Small Group Discussion Questions With Sample Responses
This document provides the same questions along with drafted responses that synthesize the key ideas from the chapter. These can be used by a facilitator to guide the discussion and ensure the main points are covered.
Part A: Understanding the Core Principles
- Bishop Barron writes this book in response to a modern crisis of belief, where many people find the teachings of Christianity unbelievable. How does he redefine the act of “believing” to counter the common idea that faith is irrational or superstitious?
- Draft Response: Bishop Barron directly confronts the modern caricature of faith as being anti-intellectual or a “blind leap.” He argues that authentic Christian belief is not infra-rational (below or against reason), but supra-rational (above what reason alone can grasp). He isn’t asking people to abandon their intellect. Instead, he presents faith as a reasonable and sophisticated human act. He shifts the definition of belief from assenting to a list of irrational propositions to a relational act of trusting a Person who has revealed Himself.
- Barron uses the analogy of getting to know another person to explain the nature of faith. How is believing in God similar to trusting a person who reveals themselves to you, rather than simply analyzing data about them?
- Draft Response: This analogy is central to the chapter. You can gather facts and data about a person through observation (like a scientist), but you can never truly know their heart, their love, or their inner life unless they choose to reveal it to you. At that point, you must move beyond analysis and make a decision to trust what they have said. Barron argues that faith in God works the same way. Reason can lead us to the threshold, but to know the personal God, we must be open to His self-revelation (in Scripture, in Jesus) and respond with an act of trusting surrender. Faith is the beginning of an “adventure” into the heart of God, which an aggressive, purely analytical reason can never access.
- A key idea in the chapter is that faith is supra-rational (above reason) rather than infra-rational (below reason). What does this distinction mean? How does the image of a “dazzling darkness” caused by too much light help explain this?
- Draft Response: Infra-rational means below reason—like superstition or wishful thinking. The Church has no interest in this. Supra-rational means that faith deals with realities that transcend the full grasp of the human mind. The “dazzling darkness” metaphor explains this perfectly. If you stare directly at the sun, you are overwhelmed not by a lack of light, but by an excess of it. Similarly, when the finite human mind tries to gaze directly at the infinite reality of God, it is overwhelmed. This “darkness” is not a sign of ignorance, but the proper response to a mystery so luminous it cannot be contained by our rational categories.
- According to the book, what is the relationship between the intellect (our mind) and the will (our heart/desire) in the act of faith? Why is love the primary motivator for the will to command the mind to believe?
- Draft Response: Drawing on St. Thomas Aquinas, Barron explains that faith is a rare case where the will commands the intellect. Usually, our mind identifies something as good, and our will then desires it. In faith, the process is different. The will, which is our capacity for love and desire, is attracted to the ultimate Good, which is God Himself. Because the will loves God, it directs the mind to assent to what God has revealed, even if the mind cannot fully comprehend it. Therefore, the act of faith is not forced by evidence but is a free act motivated by love for the Person of God.
- What is the difference between saying “I believe” (pisteuo) and “We believe” (pisteuomen)? Why are both the personal and communal dimensions essential for a healthy Christian faith?
- Draft Response: Barron calls the ambiguity between these two forms “eloquent”. “I believe” forces personal responsibility and an existential commitment. It prevents us from hiding in the anonymity of the group and asks, “Do I truly assent to this?”. “We believe,” on the other hand, highlights the essential communal nature of faith. We receive our faith from the Church, and we are supported by the faith of the entire community, past and present. When our personal faith in one area is weak, the strong faith of the “we” can carry us. A healthy faith holds both in tension: a deeply personal commitment lived out within a supportive community.
- Barron defines God not as the biggest being among other beings, but as the sheer act of “to be” itself (actus purus). What does it mean to say God is “non-competitive” with creation? How does the image of the burning bush illustrate this?
