Christianity: The eBook

Christianity Online:
Class Discussion Questions

  1. Chapter 1
    1. In what ways is Christianity similar to and different from other modern religions?
    2. How does the question of the historicity of central Christian myths affect your evaluation of Christianity?
    3. How important is the issue of salvation in the modern world?  From what sorts of things do modern people desire to be saved?
    4. Which of the four definitions of faith offered is the most relevant for Christians today?
    5. If the two religions with which Christianity is most closely related, from a historical standpoint, are Judaism and Islam, why is it that Christians have had more difficult relationships with Jews and Muslims over the centuries than with followers of other religions, such as Hindus or Buddhists?
  2. Chapter 2
    1. Why is the distinction between sacred and profane necessary in Christianity?
    2. What makes a place sacred?  Can sacred places be moved elsewhere and retain their holiness (e.g., moving a cathedral stone by stone or moving the ground upon which an important event occurred)?
    3. What is the difference between veneration and worship of an object?
    4. Why is the sacrament of communion so important for many Christians?
    5. How does the concept of sacred metatime fit into the scientific worldview, which proposes both a Big Bang at the beginning of the universe and an eventual dissipation of the universe’s energy as the stars burn out?
  3. Chapter 3
    1. Why did the Jews survive the Babylonian exile as a distinct socio-religious group, while the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel did not emerge from the Assyrian exile as a distinct group?
    2. What were the three most far-reaching theological developments within Judaism during the exile and Second Temple periods?
    3. Of the theological developments that occurred within Judaism from the time of the Babylonian exile, how many were adopted into Christianity?
    4. How important an influence was Zoroastrianism on Judaism during the Persian period?  Would Judaism likely have developed some of the same theological ideas independently of Zoroastrian influence?
    5. How did the success of the Maccabean Revolt affect the history of the Jews under the Romans?
  4. Chapter 4
    1. What is the difference between Paul’s use of the term gospel and the use of the same term in the canonical gospels themselves, and in the present day?
    2. What is the significance of the different starting points of the four gospels?
    3. How does the Jesus reconstructed by the historians compare with the Christ of faith?  Is the difference important?
    4. How important for faith and practice are the different Old Testament canons accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants?
  5. Chapter 5
    1. Why did Christianity’s demographic shift from being predominantly Jewish to predominantly Gentile push it in the direction of becoming a distinct religion?  What historical factors were involved in the split?
    2. What factors led to Paul, rather than one of Jesus’ original disciples, being the leader of the Gentile mission?
    3. Which aspects of Greco-Roman philosophy are most compatible with Christianity?  Which are least compatible?
    4. How did Christianity’s eventual acceptance of many aspects of Greco-Roman philosophy affect the development of Christian doctrine?
  6. Chapter 6
    1. How closely did the orthodoxy proclaimed by the church at Rome and the Apologists match the understanding of the church in the first few decades of its existence?
    2. In what ways were the creed, the canon, and apostolic succession effective tools for spreading and enforcing orthodoxy?
    3. Which alternate form of Christianity posed the greatest threat to orthodoxy?
    4. How effective were the various Roman persecutions at limiting the spread and influence of Christianity?
    5. How did the Great Persecution affect the Church, both negatively and positively?
  7. Chapter 7
    1. Did Constantine choose Christianity as the preferred religion of his empire because he was convinced of its truth or because he believed it would cement his empire together under a common system of thought?
    2. Why did the orthodox (Nicene) party within Christianity feel the need to modify the original Nicene Creed at the Council of Constantinople?
    3. What are the different implications of the terms homoousios, heteroousios, homoiousios, and homoios in reference to Christ?
    4. How did the formulations concerning the Trinity defined by Augustine differ from that defined by the Great Cappadocians?  How does the doctrine of the Trinity accord with the teaching of the New Testament?
    5. What factors led so many people to seek God in the desert during the third through fifth centuries?
    6. Was Nestorius’s position on the two natures of Christ vindicated by the Council of Chalcedon, as he claimed, or not, as his opponents claimed?
  8. Chapter 8
    1. What were the primary factors that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
    2. In the long term, was the fall of the Western Roman Empire a benefit or a detriment to Christianity in Western Europe?
    3. How did the different fates of the two halves of the Roman Empire affect the development of Christianity in the East and the West?
    4. What were the long-term consequences of the rise of Islam on Christianity?
  9. Chapter 9
    1. What factors led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire?
    2. Why were popes able to achieve such high levels of power in the West, despite the presence of powerful leaders such as the Holy Roman Emperor?
    3. What short-term effects did the Crusades have on Western Europe?  on Eastern Europe and Western Asia?
    4. What long-term effects did the Crusades have on the relations between Christianity and Islam? on the relations between the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches?
  10. Chapter 10
    1. Which theological developments had the greatest long-term significance for the Church?
    2. How did the traditional Renaissance cry, “To the sources!” affect Christian theology?
    3. In what ways were the calls to reform by mendicant monasticism, Christian mystics, and the Conciliar Movement similar?  In what ways were they different?
