Chapter 8: "gods: Our Tiny Invisible Friends"

David again. I hope you have been enjoying following Donald Miller's faith story through the first seven chapters of his book Blue Like Jazz. Chapter 8 provides a turning point in his faith story, a journey from questioning himself, questioning God, questioning the world, to a true understanding of his own personal faith and what he had been hiding behind. He ends chapter 8 with this line, "After that moment, things started to get interesting." As you can see from the chapter and tell from the following questions, Miller undergoes some serious soul searching to come to a place of honesty in his faith.

So now for some discussion questions...

(1) Miller had a spiritual life and faith, yet he had an occurrence listening to one of his favorite authors and a following discussion with his best friend, Tony the Beat Poet, that opened his eyes up to true faith. Other than your salvation story (that we have already shared in past posts), can you share a time or event where your eyes have been opened to what true faith really is, and what you are called to have? I look forward to hearing them...

(2) Have you ever been drawn to another religion's ideologies or principles - Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hindusim, etc.? If so, which one and what attracted you to this specific religion? Was your attraction based on what you personally wanted in a religion or what the religion truly taught?

(3) Have you ever been "bored" with Jesus and Christianity? What led you to these feelings? Was it something that someone did, a church did or did not do, or something that you were failing to do in your own life?

(4) Miller on page 92 says, "God is not here to worship me, to mold Himself into something that will help me fulfill my level of comfort." What do you think of this statement? Have you been to that point before of making God "fit in a box" to meet your needs? What helped you get out?

(5) Miller's defining moment is described on page 94 when he says, "I realized in an instant that I desired false gods because Jesus wouldn't jump through my hoops, and I realized that, like Tony, my faith was about image and ego, not about practicing spirituality". Kind of a different question, but what percentage of church-goers today are going for their own image or ego? Justify your percentage. Does it somehow relate to your own faith journey?

Spiritual "Defining moments" are scattered throughout the Bible. We have Moses's conversation with God about being a worthy mouthpiece for Him. We have Peter's picnic dream where God enlightens him on dietary restrictions that Peter thought were essential to living a life of faith (boy was he wrong). We have Peter's denial of Christ three times before Jesus was crucified. These "defining moments" mold us into who we are today, and who we are for God. Allow these moments to continue to mold you.

Chapter 2: Problems

One of the most quoted psalms, Psalm 23, contains this line: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me..."

In Chapter two of Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz, Miller confronts this issue of the "darkest valley" and our roles as humans and as Christians when we encounter and recognize those times.

Here are a few questions to ponder and post responses to...

1. On page 13 of chapter 2, Miller states, "I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God." What do you think? Is "wasting time" the biggest downfall for Christians? Where is the line between "being a Christian" and "being religious"?
2. Miller comments that he bought his first television because of a preacher at a church he was visiting said that TV rots the brain. How do we as Christians digest and understand what a "preacher" says from the pulpit? Are we called to believe him/her without doubt? Are we called to challenge the thought? What do you think?
3. Miller on page 17 states, "I think it is easier to do bad things than good things." What do you think?
4. The issue of "original sin" comes up in this chapter. "Original sin" is the idea that we are all born with a tendency to sin because of the original sin by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In a sense, we are prenatured to "sin". What do you think about this idea of "original sin"?
5. "I think every conscious person, every person who is awake to functioning principles within his reality, has a moment where he stops blaming the problems in the world on group think, on humanity and authority, and starts to face himself. ... The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest. (it's me)" Have you had one of these moments of enlightenment? Share it with the group.

We look forward to the discussion. Feel free to share your thoughts on the questions above or any other part of the reading.