Week 1: Introduction — We Are at War

1.Comer opens by distinguishing between telling lies and living them. What does he mean by that distinction, and why does he think living a lie is more dangerous than simply believing a false proposition?

2.He describes our culture as one drowning in anxiety, anger, and addiction, yet also one that has largely abandoned the traditional vocabulary for diagnosing the problem (sin, the devil, the flesh). Do you think that vocabulary loss is a problem? What gets lost when we swap spiritual categories for purely psychological or sociological ones?

3.Comer introduces the ancient Christian framework of three enemies of the soul: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Had you heard this framework before? What was your initial reaction to each of the three categories?

4.He is honest that modern, educated people tend to feel embarrassed by language about the devil. Do you share that embarrassment? What would it take for you to hold that category seriously without feeling intellectually unsophisticated?

5.The introduction sets up a contrast between deformation and formation — the idea that we are always being shaped by something, for better or worse. Where do you sense you are currently being deformed rather than formed?

6.Comer's stated goal is to combine cultural analysis with spiritual formation. Why might both be necessary? What happens when Christians do cultural analysis without spiritual formation, or spiritual formation without cultural analysis?

7.How would you describe the 'tug-of-war' Comer mentions — the inner conflict between truth and lies — in your own life right now? Where do you feel it most acutely?