On God's Side, October 31, 2013

Did you find Chapter 7 to be challenging? As we wrestle with loving our neighbors -- and defining who those neighbors are -- Wallis now suggests that Christians are also to take seriously Jesus' commands to love our enemies and to be peacemakers. In this chapter, in the wake of the tragedy of 9/11, he develops two threads: our call to respectful interfaith cooperation, and his condemnation of the "war on terror" as ineffective and counter-productive. What has been your experience with interfaith cooperation? Do you know any Muslims personally? What do you know of their religion? Are there ways our churches can cooperate with Muslim communities (or other faith communities) in our midst? As we view the outcome of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how do you respond to Wallis's challenge: "Shouldn't we at least have a debate about what the words of Jesus mean in the new world of terrorist threats and wars of occupation?" How would you answer Wallis's question about whether Jesus' words are authoritative or not? How can our churches reach out to the victims of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including our own returning servicemen and servicewomen?