In the book written by Garry Poole and Judson Poling – Tough Questions – 42 questions about God and the Bible you can help people self discover what they really believe. You can buy this book at www.Qplace.com  .  During a time at a spiritual conversation group I was part of it became evident that the question all five people had was – How does anyone know God exists ?  There are six discussions outlined for a one hour time together.  People take turns facilitating the group because there is no leader per se.  We became closer as human beings together sitting around a table with snacks and drinks talking about How can anyone know God exists.   Each person on planet does believe in something.  If you just stick your finger in someone’s belief system you are rude !  How dare we think when we meet someone that they do not believe in anything. Worse yet you can dump your stuff on them which is abusive and again rude.  Fear and arrogance do not work well in spiritual conversation groups .  The inductive methods or Socratic method is so loving and effective.  Self discovery has been proven to be the very best learning model.  Use it and use it again I would recommend.

Lets take a look at one of the discussion sessions on How Does Anyone Know God Exists – C S Lewis the great English Scholar and Christian philosopher points out that even though someone’s hunger is not proof that food exists or that the person will get a meal anytime soon, hunger is a powerful indicator that a person has a capacity and basic need to eat. Spiritual hunger is a powerful indicator that we have the capacity and need to feed on something beyond ourselves to be sustained spiritually.  The universal quest for meaning outside ourselves is the most important journey a person can undertake.

Is anybody out there ?  Would not it be great to know for sure about the existence of GoD ? Why do people seem so certain , while others remain skeptical ? If you believe he exists how do you know ? And if he does not exists why do so many people seem convinced he does ?  { 2 billion people on planet today believe God of Bible exists }   Maybe he is the product of wishful thinking ?  Is there any evidence available that God exists ? Or maybe we should not look for evidence – is God offended by people who need reasons for believing ?  [page 27 of Tough Questions]   Discussion one ends with a question for people around the table to address together. Protocol is that people can chose to answer or not answer. No pressure.  “Think back to your childhood . What did you believe about God during those years ?  Describe a few ways your views have changed since then ? ” [page 28]    Hope this gives you a taste of the flavor of how to have spiritual conversations with people about God, life and even the Bible that can keep going and not shut down.  Christmas is coming and these books referenced are great pondering tools for something that could change your life as a follower of Jesus. You could get off the bleachers and into the playing field.

 

Check out a book by Gary Poole if you might be a person who is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth and might want to talk with people one on one or in a small gathering about spiritual matters relating to the God of the Bible and life.