- Draft Response: If God were just another being, even the most powerful one, He would be in competition with us. His power would limit our power; His freedom would threaten our freedom. But Barron, following Aquinas, says God is not a being; He is the very act of existence itself. Therefore, He exists on a completely different plane. He is “non-competitive”. The more God is present, the more real and alive we become. The burning bush is the perfect image: the bush is on fire, filled with the presence of God, but it is “not consumed”. God’s presence enhances its being rather than destroying it. This principle is the key to understanding everything else, from grace to the Incarnation.
Part B: Growing in Intimacy with Jesus
- Think of your own faith journey. Have there been times when you treated belief more like a math problem to be solved, rather than a relationship of trust with a Person? How does viewing faith as a “trusting surrender” to Jesus, who reveals Himself to you, change how you approach prayer and scripture?
- Draft Response (Facilitator’s Guide): This question invites personal testimony. The core idea is to move from an abstract, intellectual faith to a personal, relational one. Viewing faith as trust changes everything. Prayer becomes less about reciting formulas and more about a conversation with a person who loves you. Scripture becomes less like a textbook to be dissected and more like a love letter from God, a place of personal encounter where Jesus reveals His heart. It invites an “openness to adventure” into a relationship, rather than a search for logical certainty.
- Barron suggests that sometimes the primary obstacle to belief isn’t a lack of evidence, but a “compromised will” that loves a created good (like comfort, control, or approval) more than God. What “idols” or lesser goods in your own life compete for the love and trust that belong to God alone?
- Draft Response (Facilitator’s Guide): This question encourages honest self-examination. The principle is that sin is “misdirected worship”—turning from the Creator to creatures. We are built to worship, and if we don’t worship God, we will worship something else. These “idols” can be obvious things like money or power, but they can also be subtle things like the approval of others, our own intellectual pride, our comfort, or our desire to be in complete control of our lives. The refusal to believe can stem from a refusal to surrender control to God, because our will is attached to one of these lesser goods.
- When you recite the Creed at Mass, do you feel the personal weight of the words “I believe”? How can the “We believe” of the Church community support your personal faith, especially during times of doubt or spiritual dryness?
- Draft Response (Facilitator’s Guide): This question connects the theology to the lived liturgical experience. The “I believe” is a moment to renew our personal “yes” to God. The “We believe” is a powerful reminder that we are not alone in this. When we feel doubtful, tired, or distracted, the voices of our brothers and sisters around us—and the voices of the saints and believers throughout history—can carry our faith for us. We are buoyed up by the faith of the whole Church, reminding us that our belief is not something we invent, but something we receive and participate in.
- Reflect on the idea of a “non-competitive” God. Have you ever feared that being closer to God would mean losing your freedom, your personality, or your own dreams? How does the truth that God’s presence “illumines without consuming” free you to invite Jesus more deeply into every area of your life?
- Draft Response (Facilitator’s Guide): This addresses a common spiritual fear. Many people, consciously or not, keep God at a distance because they fear He will crush their individuality. The idea of a non-competitive God completely flips this fear. Because Jesus is God, His entrance into our lives doesn’t diminish us; it makes us more ourselves, more alive, more free. He wants to enhance our being, not erase it. Understanding this can give us the confidence to surrender everything to Him—our work, our relationships, our future—knowing that He will perfect them, not destroy them.
- The chapter explains that God creates out of a sheer, generous overflow of love (bonum diffusivum sui). How does knowing that your very existence is a pure, unmerited gift from God, who needs nothing from you, affect your sense of self-worth and your relationship with Him? How does this vision of a generous God inspire you to be more generous with others?
Draft Response (Facilitator’s Guide): This final question focuses on the consequences of believing in a generous God. If God created us not out of need but out of pure, gratuitous love, it means our fundamental identity is “beloved gift.” Our worth isn’t based on what we achieve, earn, or prove, but on the simple fact that God willed us into being out of love. This is incredibly liberating. It frees us from the exhausting project of self-justification and allows us to rest in His love. This realization should, in turn, make us more generous. Since we have received everything as a gift, we are called to live as a gift to others, reflecting the self-diffusive goodness of God Himself.
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post