Discussion Questions
1. Why does Jacobs embark on his year-long biblical journey?
What does he expect to find at its end? How do the questions he
seeks to answer evolve as he immerses himself in the project?
2. Identify the formal and informal spiritual guides Jacobs
consults during his year of biblical living. Whom do you find most
instructive, most challenging to accept, and/or most spiritually
compelling? Provide examples for each of your responses.
3. What are Jacobs''s primary challenges in living the Bible as
literally as possible? How does he attempt to resolve them? Is he
successful? Why or why not?
4. Discuss the various religious groups that Jacobs visits
during his year. How are they similar and different from each
other? What contradictions does Jacobs uncover in their biblical
living? What lessons does Jacobs take away from his encounters with
these groups?
5. What role does prayer play in Jacobs''s year-long journey?
How does his relationship with prayer evolve? What meaning does he
attach to prayer? Do you agree? Why or why not?
6. What specific issues arise as Jacobs shifts from the Old
Testament to the New? What implications do they have for his entire
biblical living project?
7. What value does Jacobs attach to the idea of surrendering?
Why is surrendering such a challenge for Jacobs? Does Jacobs ever
surrender? Why or why not?
8. What does Jacobs''s relationship with his neighbor, Nancy in
5I, and the circumstances surrounding her death illuminate about
Jacobs''s biblical quest? How does this particular situation
support or challenge Jacobs''s conclusions about the limits of
literal interpretations of the Bible?
9. What conclusions does Jacobs draw about the Bible, its
literal adherents, and the nature of religious activity as a result
of his year of living biblically? What is the value of the
experience for Jacobs personally?
10. What is the value of Jacobs''s exploration for you
personally? What key lessons or insights will you take away from
Jacobs''s experiences? How has his journey informed your
perceptions and understanding of the Bible?
Enhancing Your Book Club
- Type up the Ten Commandments for your reading group members.
Distribute this list to members and challenge them to follow the
list and live as Jacobs did for seven days. Book club members may
choose to follow one commandment per day or attempt a few
simultaneously. Members should keep a journal of their daily
experiences. When members meet to discuss the book, ask a few to
volunteer to read excerpts from their journals. Discuss the
following:
- What were the challenges members encountered as they tried to
live biblically?
- Were they able to live biblically through the seven days? Why
or why not?
- What lessons will members take away from this process?
- What did they become mindful of as they participated in their
seven-day exercise?
- Are there specific actions they plan to continue beyond the
seven days? What are they and why?
- Invite a local religious leader to be a guide for this book
club selection.
- Your religious guide should be willing to read the book
and
- help to lead a portion of the book club discussion. Points to
consider
- during the discussion:
- What were the significant religious themes in the book?
Why?
- What alternative or additional interpretations exist for some
of the views expressed by Jacobs''s religious guides?
- What does he/she make of Jacobs''s conclusions about biblical
literalism or the role of the Bible in people''s lives?
- What recommendations can he/she provide to members who might
like to live more biblically?
Assemble a biblical feast for book club members using food items
listed in the Bible. Popular items include: wine, grapes,
pomegranates, figs, cucumbers, olives, chickpeas, and lamb. You may
procure goat''s milk, the dairy product of choice, at your local
specialty grocer or online. Additionally, Jacobs recommends
chocolate-covered crickets from http://www.flukerfarms.com.
For an extra bit of effort, you may use the recipe below to make
Ezekiel Bread for the group (http://www.breadbeckers.com/recipes/
ezekiel_bread.htm)
Combine the following whole grains:
2 ½ cups hard red wheat
1 ½ cups spelt or rye (Biblically, spelt was used, Ezekiel
4:9)
½ cup barley (hulled)
¼ cup millet
¼ cup lentils (green preferred)
2 tbsp. Great Northern beans
2 tbsp. red kidney beans
2 tbsp. pinto beans
Stir the above ingredients very well. Grind in flour mill.
Measure into large bowl:
4 cups lukewarm water
1 cup honey
½ cup oil
Add to liquids:
Freshly milled flour from the above mixture of grains plus
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. yeast
Stir or knead until well kneaded, about 10 minutes. This is a
batter-type bread and will not form a smooth ball.
Pour dough into greased pans. You may use 2 large loaf pans
(10x5x3) or 3 medium loaf pans or 2 9x13 brownie pans. Let rise in
a warm place for one hour or until the dough is almost to the top
of the pan. If it rises too much, it will overflow out of the pan
while baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes for loaf pans
and 35-40 minutes for brownie pans.
- If your group is able, you can visit the Creation Museum
(http://www.creationmuseum.org/) located in Petersburg, Kentucky.
There are special rates and promotions for groups of fifteen or
more people.