Downside Up isn't just entertaining and fun to look at. Try using it as a Small Group Resource. Below are some questions to generate dialogue about how Christianity and the Church have formed attitudes and worldviews about God, the world, and people's personal values...
1. In what ways has Christianity, the church, or organized religion hurt you or disappointed you?.
2. In what ways have you seen friends or loved ones wounded by the church?
3. If anything made you uncomfortable reading Downside Up, what was it and why?
4. How might you have hurt or wounded someone with how you have expressed your beliefs? What would you do or say differently now?
5. Do you agree Jesus’ teachings are “downside up?” How does Jesus clash with common sense or cultural norms?
6. In Matthew 12:7, Jesus says: “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ You would not have condemned the innocent.” What do you think he me nt by that?
7. This book holds a hopeful view for the future of Christianity, despite its dark history. Is that hope substantiated, or misplaced?
8. Is “love without boundaries” possible? What could that mean? What caveats might we add?
9. What in your spiritual life might be sentimental nostalgia, and what is real memory? How do you tell the difference?
10. How did the illustrations in the book resonate with you? What imagery stood out most, and why?