Meeting Jesus Again For the First Time--Chapter 3
Questions for Chapter Three:
- How did Israel come to establish a society based on a purity system?
What is the biblical basis for the system and why does Borg say “Purity
was political” (page 50)?
- Do you see echoes of a purity system in America today (pages 50-53,
59-60)?
- Name some of the extremes (pure vs. impure) of the Jewish purity
system (pages 50-53).
- Did you ever hear the saying “cleanliness is next to Godliness?” Do
you understand how it evolved out of the Biblical/Jewish purity system?
- In what ways did Jesus challenge the purity system (pages 55-58)?
- What is meant by “open commensality” (page 56)? Do you see any
paradox between that concept and the close vs. open communion practices
(of the past vs. today) in the Community of Christ?
- Was Jesus a feminist (page 57)? Consider the role of women around
Jesus.
- What is meant by Borg’s comment “the same hermeneutical struggle goes
on in the church today” (page 59)? What is the struggle and how does Borg
exemplified it in today’s church?
- What is your reaction to Borg’s proposed “politics of compassion”
(pages 60-61)?
- Do you see any equivalence in the Community of Christ to
“relationship with the Spirit led to compassion in the world of the
everyday” (page 61)?
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