Mere Christianity - Study & Discussion Questions - Preface

Hi Book Clubbers,

I'm trying to use all the brain power I can muster to come up with really thought provoking study and discussion questions for Mere Christianity since it is a book with so much meat in it, but I'm not sure I'm succeeding.

***So... If you have something that you would like to discuss or ask the group about with regards to a certain section of the book, let me know either in the comments or on the Facebook group!***

The Preface sets the stage for what C.S. Lewis is going to present in the rest of book. I especially liked the discussion on how words seem to lose their original meaning over time, so Lewis is very specific as to define words that may fall into this category (such as Christian). I also liked the analogy of the hall opening to several doors to describe how one might pick a specific denomination of Christianity. It was thought provoking and not too "over the top" of an analogy that was easy to understand.

What were your thoughts/favorite parts of the Preface?

STUDY QUESTIONS

1.) What does Lewis mean by 'mere' Christianity?

2.) What were your thoughts on Lewis's discussion of definitions (i.e. "gentleman", "Christian")? Are there any other words in modern society that also fall into this category?

3.) Consider the analogy of the hall and the rooms...  What criteria does Lewis give for picking the right room? What can we do to help those in the hallway as the discern which room to pick?

Mere Christianity Reading Schedule

Hi All,

Here is the reading schedule for Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis. The reading schedule is fairly slow, taking us through September since it is a relatively long and dense book. The reading questions will be both ones that help us better understand and then reflect on what we've read.

I'm not going to include page numbers since some people may be reading different editions or reading online. Here's a link to a free online copy I found: https://www.dacc.edu/assets/pdfs/PCM/merechristianitylewis.pdf

MERE CHRISTIANITY - READING SCHEDULE

Week of 6-22:   Preface, Book 1 - Chapters 1 and 2
Week of 6-29:   Book 1 - Chapters 3, 4 and 5
Week of 7-6:     Book 2 - Chapters 1, 2, and 3
Week of 7-13:   Book 2 - Chapter 4 and 5
Week of 7-20:   Book 3 - Chapters 1 and 2
Week of 7-27:   Book 3 - Chapters 3 and 4
Week of 8-3:     Book 3 - Chapters 5 and 6
Week of 8-10:   Book 3 - Chapters 7 and 8
Week of 8-17:   Book 3 - Chapters 9 and 10
Week of 8-24:   Book 3 - Chapters 11 and 12
Week of 8-31:   Book 4 - Chapters 1 and 2
Week of 9-7:     Book 4 - Chapters 3 and 4
Week of 9-14:   Book 4 - Chapters 5 and 6
Week of 9-21:   Book 4 - Chapters 7 and 8
Week of 9-28:   Book 4 - Chapters 9, 10 and 11

*GUEST POST* Catholic Charities of the East Bay to Provide Free Citizenship Services

Catholic Charities of the East Bay to Provide Free Citizenship Services

By Steve Mullin

Catholic Charities of the East Bay, the largest provider of immigration legal services in the East Bay, will provide free citizenship services at Hayward City Hall on June 13. In partnership with the East Bay Naturalization Collaborative and the City of Hayward, Catholic Charities is organizing a citizenship application workshop to provide citizenship services to those who might otherwise be unable to afford an attorney.

         “We want to help as many members of our community become citizens as we possibly can on June 13,” said Christopher Martinez, director of legal services at Catholic Charities and the logistics coordinator for the workshop. “Many in the immigrant community who are eligible for immigration relief simply cannot afford access to accredited counsel, and workshops like these help address that issue.”

         Those attending the event can receive free assistance with:

·         Step-by-step review of the naturalization process.

·         Assessment of their ability to naturalize.

·         Application preparation & document packaging, if eligible to naturalize.

·         Application review by an immigration attorney or qualified legal representative.

         “We want to thank Mayor Barbara Halliday and members of the city council for their leadership, and David Korth, Neighborhood Services Manager, who helped organize the event.” Said Mr. Martinez. “By providing free citizenship services at a venue like Hayward City Hall, we are responding to our church and government leaders in ‘welcoming the stranger’.”

         There is a huge need in south Alameda County for these types of services. “People come to us from San Leandro, Union City, Newark, Fremont and beyond- and it’s growing,” explained Mr. Martinez. “Events like this allow us to provide services where the need is greatest.”

         Pulling off an event like this is no small feat. Volunteers are a crucial part of a successful event. Anyone interested in volunteering can learn more at the East Bay Naturalization Collaborative website.

            
The Catholic Church is the largest provider of social services throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Catholic Charities, founded in 1935, is the visible face of the Diocese of Oakland in that work, and is a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recognized organization with licensed attorneys and BIA-accredited representatives on staff. For more information on the event, or to register, visit www.cceb.org.

Next Book Club Selection: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Hi Book Clubbers,

After we had a couple of suggestions two Tuesdays ago to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and it is a relatively easy book to get online for free, at the library or for relatively cheap, I decided to pick this as our next AS YAM Book Club book.

I plan on posting the reading schedule probably a week from Monday on June 22 so that gives people who are interested in participating time to get the book.

Since this book is a bit more philosophical in nature, I'm probably going to have the reading schedule go a bit slower. Also, I will post some discussion questions as usual and links to video resources I've found to help better understand what we are reading. I do encourage those who are participating though to post your own questions in the comments or on our Facebook page so we can help each other really understand the meat of what C.S. Lewis is saying.

We will probably be in the middle of this book when I have the baby, so there may be a few weeks where I get off schedule. If anyone is interested in posting about the book during this time, let me know and we can get you access to the blog.

As always, let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

Week Six: The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic - Chapter 6 ~ A New Level of Thinking and the Epilogue - Discussion Questions - Set 3

Discussion Questions

1.) How would your parish change if everyone in your parish read this book?

2.) Are you ready to let Jesus take you to the next level in your spiritual life?

Week Six: The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic - Chapter 6 ~ A New Level of Thinking and the Epilogue - Discussion Questions - Set 2

Discussion Questions

1.) Which of the key concepts in the book was most intriguing to you? Why?

2.) How has this book changed your view of Catholicism and the way you approach your spiritual life?

3.) Who else in your life would you like to read this book?

Week Six: The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic - Chapter 6 ~ A New Level of Thinking and the Epilogue - Discussion Questions - Set 1

Last "Official" week of posting discussion questions about The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic! Don't fret if you are still catching up, the posts will still be here when you are ready. The type A personality in me just wants to make sure I stay on schedule in the off chance someone is actually caught up.

The last section of the book talks about how we can move forward to encourage Catholics to become more engaged. What is that "Game Changer" going to be? How can we begin turning the tide locally just within our own parish?

Discussion Questions

1.) At what time in your life did you feel the best about being Catholic? Why?

2.) How would you like your parish to become more dynamic in the coming year? Are you willing to get involved and help make that happen?

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CALL FOR BOOK SUGGESTIONS!!

I'm trying to get together a list of books that would be good for either young adults who are fallen away from their faith, wanting to learn more about their faith, or ways to continue to grow in our faith that we can continually pick from for our next Book Club selection. They can be of any genre, fiction, non-fiction, biography, etc. So please, please, please, let me know if you have any suggestions of awesome books you have read, that have been suggested to you or that you really want to read. With my new baby coming soon, I still really want to keep up with posting and think that having a good list to choose from would be awesome!