EQUALITY
What Latin theological phrase means humans are made in the "image of God," giving everyone equal dignity?
Imago Dei
What process in nature operates on the idea of "survival of the fittest"?
Natural selection / Evolution.
In the ancient Roman Empire, who held full legal authority over the bodies of slaves and social inferiors?
High-status Roman men / heads of households.
What is the 19th-century myth called that claims religion and science have always been in a state of "warfare"?
The "Conflict Thesis".
What should you do if a peer says something in a discussion that you don't fully understand?
Ask a clarifying question or paraphrase what they said (e.g., "Are you saying that...?").
Which ancient Greek philosopher argued that humans are naturally unequal, with some born to rule and others born to be slaves?
Plato (or Aristotle)
Which 19th-century German philosopher claimed Christian pity was a "poison" that kept the weak alive and stopped human progress?
Friedrich Nietzsche.
What central Christian idea turned the body from an object of power into something holy?
The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Name the three foundational truths from Genesis that Scrivener argues allowed modern science to develop.
The Freedom of God
The Figure-out-ability (intelligibility) of the world
The Fallibility of humans
What is "airtime," and how should you manage it in a small group discussion?
It's the amount of time you spend talking compared to others; you should balance sharing your ideas with letting others speak.
Historian Yuval Noah Harari notes that if you cut a human open, you find organs and DNA, but you don't find "rights". What is Scrivener’s main point here?
Science alone cannot prove human equality or moral worth; it is an inherited theological belief.
Name two historical practices or institutions that Christians created or abolished due to their belief in compassion.
Any two: Hospitals, orphanages, ending gladiator matches, rescuing exposed infants, or caring for plague victims.
In 1 Corinthians 7:4, Paul writes that a husband’s body belongs to his wife. Why was this revolutionary for 1st-century women?
It established mutual authority and sexual consent, demanding that men restrain their desires equally.
How did the Christian belief in human "fallibility" (the Fall/Genesis 3) lead directly to modern scientific methods?
Because human minds are prone to self-deception, scientists created peer review, double-blind testing, and experimentation to keep each other honest.
Instead of saying "That's wrong" or "I disagree," what is a more hospitable way to probe a peer's point?
Phrase it gently, such as "What makes you say that?", "Where does that come from in the text?", or "What assumption might we be making here?"
In 2021, Lord Sumption controversially claimed that not all human lives are of equal value. How did Genesis 1 challenge this ancient logic regarding men and women?
Genesis 1 claims that both male and female share equal dignity in God’s image, unlike ancient myths where humans were created as disposable servants.
How does Christianity turn "survival of the fittest" upside down through Jesus?
Instead of sacrificing the weak for the strong, the ultimate "Fittest" (Jesus) sacrificed Himself for the weak.
C.S. Lewis wrote that you cannot call a line "crooked" unless you have an idea of what "straight" looks like. How does this relate to sexual ethics?
To call sexual abuse evil, you must have an objective standard of goodness and dignity, which Western culture inherited from Christianity.
Why is the famous trial of Galileo NOT a simple story of "scientific truth vs. religious ignorance"?
The Church backed the majority scientific consensus of the day, Galileo lacked proof for elliptical orbits, and the conflict was driven as much by giant egos as by doctrine.
What three elements make up a strong analysis note on a chapter?
Claims (what the author asserts), Support (evidence/agreement), and Questions (doubts/hesitations).