Questions for Reflection - "Conversations: Sharing Our Faith with a Skeptical World"
"Why Are Christians So Narrow Minded? Part I: On the 'Truth'"

John 8:32–36

1. Why do people think Christians are "narrow minded"?
2. What lies behind the assumption that all truth is "relative"?
3. Read John 8: 32-36. What do people call "the truth"? What does Jesus mean by this?
4. What do people mean by "freedom"? What do you think Jesus means by this?
5. Remembering that "community" by definition is commonly held convictions (or truth), what are some examples of "community"?
6. How might one assess the goodness of a community?
7. What does it mean to say that we are a community of Christ followers (the meaning of the word, "Christian")?
8. Read Matthew 7:13,14. What does Jesus mean by "narrow"? In what ways are Christians "narrow minded"?
9. How does the Lord's Table help you understand the relationship between truth and freedom?

For further reading:
Keller, Timothy. The Reason for God - Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Dutton, 2008. Chapter 3
Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion & Embrace, a Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Abingdon Press, 1996 pp. 57-64

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