Prejudices.....
I just got "The bookseller of Kabul" from the bookseller of Castleview and one of the copies had a sticker on the front saying "Recommended by Richard & Judy's book club"!! I've never seen this pair in action, but I quickly realised that I had some prejudices about them. (so last Thursday has done me some good, it appears).
Nevertheless, my first skim through the book suggested that at least their book club appears to have good taste.
Soul Survivor - Robert Coles
I think that this chapter was the one I found most personally challenging, at times almost painful to read. It seems to me there are 3 main issues to address
- The "problem of privilege"
- Our attitude towards those who are in a different social group from us
- Engaging with real people instead of causes and campaigns
For the sake of brevity, I have put together some questions for the first 2 only.
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“The most dangerous temptation of all is the temptation of plenty…. Wealth curses what it blesses………….being privileged tends to stifle compassion, curtail community and feed ambition”. - Do you agree with this from what you have observed happening in the world at large and around you?
- Elsewhere in the book, Yancey points out that anyone who has bought the book is automatically counted among the privileged of the world. Do you see the temptation of plenty in your own life? Can you discern the effects of privilege as Coles describes them? What can be done to lessen or counteract these effects?
“I used to look down on blacks, now I look down on racists. I used to avoid the rich, now I avoid the poor. So much of history careers along in polarity..”
- This is very topical for us in Scotland. As a nation we are addressing the issue of religious sectarianism, but do we look down on those who are bigoted?
- Where does this human tendency to look down on others come from? Is it inevitable? Do you have any personal stories to share about this?
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I realise that there is probably already too much for us to cover here, but there is a bonus question – the quotation was just too provocative for me to let it pass by!! <>
Freud is quoted as saying “When you begin to ask about “the meaning of life”, you are already sick”. What is your reaction to this?
