Time for another discussion question. ”
“If you could wave a magic wand and stop any one thing, what would you stop? Why?”
Do you think that framing the question as what you you stop rather than what would you “want” or “ask for” results in a qualitatively different response? Do you think your response is less self-centered and more outwardly focused?
Does this question have practical implications for the way we live our life? Would asking different questions result in a different focus for our life? A different worldview?
Share your answers in the comments below.
Group leaders frequently use icebreakers to get the group members to interact with one another. Historical questions work well. I have heard or used questions such as,
- “What historical figure would you most like to meet?”
- “If you could go back in time, what historical event would you most like to witness?”
- “If you were throwing a dinner party and you could invite any eight people from any time in history, who would you invite and why?
Well, here is a related question for you to answer in the comment section below.
If you could capture any event in history on videotape, which one event would it be?
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If you could be any cartoon character, which one would you be?
Where do you turn in Scripture when you need inspiration? When the developers of the Bible Promises iPhone application released an edition that let users “favorite” particular passages they found that the verses most loved by users were Isaiah 40:31; Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalms 103:2-3; Galatians 6:9; and Philippians 4:6.
What Scripture passages would appear on your list of favorites?
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The last national election illustrated just how divided the American people can be on the issues that we consider important. However, there is no such division when it comes to the question of the extra-marital affairs. In a recent Gallop poll, 92% of those surveyed indicated that it is morally wrong for married men or women to have an affair.
See the chart below for how this compared with other social issues.
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I was a bit surprised that the percentage of those thinking cloning, gambling, and the wearing of animal skins morally wrong were as high as they were. How do the numbers on the chart compare to what you would have expected?
If you going to establish one charitable organization, what would it be?
(share your response in the comment section below)
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Click here to share your thoughts on other topics.
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I saw my reflection in the mirror presented by the letter of a child. In Madeleine L’Engle’s book A Circle of Quiet
“Dear Miss L’Engle, you are one of the greatest writers of all time,” and so on, fulsome phrase after fulsome phrase. She signed her name and then wrote, “P.S. I have not yet read any of your books, but I am sure they will be good when I do.”
That P.S. parallels my experience with Russian authors. For years I was convinced that I would love the work of a handful of Russian authors — Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pasternak, Nabokov, Chekhov, Turgenev. In fact, I can remember praising them to others, quoting them, and even sharing analysis of their work.
The problem? I had only limited exposure to them. What I found when I actually started to read them in depth was that I much preferred excerpts from their novels, relevant textual quotations, and commentary upon their corpus of work to the experience of actually reading them. I had been like the little girl who wrote to L’Engle “I have not yet read any of your books, but I am sure they will be good when I do.”
Okay, I’ve entered the literary confessional and shared my embarrassing experience as part of my academic penance. Now, it is your turn. Check out some of the titles on the following lists and see if you have been guilty of praising some of the titles included without having actually read them.
Share your confessions in the comments below. You will feel better after you do.
Reading Lists:
- Talking Books – John Mark Reynolds, David Allen White, and Hugh Hewitt
- Lord Acton’s 100 Best Books List
- New St. Andrew’s College Reading List
- GreatBooks.com Reading List
When asked by the folk from The Harris Poll® whom they admire enough to call their heroes, respondents mentioned most frequently the following individuals:
1. Barack Obama
2. Jesus Christ
3. Martin Luther King
4. Ronald Reagan
5. George W. Bush
6. Abraham Lincoln
7. John McCain
8. John F. Kennedy
9. Chelsey Sullenberger
10. Mother Teresa
11. God
12. Hillary Clinton
13. Billy Graham // Franklin D. Roosevelt
15. Mahatma Ghandi
16. Colin Powell // George Washington // Bill Clinton
19. Condoleeza Rice
20. Oprah Winfrey
21. Sarah Palin
22. George S. Patton // Bill Gates
Participants were also asked to select from a list of choices what made someone a hero. The top definitions given were:
1. Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences (89%).
2. Not giving up until the goal is accomplished (83%).
3. Doing more than what other people expect of them (82%).
4. Overcoming adversity (81%).
5. Staying level-headed in a crisis (81%).
Who would make your list? Why?
According to recent research conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 54% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in most (37%) or all (17%) cases, and 41% believe it should be illegal in most (26%) or all (15%) cases.
It is interesting to note how religious affiliation influences views on abortion. For example, members of the following groups believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases:
* Jewish — 88 percent
* Mainline Protestant — 62 percent
* Catholic — 48 percent
* Muslim — 48 percent
* African American — 47 percent
* Evangelical — 33 percent
* Mormon — 27 percent
* Jehovah’s Witness — 16 percent
What do you think this says about the belief communities listed above?
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I love time travel movies. Maybe I am mistaken, but I think that most people like to think about what it would be like to travel back thru time. If you could go back in time, what year would you visit? Why?
(Share your answers in the comments below.)
