Everything Happens for a Reason

Welcome to our first book discussion!

In June, we're reading and discussing Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved by Kate Bowler. Bowler, a professor at Duke Divinity School extensively studied--and wrote the first book on the history of--what's called the prosperity gospel movement. The prosperity gospel, as it's called, claims that if you pray hard enough and are faithful enough God will reward you with blessings. Many times these blessings are meant to be thought of as monetary and material. I once attended a megachurch where the pastors preached such a message. In a large stadium-like sanctuary, the pastor told all 20 thousand people in attendance that "God wants you to have a new car."

When Bowler is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, the prosperity gospel begins to unravel between her fingertips as she's left struggling with making sense of her diagnosis. Did God really make her sick for a reason?

Before we dive in to a discussion, I want to make a couple things clear. First, I am a Lutheran and a cradle Lutheran at that. As such, the message of the prosperity gospel sounds very foreign to me. If you are a cradle Lutheran as well and it doesn't quite make sense to you, you're in good company.

The formula "if you do this, then God will do this" is a theology based on what Lutherans call "works righteousness." It's based on the understanding that God's favor is dependent on your good works. It's the same type of thinking that was going on in the 16th century, even if "prosperity" was defined a different way. Lutherans prefer to say that God loves us--period. Any good work that we do, we do because of God's love, grace, and mercy. Do you see the difference?

The benefit--and probably the draw--of the prosperity gospel is that there are clear answers. If you've been diagnosed with cancer, there's a reason. If you've been blessed with a good life, there's a reason for that as well. The problem, though, is that it turns God into someone who gives people cancer. I don't know about you, but I don't believe God does that. Instead, I tend to believe that sometimes, shit just happens.

What I do believe, however, is the power and mercy of God to be present in any situation. And that's what the cross teaches us--and what Bowler needed to hear in Chapter 8: Restoration--when she is longing to find an Ash Wednesday service that will actually acknowledge death and a Good Friday service that will not skip straight to Easter resurrection.

Okay, enough of this. Let's get talking.

But before we do, one important note:

***** This is a public blog/website. Anything you write in comments or discussion will be accessible to the world. Please remember this as your post. If you would like to discuss something of a sensitive or confidential nature, best to get in touch with me privately. *****

Now, let's get talking.

Here are my initial discussion questions for you:

1. Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Why or why not?

2.In Chapter 1 (p. 7), Bowler says that proponents of the prosperity gospel "don't expect God simply to be fair--they expect God to rain down blessings." Do you believe this or do you challenge this? 

3. In Chapter 2 (p. 21), she writes this beautiful paragraph: "What would it mean for Christians to give up that little piece of the American Dream that says, "You are limitless?" Everything is not possible. The mighty Kingdom of God is not yet here. What if rich did not have to mean wealthy, and whole did not have to mean healed? What if being people of "the gospel" meant that we are simply people with good news? God is here. We are loved. It is enough." To me, this really is the good news. Do you buy it?

4. In Chapter 5 (p. 77), she suggests, "The prosperity gospel is a faith meant to be touched and held." I also believe my faith is meant to be touched and held, but the things I am holding are a little different. I cling to the water of baptism and to the bread and wine of communion. I held my grandmother's jewelry after she died, but only because she, in so many ways, represented God's love to me. What things do you hold that nurture your faith? 

5. In several places (p. 101, for example, in Chapter 6) she says, "I am not a normal person." How do you interpret that sentence?

6. In Chapter 7 (p. 116), Bowler talks about three lessons people try to teach that are worse than cancer: 1) You should not be upset; 2) The experience is supposed to be an education; and 3) We should be saving ourselves. Have you ever been a recipient of these "lessons"? How did they make you feel?

7. Not a question, but be sure to look at Appendix I and Appendix II. There's good stuff in there.

8. Finally, how have you made sense of something awful? Or, have you?