable to questions, doubts, or temptations?
  3. As Alisa discovered, being faithful to God doesn’t mean we can never question parts of our faith tradition. As an example, she describes her unease with some types of altar calls. Is there anything in your religious tradition that has given you pause?
  4. Deconstruction is the process of “systematically dissecting and often rejecting the beliefs you grew up with” (see page 24). In what ways can this process be healthy? Unhealthy?
  5. Why do you think so many people are drawn to progressive Christianity?
  6. In chapter 4, Alisa unpacks a number of factors that lead people to begin to question their faith: abuse within the church; doubts that are discouraged or dismissed; the moral demands of historic Christianity; misgivings about the Bible; secular philosophies (like critical theory); legalism; and the problem of suffering. Have any of these have affected your faith? If so, how? What other factors may cause people to question their beliefs?
  7. As you look around our church culture, do you think people are more likely to add to or subtract from the gospel message? Explain.
  8. Do you agree that progressive Christianity employs a form of what C. S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery” (see page 109)? Why or why not?
  9. Have you ever had questions about the Bible that have caused you to doubt its reliability? If so, what are they? How does Alisa’s research address those questions?
  10. After reading this book, what would you say to a friend who asks why we can trust the testimony of the four Gospels?
  11. Why do you think hell is such an uncomfortable topic for many people? Has your understanding of it changed after reading chapter 10? If so, how?
  12. Alisa suggests that progressives have a distorted view of the God who reveals himself in the Bible. Do you agree? If so, in what ways would you say he is portrayed inaccurately by progressive Christians?
  13. How do you reconcile God’s wrath with his loving kindness?
  14. For which questions or doubts have you found answers in this book? What steps will you take going forward in an attempt to resolve any remaining questions you have about your Christian faith?