Blessing

What does it mean for humans to bless God?

What does a blessing accomplish?

Why call God “sovereign of the universe?”

Choosing

What are the implications of believing your group is chosen or exalted by God?

Further Reflections on Chosenness

Washing

From what do we need purification?

What role does washing play in our traditions?

Caring

How do you understand the obligation to care for the needy?

How do you view the relationship between physical and spiritual needs?

What is your tradition’s approach to charity (for Christians), zakat (for Muslims), or tzedakah (for Jews)?

How do you decide how much you should give?

Teaching/Learning

Are you anxious about passing down your faith tradition?

What kinds of knowledge does your tradition value?

What role does ritual play in passing down our traditions?

Interpreting Law

What role does the sense of doing God’s will play in your religious life?

How central is the concept of religious law to you?

How does your religious community handle issues of dissent?

How do you understand the relationship between religious law and the notion of a divinely revealed text?

Treating Strangers

What wisdom do you find in your tradition in relating to people of other faiths?

Who are the strangers among us and how do we define them?

Where has your community fallen short of its ideals in its relationship to members of other communities?

What tensions do you experience between elements within your tradition that are more embracing of the “other” and those which are more exclusive?

Rescuing

How do we understand God’s rescuing role in history?

Given the magnitude of human suffering, how is it possible to believe in an all just, all powerful God?

How does your tradition help you cope with suffering?

What are the dangers in seeing ourselves as victims?

Struggling Against Oppression

How does your tradition understand oppression?

In what ways does your tradition serve as a basis for countering oppression?

In what ways have people in your tradition used it to justify oppression?

What are the resources in your tradition for struggling against our inner Pharaohs?

Recognizing Women

What are your hopes for women in your tradition?

Where are women in our traditions’ central narratives?

What roles have our traditions assigned to women in the past?

What is the status of women in our traditions today

A Loving and Punishing God

How can we reconcile images of the merciful God with passages of God engaging in violent acts?

How do our traditions treat texts that attribute violence to God?

Experiencing the Divine

How do we experience God?

How do our traditions speak of God and to God?

What roles do music and the arts play in experiencing the divine?

Eating/Drinking

From a religious perspective how do you relate to eating and drinking?

What are some of your tradition’s customs or rules concerning meals and food?

What significance does bread have in your tradition?

How does your community view drinking wine or abstinence?

Seeing God on Our Side

Is it a good idea to believe that God is on our side? Why?

How has violence been justified by claiming God is on our side?

Dying

What is the meaning of death in your tradition?

In what ways do the rituals of your tradition help to provide consolation to mourners?

How does your tradition relate to the concept of life after death?

How does your community care for its sick and dying members?

Making Peace in Jerusalem

What are some of your hopes for Jerusalem?

What is the spiritual significance of Jerusalem in your tradition?

What are some of your tradition’s myths about Jerusalem?