What if laughter and hilarity are sacred? Might prayer be less about words and more about how we position ourselves before Mystery? What if God is less like Santa Claus and more like air? What if we are defined more by "Original Blessing" than "Original Sin?" Would Christianity flourish if we followed Jesus instead of worshipping him? What if "the Kingdom of God" has much less to do with the hereafter and is instead a here-and-now countercultural idea and reality with political and economic consequences?
Welcome to LAST SUPPER RED!!
What if laughter and hilarity are sacred? Might prayer be less about words and more about how we position ourselves before Mystery? What if God is less like Santa Claus and more like air? What if we are defined more by "Original Blessing" than "Original Sin?" Would Christianity flourish if we followed Jesus instead of worshipping him? What if "the Kingdom of God" has much less to do with the hereafter and is instead a here-and-now countercultural idea and reality with political and economic consequences?
"Napa Valley" Brocken InaGlory. Licensed. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Q introduces us to two new characters, Billy and Jen.
As a youth did (do) you have a place to go beyond your home where adults welcomed you and took you seriously? If so, talk some about that. If not, did this feel like a loss . . . or was it a non-issue?
Do you resonate with Billy or Jen in terms of some of your family-of-origin dynamics? If there's a sufficient level of trust in the group's confidentiality, share some of this with one another.
Is "sacrifice" a word you have negative or mixed feelings about? Say some more.
On page 122 Margaret responds to Jen and Billy's empathic embrace. What do you think of her words to them?
It might be interesting to compare and contrast The Seven Deadly (or Deadlier) Sins with Gandhi's Seven Social Sins. Or is that a project for a doctoral thesis?
Q again plunges his main characters into an extensive theological discussion. At least they don't end up alienating each other this time.
What do you make of Phyllis Tickle's idea about the church having a rummage sale on its doctrines every 500 years or so? (see Footnote 9 on Page 45.) If it's true, should it happen at all? Should it happen more often? Are we living in such a time today? If so, what do you think the church needs to get rid of?