WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY STUDY GUIDE
By DINESH D'SOUZATYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.
Copyright © 2009 Dinesh D'Souza
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4143-3210-9Contents
A Note on the Interpretation of Scripture..............................................................vPreface A Challenge to Believers-and Unbelievers.......................................................viiChapter One The Twilight of Atheism: The Global Triumph of Christianity................................3Chapter Two Survival of the Sacred: Why Religion Is Winning............................................7Chapter Three God Is Not Great: The Atheist Assault on Religion........................................11Chapter Four Miseducating the Young: Saving Children from Their Parents................................17Chapter Five Render unto Caesar: The Spiritual Basis of Limited Government.............................25Chapter Six The Evil That I Would Not: Christianity and Human Fallibility..............................31Chapter Seven Created Equal: The Origin of Human Dignity...............................................35Chapter Eight Christianity and Reason: The Theological Roots of Science................................41Chapter Nine From Logos to Cosmos: Christianity and the Invention of Invention.........................45Chapter Ten An Atheist Fable: Reopening the Galileo Case...............................................49Chapter Eleven A Universe with a Beginning: God and the Astronomers....................................57Chapter Twelve A Designer Planet: Man's Special Place in Creation......................................61Chapter Thirteen Paley Was Right: Evolution and the Argument from Design...............................67Chapter Fourteen The Genesis Problem: The Methodological Atheism of Science............................73Chapter Fifteen The World Beyond Our Senses: Kant and the Limits of Reason.............................79Chapter Sixteen In the Belly of the Whale: Why Miracles Are Possible...................................83Chapter Seventeen A Skeptic's Wager: Pascal and the Reasonableness of Faith............................87Chapter Eighteen Rethinking the Inquisition: The Exaggerated Crimes of Religion........................93Chapter Nineteen A License to Kill: Atheism and the Mass Murders of History............................95Chapter Twenty Natural Law and Divine Law: The Objective Foundations of Morality.......................101Chapter Twenty-One The Ghost in the Machine: Why Man Is More Than Matter...............................105Chapter Twenty-Two The Imperial "I": When the Self Becomes the Arbiter of Morality.....................109Chapter Twenty-Three Opiate of the Morally Corrupt: Why Unbelief Is So Appealing.......................113Chapter Twenty-Four The Problem of Evil: Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?......................119Chapter Twenty-Five Jesus among Other Gods: The Uniqueness of Christianity.............................125Chapter Twenty-Six A Foretaste of Eternity: How Christianity Can Change Your Life......................129Notes..................................................................................................133
Chapter One
THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM: THE GLOBAL TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY
1. This chapter is about the growth of religion, and especially Christianity, around the world. Have you noticed any signs or examples of a global religious revival? If so, where do you see this happening today? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
2. Would you describe yourself as religious? What does that term mean to you? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
3. What is meant by "practical atheism"? Can someone who claims to be a Christian also be a "practical atheist"? If you're a Christian, have there been instances in your life where you've behaved as a practical atheist in spite of your belief? Is it possible to be a "practical Christian" in the same way one would be a practical atheist? What would that look like? Explain your response. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
4. What is "fundamentalism"? Why is this term inappropriate in describing Islam? Describe the difference between being a fundamentalist and being a radical. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
5. "By 'traditional' I mean religion as it has been understood and practiced over the centuries." Is this your understanding of traditional religion? How does traditional religion differ from liberal religion? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
6. "Liberal Christians are distinguished by how much intellectual and moral ground they concede to the adversaries of Christianity." Can you think of some recent examples of how liberal Christians have conceded to the secular world? Why do you suppose liberal Christianity rose in popularity for a time, and why is it now in decline? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
7. Do you think that, in general, the world is becoming more religious or more secular? Why? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
8. How has Christianity become a "universal religion" today? What is the new face of Christianity, and how will this affect the church as a whole? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
9. Why has Christianity spread fastest in Third World countries since the end of European colonialism? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
10. Do you agree that Third World Christianity is closer to the world described in the Bible? Give a few examples. As a Western believer, discuss how easy or difficult it is for you to identify personally with the problems and situations depicted in Scripture. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
11. What does Peter Berger mean by the "myth of secularization"? Do you think that this myth opens up a door of opportunity for Christians? Explain. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
12. What does it mean to be both "countercultural" and "modern"? How does this particular vantage point influence the perspective taken in What's So Great about Christianity? Would you describe yourself as countercultural, modern, both, or neither? Discuss your response. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
Chapter Two
SURVIVAL OF THE SACRED: WHY RELIGION IS WINNING
1. Discuss why religion is a puzzle from an evolutionary point of view. How does religion present an intellectual stumbling block for proponents of evolutionism? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
