The Secret Battle of Ideas about God Participant's Guide: Overcoming the Outbreak of Five Fatal Worldviews

THE SECRET BATTLE OF IDEAS ABOUT GOD PARTICIPANT’S GUIDE

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

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All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked

NLT

are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Paraphrased quotations from Mike Adams, Sean McDowell, Glenn Packiam, and John Stonestreet are taken from interviews conducted by Summit Ministries during the filming of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God DVD.

ISBN 978-1-4347-1153-3

eISBN 978-1-4347-1219-6

© 2017 Summit Ministries

The Team: Tim Peterson, Ron Lee, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee,

Cara Iverson, Jennifer Lonas, Abby DeBenedittis, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Jon Middel

Cover Photo: Getty Images

First Edition 2017

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CONTENTS

Introduction: The Secret Battle Rages, and You Are the Target

Session 1: Invisible Warfare

The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Lives

Discussing Chapters 1 and 2 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 2: Am I Loved?

How Idea Viruses Make Us Feel Unappreciated, Unwanted, and Alone

Discussing Chapters 3 and 4 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 3: Why Do I Hurt?

How Idea Viruses Fail Us in Our Suffering

Discussing Chapters 5 and 6 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 4: Does My Life Have Meaning?

How Idea Viruses Strip Us of Direction and Leave Us Aimless

Discussing Chapters 7 and 8 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 5: Why Can’t We Just Get Along?

How Idea Viruses Destroy the Peace We Crave

Discussing Chapters 9 and 10 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 6: Is There Any Hope for the World?

How Idea Viruses Drive Us to Despair

Discussing Chapters 11 and 12 of The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Session 7: Is God Even Relevant?

How Jesus Conquers Idea Viruses Once and for All

Discussing Chapter 13 of

The Secret Battle of Ideas about God

Appendix A: Idea Viruses

Appendix B: Summit Method of Inquiry

Notes

Introduction

The Secret Battle Rages,

and You Are the Target

Life is about ideas. Ideas have consequences.

Dr. Jeff Myers

A battle of ideas is raging all around us, but we’re often unaware of it. These warring ideas travel under different names and guises, often passing themselves off as something they’re not. That’s why they largely go unnoticed and are difficult for us to recognize. Yet ideas have an unmistakable impact on us. Many ideas are like toxic viruses stealthily infiltrating our minds and hearts without making their presence known. They fly under the radar, infecting our lives and inflicting damage that isn’t immediately apparent.

We each have a way of thinking—a collection of ideas—that guides the choices we make and how we live. These ideas form our worldview. But how did each of us select these ideas and assemble them into a worldview? How do we distinguish between beneficial and destructive ideas? And most important, how can we develop a worldview that not only is true and healthy but also bows to the desires and authority of God?

Among all the ideas competing for our loyalty, which ones reflect what God wants for us and from us?

Our Approach

The issues we’ll discuss in this participant’s guide are essential to an accurate understanding of God and his desires for the world. In each of the seven sessions that follow, we’ll discuss what lies behind the ideas that seek to control us and our world. We’ll also examine our commitments, priorities, values, and beliefs to determine the origins of these ideas. This process is critical because destructive ideas often disguise themselves as the best solutions to the most pressing human problems. These problems are universal and can be summarized in five core questions about life that most people ask at one time or another:

1. Am I loved?

2. Why do I hurt?

3. Does my life have meaning?

4. Why can’t we just get along?

5. Is there any hope for the world?

Each of these questions reveals an important insight into our understanding of our heavenly Father and our relationships with him. The ideas we form to answer these five questions determine our worldview. A healthy worldview reflects good ideas, and an unhealthy worldview reflects destructive ideas.

For example, in the 1930s, few Germans would have supported Adolf Hitler if he had publicly announced that he intended to execute six million Jews. But when he appealed to German loyalty to the Fatherland in the wake of the devastation of World War I, he gained their unwavering support. (Keep in mind that Germany was considered a Christian nation when Hitler rose to power and unleashed his evil on the world.)

World War II put an end to Hitler’s genocide, but what if the Allies hadn’t shared an understanding that the Nazi agenda was evil?

Mike Adams explained that if cultural relativism is true, then there is no moral basis for freeing those in the Nazi concentration