Into It | Dangerous Songs study guide

Into It (An Intro)

Study Guide for Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life

First Words

Do you have an intense relationship with a particular book, film, painting, story, or song? How does it effect you?
Besides the book of Psalms, what other kinds of art do you find in the Bible?
What we call scripture can still us up, inspire us, and bother us. Do you find the Bible grounding or disruptive in your life right now?

Deconstruction or Whatever

Faith is meant to evolve across our lifetimes. Describe a time when your faith changed.
What was happening to precipitate this evolution?
What language and practices did you grow out of? What loss was there, and what renewal?
Name the support you have had for growth.

The Ancient Psalmists Got You

How do you feel about the psalms of the Hebrew Bible being affirmations of your current life? What other perspectives do you hear about what the Bible is for?

Musical Scripture

“The psalms invite you to hear your life as a song in progress.” What might this mean for you?
What aspects of what you’ve read about the Psalms so far make them seem “dangerous” or risky?

The Psalms Are For Twenty-First Century Faith

The author gives three reasons why he loves the Psalms— they’re old but relevant, model an integrated spirituality, and they are passionate. Which one do you relate to most and why?
What reservations do you have about engaging the passion of the Psalms?

The Three Deep Dimensions of Human Life

Name something in your life for each of the three dimensions— thriving, desolation, and unknowing.
Which of the three dimensions are you most drawn to right now? Which do you feel resistance to?

How to Use This Book

Are you more like a scientist or an artist these days? What approach feels most exciting for you?
Dangerous Songs is inviting you to be a theologian, borrowing or inventing language for your experience of God and reflecting on what that means. Consider the authority you have in your own life by practicing your expertise that no one can argue with: What is your favorite color, food, day of the week, person, artist, and piece of clothing? Share in your circle. However you answer, you are absolutely correct!
“The ancient psalms are here as an eager, reverent witness to your complicated life.” Reflect.