Evangelical Christianity is not known as a Christian tradition deeply engaged in the life of the mind, either in its intellection openness to the complexities of either Scripture or science. It's hard to over-estimate the impact that his has had both on our ability to love God with all of our mind and our ability to meaningfully connect the good news with thinking people who don't know and love Jesus. But what if we devoted ourselves to being deeply engaged with the complexities and ambiguities of the Scriptures and especially their relationship with science? How would that affect our ability, not just to love God, but to represent him well in His world?

1. Do you believe that the perception of Evangelical Christianity as an anti-intellectual movement is a real barrier to people experiencing the love of Jesus? Why or why not?

  • Why do you think that Evangelicals have a reputation for not being deeply engaged in the life of the mind? Is that reputation justified? Would it be justified in your life?
  • Read Matthew 22:34-40. How do you understand what it means to "love God with all your mind"? How important is the life of your mind to your ability to love God? Why?
  • Read Romans 12:1-2. Why do you think that Paul connects our ability to be transformed, and live God's will, with what happens in our mind? What difference does the mind make in becoming more like Jesus?

 

2. How deeply engaged are you with the Scriptures as an active part of your spiritual journey? Is it a central component or not? Why?

  • What does your rhythm of meditating on the Scriptures look like: daily? Weekly? Monthly? Never? Are you satisfied with that rhythm? Why or why not?
  • Read Acts 17:10-12. Are you invested in "searching the Scriptures," going beyond reading to intensely studying the Bible? If not, why not? If so, what does that look like for you?
  • How do you understand what it means to read the Bible "literally"? Is that how you read the Bible? Why or why not?
  • Are you comfortable with the ambiguity and complexity of interpreting the Bible or do you prefer simplicity and clarity? Why? How can we learn to be more open-minded in our conversations about these issues?

 

3. How open are you to engaging with the realities of science, even as part of informing how you understand your faith? Why?

  • Why do you think that Evangelical Christianity often seems so inclined to ignore the claims of science (e.g. the age of the earth, the evidence of climate change, etc.)? Do you believe that science is antagonistic towards faith? Why or why not?
  • Read Psalm 19:1-4. Do you believe that, in the words of theologian Charles Hodge, "Nature is as truly a revelation of God as the Bible"? What can the science about nature, philosophy, conscience and history teach us about God?
  • What does it mean, as Hodge says, to interpret the Bible by science, to allow scientific findings to inform how we read the Bible (rather than only the other way around)? How can we become more intelligent readers of Scripture in this way?
  • Check out Relevant magazine's article about faith and science (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/27064-10-reasons-christians-should-care-about-science). How do you respond to these reasons? Which matter? Which don't? Why?

 

4. What would it look like for you to become more intellectually engaged in your life of faith?

  • What would it look like for you to more intellectually engage with the Scriptures? What steps could you take to do so starting today?
  • What would it look like for you to more intellectually engage with science? What steps could you take to do so starting today?
  • How do you think that would impact your own life of faith, your ability to love God?
  • How do you think that would impact your ability to meaningfully connect the good news about Jesus with those around you?

 

5. As you look back over the unChristian series, which weeks were most important to you, and your ability to connect the good news about Jesus with those in your life? Why?

  • Each week of the series we asked for people to make declarations about their life of faith. What is your declaration coming out of this series? Spend time praying as a group for each other, as you live into your declarations.
  • Spend time praying for those connected to your group that don't know and love Jesus. Pray that God would create openness to spiritual conversation in their hearts.
  • Pray as a group for those you intend to invite to the Christmas production, Believe. Pray that they might be inclined to intend, that it might be a meaningful experience, and that it might open the door for follow up conversations.
  • Pray that God's Kingdom would come and his will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.