Discussion Questions

David says Scripture is the “primary and essential” guide and the “only infallible guide,” yet he also says the early Christian writings exposed the “glasses” he was reading with—what does this suggest about God’s intentions for how Scripture is understood in the church, and what does it assume about the normal condition of human readers? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Scripture is the only perfect guide, why did early Christian writings help David see what he was missing? What does that say about how God expects the church to read Scripture, and about how biased or limited readers usually are?

David claims that if someone reads the New Testament with a “blank slate” and “at face value,” they will arrive at “essential spiritual truths”; what specific beliefs, traditions, or pastoral explanations in your background would make a blank-slate reading feel threatening or “unsafe”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David says a “blank slate” reading of the New Testament leads to basic spiritual truth. What beliefs or church teachings you grew up with would make reading it that way feel scary or “unsafe”?

David describes reading Acts 2:38 “500 times” without noticing “baptized…for the remission of sins” because he had been trained to read past the words—what current doctrines do you suspect you may be doing that with, and how would you actually test whether you’re letting the text speak rather than your system? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David read Acts 2:38 many times but skipped over the words because of his training. What Bible teachings might you be reading that way today, and how could you check if you’re following the text instead of your usual system?

In discussing 1 Corinthians 11, David argues Paul grounds head covering not in culture but in “creation…headship…the angels”; what view of God’s order and authority is implied in Paul’s reasoning as David presents it, and why do modern Christians instinctively reach for “that was cultural” as a default escape? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In 1 Corinthians 11, David says Paul bases head coverings on creation, authority, and angels—not culture. What picture of God’s order and authority does that suggest, and why do Christians today quickly say, “That was just cultural”?

David presses James 2:24 (“justified by works and not by faith alone”) and insists we must give “full faith and credit” both to faith passages and works passages without “hiding any verses”; what would a “no-verse-left-behind” approach force you to change in how you talk about grace, assurance, and obedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: James 2:24 says we are “justified by works and not by faith alone.” If you refuse to ignore any verses about faith or works, how would that change the way you talk about grace, assurance, and obedience?

David says the apostles didn’t hand the New Testament “in a vacuum” but handed down a “body of teachings,” and that the next generation used that to interpret Scripture so that “the New Testament means exactly what it says”; how does that early-church assumption confront modern individualistic “Bible alone + me and the Spirit” Christianity? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David says the apostles passed on teachings along with the New Testament, and the next Christians used those teachings to understand Scripture. How does that challenge the modern idea of “Bible alone + me and the Spirit”?

On John 16, David argues “the Spirit guiding into all truth” was spoken to the twelve, proven by their unity (one church from Pentecost to John’s death), and that today’s doctrinal chaos shows the Spirit is not guiding each individual into all truth—what does this do to common evangelical claims like “the Spirit told me” or “God led our church to this doctrine”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David says John 16’s promise about the Spirit guiding into truth was for the twelve, not each believer, and that today’s disagreements prove that. How does that challenge statements like “the Spirit told me” or “God led our church to this doctrine”?

David says the modesty debate often commits the “fallacy of the beard/continuum fallacy”: because we can’t draw an exact line, people conclude there is no line; where do you see that same fallacy operating in current Christian debates (wealth, entertainment, divorce, violence, sexuality), and what would it look like to reject the fallacy without becoming Pharisaical? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David says people commit the “continuum fallacy” about modesty: if we can’t draw a perfect line, they say there is no line. Where do you see that same mistake in Christian debates today, and how can you avoid it without becoming harsh and self-righteous?

David proposes three “objective universal principles” of modesty learned from early Christian practice: covering most of the body, avoiding tight/sensuous clothing that invites lust, and avoiding costly/showy clothing that draws attention—what heart-motives do these principles target, and how might they require changes in your spending, shopping habits, and self-presentation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David gives three modesty principles: cover most of the body, avoid tight/sensual clothes, and avoid flashy/expensive clothes. What desires or heart issues do these aim at, and how might they change how you spend money, shop, and present yourself?

David says he is strict about which church he joins, but willing to pray and do relief work with many professing Christians; he also says the Apostles’ Creed functioned for ~300 years as a unifying standard and that we’re “too dogmatic” about things we can’t be 100% sure of—what doctrines or lifestyle issues today would you personally demote to “secondary,” and which ones (if any) would you treat as church-fellowship dividing lines, and why? JumpstartAnother way to ask: David is careful about which church he joins but still prays and serves with many Christians, and he says we should be less rigid about things we can’t be fully sure about. What beliefs or lifestyle issues would you treat as secondary today, and what (if any) would you make a reason to not join the same church, and why?