Maddie Abbott's Bipartisan New Testament Bible Study

Last Sunday, Ministry Assistant Maddie Abbott gave a sermon titled "Virtue Signals" as part of our sermon series, "Can Faith Help Us Navigate Difference?" Maddie used the Sermon on the Mount as a way to demonstrate how and why people who read the same biblical text can walk away with radically different interpretations. She also drew upon her theological education and her professional political campaign experiences, to share helpful insights around how seeking to read people generously can allow us to form the kinds of meaningful connections that can actually lead to political change.

If you enjoyed Maddie's sermon and want to read more from her, check out The Abortion Challenge, A Bipartisan New Testament Bible Study. A major premise of the study is that in order to understand how the Bible speaks to the modern abortion debate, Christians need to first examine different perspectives on some underlying questions like: 

• What was Jesus’s message and how has it been interpreted politically?
• How does the Bible depict the relationship Christians are meant to have with government and power?
• What is the role of tradition in the Christian faith?
• And what kind of relationship should humanity have with the rest of God’s creation?

And so, Maddie designed a study to help Christians explore these questions. The Abortion Challenge (based on a Politics & Christianity discussion group that she led at the River) is a roadmap through the New Testament that can help you to get an overview of how Christians across the political spectrum have interpreted various passages, with the ultimate goals of giving participants the tools they need to engage confidently at the intersection of faith and politics and to open dialogue around complex topics. The study includes reflection questions that you can engage on your own or through group discussion. Consider inviting a friend to work through the study with you!