Preparing for Session Two

Reading from A New Christianity for a New World—
	Chapter 2: The Signs of the Death of Theism (pages 21–35)
Chapter 3: Self-Consciousness and Theism (pages 37–55)
Chapter 4: Beyond Theism but not Beyond God (pages 57–77)

Supplementary reading of Biblical passages—
	You may wish to read and reflect on these texts as significant examples of the God-experience within the biblical tradition:
	Genesis 15:1–18a; 
Exodus 3:1–14; 33:7–23; 
1 Samuel 2:1–10; 
Job 42:1–6; 
Isaiah 6:1–6; 
Jeremiah 20:7–18; 
Ezekiel 1:4–28; 
Luke 1:39–5; 
2 Corinthians 12:1–10; 
Revelation 1:12–18.
What, if anything, do they have in common?
How well do they relate to your own experience of God?

Reflection task—
	You may wish to undertake the following reflection task before the next session:
How closely does Spong’s definition of theism on p. 21f fit with your own beliefs? If it is not currently your idea of God, has it been such in the past? If so, what has brought about the changes in your ideas about God, and how happy are you with your present beliefs?