Mama Bear Apologetics by Hillary Morgan Ferrer
Week 5: Chapter 4 — Self-Helpism: Be Your Own Savior
Read Chapter 4 of Mama Bear Apologetics. Key passages: Jeremiah 17:9; Philippians 4:13
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The self-help gospel tells us we have everything we need inside us — and this chapter asks us to consider how deeply that message has shaped the way we parent, pray, and think about salvation.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.The chapter identifies 'self-helpism' as one of the most spiritually dangerous cultural isms precisely because it sounds so Christian — words like purpose, potential, transformation, and calling appear in both self-help books and sermons. What makes it difficult to tell the difference?
2.The authors note that self-helpism turns the biblical idea of human dignity (we are made in God's image) into human sufficiency (we don't need anything outside ourselves). How do you explain to a child the difference between those two ideas?
3.Ferrer points to the way Philippians 4:13 ('I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me') is routinely stripped of its context — Paul is talking about contentment in suffering, not unlimited personal achievement. Have you ever heard (or used) this verse in a self-help way? What does its actual context teach us instead?
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