TOL Topics Worth Substantive Discussion

Ask Mr. Religion

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Context:
http://theologyonline.com/showthread.php?p=5244257#post5244257


In this thread how about we collect suggestions for topics worthy of meaty discussion?

Make your suggestions here. If so inclined, also suggest person(s) you feel would be good candidates for carrying the discussion(s) forward.

Over time we can curate the suggestions and see to it they get the air time needed.

Anyone willing to volunteer to be the moderator of this list? That person will be responsible for goosing recommended persons and/or starting up the worthy threads suggested herein.

AMR
 

Ask Mr. Religion

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Here is a list of starter topics I have compiled for generating discussion. These are more general topics, not theologically deep. (Ignore the odd numberings below, they mean only something to me and I was too lazy to delete them.)

Spoiler

1. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

11. What’s the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What’s the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it

17. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What’s one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What’s one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What’s the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What’s the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

If you were by yourself and could do anything you wanted for one day, what would you do?

What is your most vivid childhood memory?

If you could wake up tomorrow and have one new ability or talent, what would it be?

What advice would you give your younger self?

What do you hope people think when they think of you?

If you have kids: What's the most important thing you hope your kids take with them out into the world?

Who has been kindest to you?

If you could hold on to just one memory for the rest of your life, what would it be?

When you imagine yourself at 80 years old, what do you see?

What are you most grateful for?

How do you understand grace? In what ways have you been transformed by grace? Witnessed transformation by grace? How are you challenged by grace?

What is the purpose of prayer? How/when/where/does prayer happen?

What is the connection between your understanding of prayer and your image of God?

How do you understand hope theologically? What is the difference between hope and optimism? How can/does hope find expression in the context of struggle and suffering?

What worries me most about the future?

If this were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?

What am I really scared of?

Am I holding on to something I need to let go of?

What matters most in my life?

What am I doing about the things that matter most in my life?

Who has had the greatest impact on my life?

What do I matter?

Have I done anything lately worth remembering?

Have I made someone smile today?

What have I given up on?

When did I last push the boundaries of my comfort zone?

If I had to instill one piece of advice in a newborn baby’s mind, what advice would I give?

What small act of kindness was I once shown that I will never forget?

How shall I live, knowing I will die?

What do I need to change about myself?

Is it more important to love or be loved?

How many of my friends would I trust with my life?

Would I break the law to save a loved one?

Would I steal to feed a starving child?

What do I want most in life?

What is life calling of me?

Which is worse: failing or never trying?

If I try to fail, and succeed, which have I done?

What’s the one thing I’d like others to remember about me at the end of my life?

Does it really matter what others think about me?

To what degree have I actually controlled the course my life has taken?

When it’s all said and done, will I have said more than I’ve done?

1. What religion do you believe in?

2. Do you believe in God or another deity?

3. When did you choose your faith?

4. What is your idea of what God looks like?

5. Is there a heaven?

6. Is there a hell?

7. What does heaven look like?

8. What does hell look like?

9. Why should someone start believing in God?

10. What should a believer do before they die?

11. Does your past play a role when joining a religion?

12. Does someone need to attend church to be spiritual?

13. What’s the difference between being spiritual and being religious?

14. Did you have to change your life before you started following a religion?

15. How often does someone need to say “amen?”

16. Should someone start attending a church if he or she doesn't believe in God?

17. Can someone believe in God but not attend church?

18. Should someone read a Bible before he or she starts believing in a religion?

19. What’s the best part of going to church?

20. What benefits can someone get from going to church?

21. What benefits does religion have?

22. Is it better for someone to follow religion on his or her own, or involve the family, too?

23. Should someone learn about other religions before deciding on one?

24. Should someone attend a religious service from multiple faiths before picking a religion?

25. What do people learn about religion in school?

26. What misconceptions are there about faith?

27. If there’s one God, why are there more than 4,000 religions?

28. What’s the difference between a pastor, priest or preacher?

29. What religious lingo should someone know before joining a religion?

30. Who are some famous people from throughout history who were religious?

31. What’s the coolest story from the Bible?

32. What’s the most influential story from the Bible?

33. Are there ways to follow faith on a smartphone?

34. Is the Bible figurative or literal?

35. Are the characters in the Bible figurative or literal?

36. What’s the main message to take away from the Bible?

37. How important is it that someone learns specific prayers?

38. What’s your favorite prayer?

39. What version of the Bible should a new believer read?

40. Why do you believe in something you can’t see?

41. What should someone do if he or she is confronted about faith?

42. Why do bad things happen to good people?

43. What’s the difference between reincarnation and resurrection?

44. Does God answer prayers?

45. What can millennials get out of religion?

46. How do you know when God is answering prayers?

47. There’s a lot of bad news on TV every day. The world is in chaos. How can there be a God?

48. What’s the best thing about being a believer?

49. How does God and religion really help you get through tough times?

50. Where does someone read religious news?


AMR
 
Last edited:

Grosnick Marowbe

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Context:
http://theologyonline.com/showthread.php?p=5244257#post5244257


In this thread how about we collect suggestions for topics worthy of meaty discussion?

Make your suggestions here. If so inclined, also suggest person(s) you feel would be good candidates for carrying the discussion(s) forward.

Over time we can curate the suggestions and see to it they get the air time needed.

Anyone willing to volunteer to be the moderator of this list? That person will be responsible for goosing recommended persons and/or starting up the worthy threads suggested herein.

