Week Two – Why does the church view some sins as more serious than others / Does the church do this? Or just Christians?

25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

-Luke 15:25-32 (NIV)

The story of the prodigal son is one of the earliest parables I remember learning about in Sunday school. Since I was basically a good kid, I remember feeling a kind of kinship with the older brother in the story. I knew I wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t do anything “major” wrong. Sure, if a teacher asked me, I knew that the “right answer” was that the older brother had the wrong attitude. But I felt like, under the circumstances, who could blame him?

My experiences indicate that in churches today, many people see some sins (usually those done by others) as particularly serious, and other sins (usually the ones we’re doing) as less so. What are those opinions based on? Are some sins more serious than others? If so, what, if anything, do we do about it?

Possible readings:

J.I. Packer, All Sins Are Not Equal.

David Neff, Are All Sins Created Equal?.

Thomas Aquinas, THE SUMMA THEOLOGICA, Prima Secundæ Partis, Question 73, On the Comparison of One Sin With Another.

C.S. Lewis, MERE CHRISTIANITY, Book III, Chap. 8, The Great Sin

Week One

If I truly have faith, why do I have doubts? Is it ok to question?

[Thomas] could not be sure that the print of the nails, which the apostles told him they had seen, would admit the putting of his finger into it, or the wound in his side the thrusting in of his hand; nor was it fit to deal so roughly with a living body; yet Thomas ties up his faith to this evidence. . . . The open avowal of this in the presence of the disciples was an offence and discouragement to them. It was not only a sin, but a scandal. As one coward makes many, so does one believer, one sceptic, making his brethren's heart to faint like his heart, Deu. 20:8. Had he only thought this evil, and then laid his hand upon his mouth, to suppress it, his error had remained with himself; but his proclaiming his infidelity, and that so peremptorily, might be of ill consequence to the rest, who were as yet but weak and wavering.

-Matthew Henry Commentary on John 20:19-25

Growing up in the church, many of us know the story – and stigma – associated with “doubting Thomas.” So it seemed appropriate to start a “tough questions” small group with the issue of doubt itself. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on John, seems to take a disapproving view of doubt on the part of Christians; even more so when they express those doubts to others. But is doubt really such a problem? Does it depend, in part, on the nature or origin of the doubt? When we have doubts, how should we respond?

Possible readings:

Michael Gleghorn, Dealing With Doubt.

Mark Buchanan, The Benefit of the Doubt.

Camerin Courtney, The Gift of Doubt.

C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian, Belief; Belief and Disbelief; Faith, p. 128-35 (Simon and Schuster 1996)

Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith, Objection #8 – I Still Have Doubts, So I Can’t Be a Christian

Introduction

Welcome to the on-line community of the Tough Questions Small Group which is sponsored by Church of the Apostles.

We will be meeting on Sunday evenings, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. We will start with a pot-luck dinner and some relaxation time. Then we will start the discussion. Week One's topic will be posted by Monday, September 15, 2008, though we will not meet until Sunday, September 21, 2008. Ideally, we will post the question for the following week on the previous Monday. That will give us all time to start thinking and chatting about the topic prior to the meeting.

Also, if you are interested in participating in the discussion, but are unable to make any or all of the Sunday evening meetings, you can certainly throw your two cents' in here.

The topic questions are listed on the right of the blog. Below the list of topics will be a bibliography, with links, if there is an internet link to a particular work.