The heresy of heresies - 24 November 2010 |
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The reading for session 39 of the Emmanuel Evangelical Church Guided Reading Course is Peter J. Leithart, Against Christianity (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2003).
Against Christianity is a book for grown-ups. If you tend to get stroppy when someone challenges your long-held pious illusions, then perhaps you’d better come back to this one in a few years’ time. But if, on the other hand, you really believe that “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov 27:6), then this book could well be the right hook that leaves you flat on the canvas seeing the world in a whole new kaleidoscope of colours.
Against Christianity repays careful study, and you probably won’t be able in the time available to give every section the reflection it deserves. Allow the study questions (below) to shape the amount of time you spend on each chapter. References in the form A.n refer to chapter A, section n.
Chapter 1: Against Christianity
1. What is the “basso continuo” that runs through Against Christianity (preface; cf. I.23)?
2. “Christianity is the heresy of heresies” (p. 13). What does Leithart mean by this (cf. I.1-3)? What biblical support does he adduce (I.3)?
3. “Christianity is institutionalised worldliness” (p. 17, I.4)? What does Leithart mean by this?
4. Why does Barnus conclude that he is unable to help Peter, John and Paul (I.7)?
5. What does it mean to describe the church as a “city,” and how does Leithart support this idea (I.9-14)?
6. What, according to Leithart, do “old-fashioned Roman Catholics” have in common with some evangelicals (I.15)?
7. What’s wrong with the United Nations? Why don’t churches run into conflict with the United Nations more often (I.16-17)?
8. How, if at all, should Christians be engaged in “political” activity (I.18-19)?
Chapter 2: Against Theology
9. Why, and in what sense(s), is Leithart “against theology” (II.2-3, 7-10)?
Chapter 3: Against Sacraments
10. What are the “six overlapping tendencies that make it difficult for evangelicals to grasp baptism and the Lord’s Supper” (III.6)? How are they related to “the heresy of Christianity” (III.7-8)?
11. How was Calvin “both profoundly right and profoundly mistaken” in his critique of late medieval Catholicism (III.10)?
12. Why would it be a mistake for a congregation to always remain seated throughout a worship service (iii.14-15)?
13. “Are baptism and the Lord’s Supper symbols or realities?” (III.18).
14. What does our conduct at meals say about our membership of our community (20-24, 27-31)?
Chapter 4: Against Ethics
15. “Transformation of life, including social and political life, is not an ‘implication’ of the gospel” (IV.1). Why not? How does 2 Corinthians support Leithart’s argument (IV.2)? How is this claim related to Leithart’s earlier discussion of “Christianity”?
16. “The church will find herself in a healthier … condition when pastoral candidates begin again to appear for their ordination exams wearing chains” (IV.23). Why?
17. Why are “schismatic churches … trinitarian heretics” (IV.27)?
Chapter 5: For Constantine
18. What does Leithart mean when he says, “The mission of the church can be described as a double movement” (V.1)?
19. What do Hauerwas, Yoder and Harvey claim about the relationship between “Christianity” and Christendom (V.3)? What does Leithart think?
20. How does “the hypothetical ‘faithful Constantine’” challenge Yoder’s “case against Constantinianism” (V.11; cf. V.14-15)?
21. Why is “infant baptism … the nub of the issue” (V.21; cf. V.19)?
22. Why is it relevant for Leithart to point out that “God … is the God of the living, of the living again” (V.24; cf. V.25-27)?
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Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Guided Reading Course, Minister's Blog