Questions for Discussion and Reflection:

1.    Every Sunday morning, we communally confess our sins in the liturgy.  What meaning does this communal act carry for you?  What could make this act even more meaningful for you?

2.    Keller begins by positing that we already know sin exists: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with the world” (p. 159).  Do you agree that it’s valid to define what is broken in the world as sin?  Why or why not?  And given all the things that are broken in the world, what questions does that raise in your mind about God?

3.    Keller writes: “Sin is the despairing refusal to find your identity in your relationship and service to God.  Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart for him” (p. 162).  Have you ever thought about sin as a matter of finding one’s identity?  Does this make sense to you?  Why or why not?  Have you heard a more helpful definition of sin?

4.    How would you talk with a person who denies the existence of sin in their own life?  Would you ever talk with them about the personal, social, and cosmic consequences of sin?

5.    Looking back on your life, when did you realize that sin had consequences?

6.    Keller claims that Christian doctrine of sin can be a great resource for human hope.  Did this chapter give you hope?  What is the greatest resource of hope in your life?