Subscribe to the NetworkPossible Small Group Discussion
An article entitled, “Supreme Court says religious group has no right to erect granite marker in public park” (AP) was just released this morning. It’s an interesting article in that the religious group is one that I’ve not heard much about – The Summum. It’s a Latin term meaning the sum total of all creation. This group wants to erect its “Seven Aphorisms of Summum” monument in Utah’s Pioneer Park. The group, formed in 1975, says the Seven Aphorisms were given to Moses on Mount Sinai along with the Ten Commandments. Moses destroyed the tablet containing the aphorisms because he saw the people weren’t ready for them, the Summum say.
This, my friends, could be a great discussion at your small group this week! Here are a couple things you could bring up with your college students/-age people:
- You can get political with this if you want – could be dangerous though. You could ask questions like: How much should gov’t get involved in religious proclamations, whether verbal or physical such as in this article? As Christians we love the fact that the 10 Commandments are posted in a state park, but in our country every religious organization has equal rights…so where should gov’t draw the line with these things if any?
- You can ask more open ended questions like: What would you say God thinks about a nation like ours where every religion has equal rights? You could actually look at 1Kings 18:21 after the discussion. This is where Elijah looks at the people and challenges them to make a decision on which God they’re going to worship. A question you could throw out is, “Do you think maybe that’s what God would say to our country…? Make sure you ask why or why not.
- You can ask some foundational faith statements like: How do you think this group justifies this other tablet actually existing…versus someone just making it up? What role should outside sources (extra-biblical) play in our faith development? We have outside sources like, “Christian books,” so what role should those have in our faith development? Are there similar dangers in this regard with us as the Summum have with the extra-biblical sources? (now that would be a fun question to ask…might ruffle some feathers, but would likely start great conversation)
Anyway, just some thoughts…fun to think through anyway. Maybe print out the article, have them read it together, and then start discussing. Make sure you have some specific Scriptures ready to go to challenge, encourage people in their thought processes. This could get a bit messy, but I think the discussion could be very fun and healthy.
Related posts:
