DEEPENING DISCIPLESHIP BOOK GROUP

This new group met at the Tramway on Saturday 22nd August and agreed to meet roughly monthly.

The format is simple. We "contract" to read a book and meet together to discuss it, chapter by chapter.
The chosen book is Timothy Radcliffe, What is the point of being a Christian?

What is the point of being a Christian? One is pointed to God, who is the point of everything. If one thinks of religion as just 'useful' then one has reduced it to another consumer product. But if we are pointed to God, then this should make a difference to how we live. This is not a moral superiority. Christians are usually no better than anyone else. But the lives of Christians should be marked by some form of hope, freedom, happiness and courage. If they are not then why should anyone believe a word we say? In this new book, Timothy Radcliffe is at his best, writing with a prophetic edge. His argument for Christian belief is profoundly Catholic and profoundly human. But what is just as remarkable, Radcliffe's argument for and interpretation of Christian Gospel is couched in a deep understanding of human nature and the problems and anxieties of modern men and women. Radcliffe is far distant from the theologian's ivory tower and yet his understanding of the Gospel is profoundly theological. The frame of reference for this book is wide, and it is based amongst other things on Fr Radcliffe's pastoral experience of dealing with people with problematic marriages, those struggling with celibacy, those trying to understand the nature of religious authority and those trying to remain loyal to the Church which finds their sexual orientation 'irregular'. This book argues that the more one understands the Gospel, the more one is open to the outside world. What is the Point of Being a Christian? is a breath of fresh air at a time when such a thing is sorely needed. TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE is a Dominican friar. He was educated at Oxford and Paris , taught theology at Oxford , and was involved in ministry to people with AIDS. He was Provincial of the English Province of the Order, and then, as Master of the Order, he travelled widely in Asia, Africa and Latin America . He is the author of Sing A New Song, I Call You Friends and Seven Last Words. He lives at Blackfriars, Oxford . Cover photograph: Nick Cornish

We next meet TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22 ND AT 8PM AT THE RECTORY to discuss the Introduction and Chapter 1.

This group is open to all and requires no expertise, only the desire to learn together in our walk with Christ.