AMR

1) Tambora
2) Glorydaz
3) JudgeRightly
4) Musterion
5) Grosnick Marowbe
 

Ask Mr. Religion

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Here is my more "meaty" list from a similar thread:

Spoiler


Is evangelism a duty for all believers or is an evangelist a church office role to be guided by the local church?

Does your church practice any form of church discipline? If so, what were the general issues (no specifics please!) that were being dealt with and what was the ruling of the church?

How do you witness to {insert group here-, e.g., Mormons, JWs, Non-belivers, Muslims, Catholics, etc.}?

Should pastors attend seminary? Why? Why not?

Is belief in a young-earth age more biblical than an old-earth age view?

Does your church have a published statement of faith or statement afforming one of the historical creeds or confessions?

Does Hell exist?

Is belief in the diety of Christ an essential belief if one claims to be Christian?

Does Romans 7:15-24 describe the experience of one who is saved, not saved, or is it theoretical?

What does "free will" mean?

Do Christians sin?

What are the essentials/non-essentials of the Christian faith?

Is sanctification monergistic or synergistic?

Other than our Lord and the writers of Scripture, who would you say was the best theologian from history (dead guys)? Who do you think is the best living theologian?

Is membership in a church required by the Bible?

Does God know the future?

Are you a creationist or a traducianist?

For apologetical methods do you prefer evidentialism or presuppositionalism?

Do you believe in a rapture of believers and then a period of tribulation before the Second Coming of our Lord?

Should women be ordained as pastors (teaching elders)?

What is the most significant thread to the visible church today?

Should a convicted pedophile who has served his sentence, evidenced true repentance, professes the faith, been baptised, and is a fruitful, active church member who claims to be called to preach be ordained?

You have the thirty-minute opportunity to influence and speak one-on-one privately with the President of the United States. What would you discuss?

Does meaningless evil exist?

If you could teach one course to future pastors in a seminary, what would that course be?

Should a believer marry a non-believer or someone who does not share their particular faith-based views?

Did our Lord atone for a particular group of persons or for each and every person who ever lived, is living, or will live before the Second Coming?

When the Divine Logos (God the Son) assumed a human nature, was this human nature individuated? In other words, could this human nature have independently existed without the Divine Logos?

Will there be "free will" in heaven?

Are images of any member of the Trinity seen in paintings, books, etc., a violation of the Second Commandment?

Should infants be baptised?

Who do you think is the writer of Hebrews?

Did the Divine Logos (God the Son) set aside any of his divine attributes when assuming a human nature at the Incarnation? In other words, was God the Son still omnipotent, omnipresent, etc?

What authority do you believe pastor's possess?

Is man dichotomous (body, soul) or trichotomous (body, soul, spirit)?

Who are the Two Witnesses in Revelation?

Is the church the true Israel?

Should we consult Bible commentaries and other man-made documents to increase our knowledge of the teachings of Scripture? Why? Why not?

Are you big-T "Theonomist" (e.g., Rushdoony, Bahnsen, wherein the OT moral law not only is binding in the NT era, but the OT judicial law is binding, mutatis mutandis, in the NT era.)?

Is the wrath of God eternal?

How do you discern God's will?

Should there be lawsuits among Christians?

Is faith itself righteous?

How should we understand the Imprecatory Psalms?

Why is Adam's sin more important than Eve's?

What does it mean to say the Bible is self-authenticating?

Can a person be 100% assured that he or she is saved?

Must we always forgive another?

Faith first, then regeneration or regeneration, then faith?

Do you believe in original sin?



AMR
 

Ask Mr. Religion

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Gold Subscriber
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1) Tambora
2) Glorydaz
3) JudgeRightly
4) Musterion
5) Grosnick Marowbe

I nominate GM! He is one of the most regular of the regulars. No bran diet jokes, please! ;)

GM can tap the others as he sees fit. Maybe they can vote amongst themselves about which topics to put forth for discussion. Create a spreadsheet with columns for votes. Color code entries by priority, date the opening thread, add a link in a column. Wait. What? I geeked out there for a moment. ;)

AMR
 

Tambora

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I nominate GM! He is one of the most regular of the regulars. No bran diet jokes, please! ;)

GM can tap the others as he sees fit. Maybe they can vote amongst themselves about which topics to put forth for discussion. Create a spreadsheet with columns for votes. Color code entries by priority, date the opening thread, add a link in a column. Wait. What? I geeked out there for a moment. ;)

AMR
Sounds interesting and fun.
 

Tambora

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It's a good idea to make a list of subjects to see what others are interested in discussing.
Can pick the subject that most voted for, and therefore would be assured of having a thread that others would be interested in discussing.
 

Ask Mr. Religion

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You could perhaps create a poll of, say, the top five suggestions decided upon, and then gather votes and roll them out accordingly. Then a new poll, for the next set of five, and so on.

By the way, my suggestions are not some copyright. Anyone should feel free to steal, amend, and use them as they see fit to do so without attribution. ;)

AMR
 

Grosnick Marowbe

New member
Hall of Fame
I nominate GM! He is one of the most regular of the regulars. No bran diet jokes, please! ;)

GM can tap the others as he sees fit. Maybe they can vote amongst themselves about which topics to put forth for discussion. Create a spreadsheet with columns for votes. Color code entries by priority, date the opening thread, add a link in a column. Wait. What? I geeked out there for a moment. ;)

AMR

:rotfl:
 

Zeke

Well-known member
Sounds like in house fluff, what about some real substance concerning your generational programming on religious bloodshed.

 
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