    4. Which group or individual calling for reform ultimately had the greatest impact on the Church?
    5. Why did the Roman Catholic hierarchy initially decline to act on the reports of abuse of the native population by Spanish and Portuguese soldiers, for example by threatening to excommunicate either the soldiers involved or the monarchs who sent them?
  11. Chapter 11
    1. Why do you think Martin Luther’s efforts at reform succeeded, while earlier efforts did not?
    2. How did the “discovery” of the Americas affect the direction of the development of the church?
    3. How did the support (or lack of support) of political leaders help or hinder the Magisterial Reform?  the Anabaptist Reform?
    4. Was the English Reformation more of a religious movement or a political movement?  How did religion affect politics, and vice versa, in England during that period?
    5. How did economic and political developments such as the rise of the middle class, the emergence of powerful monarchs, and the rise of nationalism affect the spread of Protestantism during the sixteenth century?
    6. Where did Protestantism plant its strongest roots during the sixteenth century?  Why was it more successful in these areas than in other places?
    7. What positive steps did the Catholic church take toward reform in the wake of the Protestant Reformation?  What steps were negative?
    8. How did the persecution of the Huguenots ultimately result in the destruction of the French monarchy?
  12. Chapter 12
    1. Which issues in the following debates are similar, and which are different: the Jesuits vs. Jansenism, strict Lutherans vs. the Philippists, strict Calvinism vs. Arminianism?  How do these debates compare with the debates between Athanasius and Arias, and between Augustine and Pelagius?
    2. How did Philipp Melanchthon’s ties with humanism influence his theological views in comparison with Martin Luther?
    3. What aspects of Protestant Orthodoxy were of the greatest concern to rationalists? to spiritualists? to pietists?
    4. How does Kant’s proposal that humans have built-in constructs for analyzing sense data (e.g., time, place, causality) relate to the modern understanding of the human genome?
    5. Did Wesley’s Arminianism cause him to be more successful in reaching people than Whitefield’s stricter form of Calvinism, or were other factors involved?
  13. Chapter 13
    1. What were the religious factors that led to the Salem witch trials?  Did these events happen as a result of the prevailing Puritanism of the region, or might they have happened just as easily in settings in which the prevailing form of Christianity was different?
    2. Why was the religious liberty that Roger Williams preached so hard for many to accept?  How different might the U.S. have been without the principle of religious liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights?
    3. Why did the French Revolution take a much bloodier turn than the American Revolution?  Why did the fighting continue for so long (including the Napoleonic Wars)?
    4. How did the French Revolution affect the history of Europe throughout the nineteenth century?
    5. What were the most positive movements within Christianity during the nineteenth century?  What were the most negative?
    6. How did independence in Latin America affect the average citizen?
  14. Chapter 14
    1. How do you evaluate the ideas that Christianity should be based on a sense of absolute dependence (Schleiermacher), reason (Hegel), or faith (Kierkegaard)?
    2. Why was the Roman Catholic Church so resistant to doctrinal and political change during the period from the French Revolution to World War I?  Why did the popes see changes from monarchies to representative democracies as a threat?
    3. Why has papal infallibility been used so sparingly (i.e., only once) since it was declared an official Catholic doctrine in the nineteenth century?
    4. How did neocolonialism affect the modern missions movement?  Would the spread of Christianity have been as dramatic in the nineteenth century apart from neocolonial activities on the parts of European and American governments?
  15. Chapter 15
    1. On what was the pervasive optimism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries based?  Why was the optimists’ analysis of the world so mistaken, or was it?
    2. How has technology changed the way people “do church”?  What are the larger implications of the pervasiveness of technology for the future of the church?
    3. How has Vatican II affected the way in which Catholics view the Bible, other Christians, and people of other faiths?  How has it affected the way in which other people view Catholics?
    4. What was the rationale behind Barth’s contention that Christianity is not really a religion?  What does Bonhoeffer mean by “religionless Christianity”?
    5. Why did so many nontraditional approaches to theology arise in the twentieth century?  In what ways is Protestant fundamentalism a reaction to the modern world? 
    6. What are the pros and the cons of the ecumenical movement?  What are the advantages of having diverse groups of Christians involved in ongoing conversation with one another?
  16. Chapter 16
    1. What are the historical and pragmatic reasons behind the development of each of the forms of church polity?
    2. What accounts for the success of the Roman Catholic Church in terms of the number of adherents?
    3. How do Eastern Orthodox beliefs and practice compare with those of Roman Catholics?  of Protestants?
    4. How do Anglican/Episcopalian beliefs and practice compare with those of Roman Catholics? of other Protestants?
    5. Has the support of the state helped or hindered the work of Lutheran and Reformed Churches in those areas where they are still the official state church?  How have these denominations fared in areas where they were not the official state church?
    6. In what ways does the notion of congregational polity contribute to the large amount of diversity found among Free Churches?  How does the Free Church understanding of the concept of authority compare with that of other Christian faith traditions?
    7. How are Christians identified with the First, Second, and Third Waves of the Holy Spirit similar and different in their views of the Spirit and in their understanding of their relationship with other Christians?
