Dialogue vs Monologue - 23 October - 6 November 2011

Part 1: Six half-truths and the story of Cain & Abel:

“Day and night the partners of Fear are anxiously preoccupied with telling themselves and their subordinates the right half-truths … It takes about six half-truths to make a lie.” (John Berger, Hold Everything Dear, pg 59)

1. Cain’s offering is different from Abel’s. Yes, but …

2. God is in control. Yes, but …

3. Religion encourages sacrifices. Yes, but …

4. Sin is a powerful beast. Yes, but …

5. Cain is a guilty perpetrator. Yes, but …

6. Abel is an innocent victim. Yes, but …
And the lie: Life is fair.

Part 2: Labyrinth vs maze
     

“People everywhere - under different conditions – are asking themselves – where are we? The question is historical not geographical. What are we living through? Where are we being taken? What have we lost? How to continue without a plausible vision of the future? Why have we lost any view of what is beyond a lifetime?” (John Berger, Hold Everything Dear, pg 42)

Part 3: 'Putting the protest back into Protestant' (Diana Butler Bass)

Part 4: Wrestling with God

Part 5: Jesus and Buddha

Can you be content and even joyful in a suffering world?