2. How does biologist E. O. Wilson hope to finally discredit traditional religion? Do you think he will succeed? Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
3. Why does it not make evolutionary sense for Christianity to have developed as a form of "wishful thinking"? Discuss Steven Pinker's quote: "A freezing person finds no comfort in believing he is warm. A person face to face with a lion is not put at ease by the conviction that he is a rabbit." _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
4. Do you agree with the "natural and evolutionary explanation" for the universality and persistence of religious belief described in this chapter? Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
5. Discuss Randy Alcorn's two creation stories and the two groups of people-the secular tribe and the religious tribe-that subscribe to these stories. Which of the two tribes is more likely to survive, prosper, and multiply? Explain your answer. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
6. What evidence is there to show that secular nations are not reproducing themselves? Discuss how the trend toward smaller families in secular nations undermines a Darwinist worldview. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
7. What is the economic explanation that scholars have given in the past to explain large families? Why is this explanation inadequate? What are some alternative explanations? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
8. Discuss how the influx of immigrants from the Third World to Western countries might affect the religious direction of those countries-particularly yours. What changes might you look for in the way Christianity is practiced? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
9. In his book Darwin's Cathedral, David Sloan Wilson makes the point that religion offers people hope and the incentive to be moral and charitable, resulting in a more adaptive and cohesive community. How does this observation relate to the theme of this chapter-that religion is winning out over secularism? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
10. What is meant by the statement, "It is not religion but atheism that requires a Darwinian explanation"? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
Chapter Three
GOD IS NOT GREAT: THE ATHEIST ASSAULT ON RELIGION 1. Explain your understanding of the term "atheist backlash." Have you seen evidence of this backlash in your community or country? Explain. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
2. What differences, if any, do you see between agnostics and atheists? Do these differences matter? Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
3. What is a "bright," according to Richard Dawkins? Why are brights and other unbelievers unimpressed by the growth of religion worldwide? What does the term bright imply about those who disagree with the brights' perspective? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
4. Do you personally know any brights or other atheists or agnostics? If so, have you ever had a conversation with them about the existence of God? How did it go? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
5. Do you agree that atheism today marches behind the banner of science? Explain. Does this make atheism more threatening or less threatening to Christians? Why? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
6. Why does it seem that a majority of scientists are atheists? How do scientists who are Christian reconcile science and faith? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
7. Discuss what Richard Dawkins means by the statement, "Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist." Do you think it's possible to be an intellectually fulfilled Christian? Discuss your response. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
8. What is "the God of the Gaps"? Explain why this approach is often a weak argument to make in defense of God. As a believer, how would you refute this argument? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
9. What is the "ghost in the machine"? What term might Christians use instead of ghost? How has modern science made it difficult for many people to believe in such a "ghost"? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
10. Discuss the Enlightenment doctrines of materialism (that matter is the only reality) and naturalism (that there are no supernatural influences in nature), which form the intellectual foundation of modern atheism. What evidence of these doctrines do you see in the world today? What do these doctrines say about God? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
11. Discuss Nietzsche's "moral" critique of religion. For what purpose does he think religion was "invented"? What does he mean by "slave morality"? Do you think any of Nietzsche's ideas are still active in society today? Explain. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
12. Atheists today like to focus on the historical and contemporary crimes of religion. Are you embarrassed by the violent actions that have been taken in the name of God? Make a list of such crimes and discuss whether Christianity should take responsibility for them. What response would you give to someone who denounced Christianity based on, say, the Crusades or the Inquisition? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
13. "The War on Terror is commonly portrayed as a clash of competing extremisms, with Islamic fanaticism on one side and Christian fanaticism on the other." Do you believe this is an accurate portrayal? Why or why not? Discuss how events such as the September 11 attacks, which columnist Wendy Kaminer described as a "faith-based initiative," bolster the atheists' determination to eliminate religion altogether. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
14. What are some common themes of modern atheism? Have you seen these themes in today's world? In what way has a character such as Milton's Satan now become a so-called atheist hero? What are the goals and aspirations of the vocal contingent known as the new atheists? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
15. What answer would you give to someone who says that believing in Christianity requires checking your brain at the door? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
(Continues...)
Excerpted from WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY STUDY GUIDEby DINESH D'SOUZA Copyright © 2009 by Dinesh D'Souza. Excerpted by permission.
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