  17. Chapter 17
    1. Why has secularism grown faster in Europe than in other regions?
    2. How will the diminishing influence of European Christians over the next several decades affect Christianity, and especially those Churches whose home bases are in Europe, such as Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans?
    3. Why has Christianity grown more rapidly in places like India and China and less rapidly in Western Asia?
    4. What demographic, political, and social trends are likely to affect the face of North American Christianity over the next fifty years?
    5. Why is the Roman Catholic Church losing ground to certain Protestant denominations in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean?
    6. What is the significance of the growth of African Independent Churches?
  18. Chapter 18
    1. Most of the early attempts to define both the nature of Christ and the relationship among the different Persons in the Trinity were based on particular Greek philosophical traditions which no longer hold sway, such as Neo-Platonism.  How do different approaches to philosophy today affect traditional theological beliefs?
    2. How does the view of the Holy Spirit among Pentecostals and Charismatics different from that among other Christians?
    3. Since Catholics and Lutherans now claim a common understanding of the doctrine of justification, did the theological understanding of one or both groups change, or was the difference in the two groups’ positions exaggerated in the sixteenth century?
    4. What are the advantages and disadvantages to Christianity of a favored relationship with the state?
    5. How may a Christian’s approach to global politics be affected by his or her view of eschatology?
  19. Chapter 19
    1. After Christianity became a predominantly Gentile religion, why did they continue to follow the pattern of synagogue worship developed by the Jews?
    2. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of liturgical worship, from the perspective of the individual worshiper’s experience with the divine?
    3. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of traditional worship, from the perspective of the individual worshiper’s experience with the divine?
    4. Why is contemplative worship becoming increasingly popular in many areas?
    5. In those churches whose clergy wear it, how does clergy attire such as different colored stoles, rings, and special headgear contribute to the worship experience?
  20. Chapter 20
    1. Why were Protestant leaders in general more ready to accept Galileo’s ideas than Roman Catholic leaders?
    2. How did Lyell’s proposals concerning uniformitarianism and an earth that is at least millions of years old challenge the typical Christian’s understanding of the Bible?
    3. Is the Big Bang compatible with the traditional Christian idea of creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing)?
    4. Why do many Christians who accept an ancient earth and the Big Bang have difficulty with Darwin’s ideas concerning evolution?
    5. How does the theory of evolution, if accepted, affect theological concepts such as the creation of human beings in the image of God, the Fall (the origin of sin), and the idea of God as creator?
    6. Does the idea of Intelligent Design help bridge the perceived gap between Christianity and science, or is it merely an updated form of Creation Science?
  21. Chapter 21
    1. Why were the iconoclasts of the medieval and Reformation periods opposed to the use of the visual arts to present Christian ideas?
    2. How do local church buildings use symbols, including the use of sacred space, to represent Christian themes and concepts?  How effectively do they do so?  Are there some church buildings whose symbolism appears to conflict with the ideas the church strives to present?
    3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using popular music styles, or even specific tunes taken from secular music, to present the Christian message?
    4. Which movies tend to be more effective at communicating the Christian message: movies that reproduce biblical stories, other movies that deal with overtly Christian themes, or movies that deal with themes of interest to Christians more subtly?
    5. Is reading the Bible as literature a legitimate way of reading the Bible?  Why or why not?
    6. In addition to those listed in the chapter, what other modern literary works deal effectively with Christian themes in an overt way?  What other modern literary works deal effectively, yet less overtly, with themes of interest to Christians?  Are there works whose attempts to deal with such themes fail to be effective?
  22. Chapter 22
    1. What elements of traditional Christianity might make it of interest to people in search of spirituality?  What elements of traditional Christianity might discourage such people?
    2. Historically, what has been the dominant Christian approach to other religions?  What is the dominant approach today?
    3. What steps can Jews and Christians take together to ensure that another Holocaust never occurs?  How has the Holocaust affected Christian thinking about the Jews?
    4. How does the political situation in the Middle East affect the Christian-Muslim dialog?
    5. With which religions of South and East Asia does Christianity have the most in common?  the least in common?
    6. Are there particular characteristics of Christianity that account for the fact that the growth in secularism worldwide is most prevalent in areas that are, or have historically been, predominantly Christian?  Is secularism likely to spread to areas now dominated by other religious traditions?
  23. Chapter 23
    1. What elements of traditional Christianity might make it of interest to people in search of spirituality?  What elements of traditional Christianity might discourage such people?
    2. Historically, what has been the dominant Christian approach to other religions?  What is the dominant approach today?
    3. What steps can Jews and Christians take together to ensure that another Holocaust never occurs?  How has the Holocaust affected Christian thinking about the Jews?
    4. How does the political situation in the Middle East affect the Christian-Muslim dialog?
    5. With which religions of South and East Asia does Christianity have the most in common?  the least in common?
    6. Are there particular characteristics of Christianity that account for the fact that the growth in secularism worldwide is most prevalent in areas that are, or have historically been, predominantly Christian?  Is secularism likely to spread to areas now dominated by other religious traditions?

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