Good, Evil, and God

Session Overview

Lesson Aim

To differentiate between good and evil by drawing upon Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience and to choose what is good by imitating Jesus.

Session Themes

• To examine pop culture examples that resonate with our longing to see good triumph over evil.

• To explore those longings theologically in light of Christian claims about God.

• To recognize and understand the difference between good and evil.

• To commit to acts of justice and grow in fellowship with God by following Jesus in daily life.

• To grow in confidence that good will win out in the end.

• To live today in light of that confidence.

Hero Focus: Batman

In each chapter, Matt Rawle cites multiple hero stories to illustrate important biblical and theological concepts. In this chapter, you may want to focus your group on the example of Batman when exploring good and evil. Batman first appeared in 1939 in Detective Comics #2 and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Batman is the secret identity of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises. Batman does not possess supernatural abilities, but rather utilizes stealth, combat training, a keen intellect, and technological wizardry to thwart crime. His most notable enemies include Joker, Riddler, Two-Face, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. Visit Wikipedia on the Internet and read the entry for Batman if you would like more information prior to your gathering.

Key Scripture

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Theological Focus

Jesus' story is both familiar and completely separate from us. His life, suffering, death, and resurrection mirror our own hero stories in many ways, but Jesus' story is much different. Jesus is the Messiah. It's not that Jesus is better, or stronger, or quicker, or wittier than the rest of us. Jesus is us, and at the same time he is altogether different. When we look to Jesus' story we find a common thread, but we also find that the thread is woven into a subversive, upside-down revelation of God's kingdom. Jesus is a new kind of hero.

(Rawle, page 20)

Connecting Communally with the Topic (10 Minutes)

Welcome the group to the study. Introduce yourself and learn the names of all group participants if you do not already know everyone. Allow time for group members to become acquainted.

In the first session, provide a basic overview of the book resource and the primary themes found within. Share with the group that each session will include discussion, prayer, a video where you will hear from Matt Rawle, a closer look at the book, and an examination of Scripture in light of the theme. Tell the group that you will also look for ways to apply what you have learned and to challenge one another to live in light of the good news revealed in Jesus.

Opening Prayer

God Almighty, you are good. The world you have created is good. Help us today to learn how better to discern good from evil and to commit ourselves to justice, mercy, and walking humbly with you. Amen.

Conversation Starter

Say:

The first chapter in our book explores good, evil, and God. Good and evil are thematically important in many superhero stories, like Batman. How do we discern the difference between good and evil? Where is God at work when we face trial and hardship? How does Jesus invite us into a life with God where we are empowered to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God? In our world discerning good from evil is not always easy, and choosing what is good can be very difficult. Today we will discuss how following Jesus helps us align ourselves with God's work in the world.

Ask and Discuss:

• What are some of your favorite television shows, movies, or other artistic works that illustrate the struggle between good and evil? Contemporary and classical examples will help this discussion. How do these stories or works of art frame our imaginations regarding good and evil?

• How does your faith inform your understanding of good and evil? How does following Jesus help us choose good and work to overcome evil?

Taking a Closer Look: Video, Book, and Scripture (40 Minutes)

Note: This section allows approximately thirty minutes for discussion of the book and Scripture after the video portion concludes. You will not have time to address every discussion question. Select questions in advance you believe will be most helpful for your group and address those questions first. It may help to put a check mark by the questions you want to cover. If time allows, incorporate additional questions.

The Video

Say:

We will continue our time together with a video featuring Matt Rawle. Rawle will talk about the primary themes of our session today: good, evil, and God. Notice how he explains these themes using pop culture. Make connections to what we have read together in his book. Then, we will discuss both the video and our book together.

Play:

Session One: Good, Evil, and God (running time is approximately 10 minutes)

Say:

Let's keep what Rawle has said in mind as we take a look at the book and examine these themes in light of our calling to live as disciples of Jesus.

The Book

Chapter one explores the prevalent theme of good and evil that is found in all our great hero stories. Rawle invites us to reflect on our longing for what is good and our rejection of evil as a sign that there is a good God working to overcome evil. Rawle also encourages us to reflect on the example of Jesus. In Jesus, goodness has entered the world, and through Jesus God has overcome evil. In response to Jesus, Rawle calls us to trust in him and follow the threefold journey of Micah 6:8, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Discuss:

• Rawle writes, "The hero is a picture of who we are and what we can never be, and this is why we need them." How do our heroes connect with us, inspire us, and also humble us in our pursuit of doing good?

• Rawle writes that the story of Jesus includes a separation from the familiar when he leaves the realm of heaven and takes on flesh. The author also notes that this puts Jesus into situations of temptation, trial, and suffering. How does the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus help us relate to God?

• How does Jesus' example instruct us in following after him as his disciple? How do we imitate Jesus?

• How do we learn to discern good from evil? How do Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience help us reflect theologically on the will of God?

• Rawle writes, "Sometimes when...