Teaching the Convocation Book
English 1101 instructors are encouraged to teach and create an assignment regarding the Convocation Book.
Opening Statement
John Marks' Reasons to Believe was chosen as the 2010 Convocation Book as a starting point for a discussion about belief. In no way will John Marks attempt to persuade others to embrace his conclusions; he has been welcomed by the Billy Graham Center in the Institute of Strategic Evangelism of Wheaton College, Abilene Christian University, Baylor University (the Southwest Baptist University), Davidson College (a Presbyterian private liberal arts college), and New York University. He has also been invited to read at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta. He has always been interested in creating meaningful discussions in which everyone has a voice. The purpose of Convocation and Circles is to inspire dialogue and an exchange of ideas. There are no one way conversations.
History
Since 1998, GCSU’s Week of Welcome has introduced first-year students to the kinds of open-minded, adult, college-level (as distinct from high school) reading and discussions they will be having in their liberal arts classes by inviting freshman to
- read a book over the summer that introduces first-year students to the kinds of issues they will discuss in their liberal arts courses,
- discuss that book for an hour with fellow freshmen in a book circle,
- attend a question and answer session with the book's author,
- listen to the author's views on the value of liberal arts education at Convocation,
- and possibly complete a writing assignment
- (in recent years, approximately half of English 1101 Composition I courses assign the Convocation Book; therefore, the book is technically only required reading for some English classes).
Previous Convocation Books
1998 |
Fred Chappell's Brighten the Corner Where You Are: a comic novel set in 1946 and told by the son of an innovative rural North Carolina schoolteacher whose approach to the theory of evolution sets him at odds with the local school board |
1999 |
Denise Giardina's Storming Heaven: a historical novel tracing the pain of unionizing the coal mines of Kentucky and West Virginia in the early 20th century |
2000 |
Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord's The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: autobiographical tale of a Navaho torn between practicing the methods of medicine preferred by her culture versus the ways taught by her professional training at Dartmouth and Stanford |
2001 |
Lee Smith's Oral History: a novel that captures the folklore and the history of an Appalachian family from the late 19th century to the late-mid 20th century |
2002 |
Melissa Fay Greene's Praying for Sheetrock: a nonfiction story of the rise and fall of the first black commissioner of McIntosh County, Georgia |
2003 |
Janisse Ray's Ecology of a Cracker Childhood: a memoir of growing up in a junkyard in South Georgia interlaced with Rachel Carson-like chapters that recount the history and the effects of the loss of the state’s native longleaf pine forests |
2004 |
J. Joaquín Fraxedas's The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera: a Hemingway-like novel of three Cubans who endure a hurricane as they flee on a small raft from their homeland to Florida |
2005 |
Ruben Martinez's Crossing Over: an ethnography of Mexican American immigrants, both legal and illegal, set in their homes in Mexico and in their adopted homes in the U.S. |
| 2006 | Silas House's Clay's Quilt: a debut novel about the piecing together of one's lost family history |
| 2007 | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus: a debut novel focusing on a fifteen-year-old Nigerian girl whose family is controlled by a religious fanatic father |
| 2008 | Tayari Jones's Leaving Atlanta: a coming-of-age, debut novel set against the backdrop of the late 1970s Atlanta child murders that broaches questions of class, race, and family conflict from the point of view of three middle school children |
| 2009 | Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero: an existential portrait of a woman abused, imprisoned, and finally executed in body by her patriarchal culture even as her mind learns to speak truth to power. Teaching the Convocation Book |
General Liberal Arts Goals
The Convocation Book broaches some of these core GCSU values:
- Critical and analytical thinking skills
- A broad understanding of global issues
- An appreciation for diversity
- An ability to integrate information across disciplines
- Application of knowledge
- A foundation for making moral and ethical decisions
- Civic responsibility
Specific Outcomes of the 2010 Convocation Book
The 2010 Convocation Book, John Marks' Reasons to Believe,
- is not intended to change anyone's beliefs,
- does not represent the beliefs of the administration, faculty, or professional staff of GCSU, and
- is not intended to undermine any student's prior education or personal values.
The Convocation Book
- is intended to encourage students to express their own beliefs;
- is intended to teach students to examine, to research, and to critique more than one side of an issue, fostering an atmosphere of intellectual debate and respectful discussion; and
- is intended to create civic conversations and encourage tolerance.
While religion is the topic of the Convocation Book, neither the book, its author, the Committee, Circle Leaders, nor anyone associated with GCSU will proselytize to students or ask them to alter their belief. Rather, all discussions of the book will focus on analytical, moral, cultural, and civic questions regarding John Marks' book that are in keeping with our liberal arts mission.
Guided Study Questions
Prereading Questions for the Entire Book
- What was the last non-fiction book you read and why?
- Without reading the book, what do you think of Reasons to Believe's proposed topic and content?
- What do you believe? Why do you believe what you do?
- What is your attitude toward other people's belief systems in America? Around the globe?
- How would you characterize the relationships between people of different belief systems in America today?
- How many different kinds of Christianity are you aware of? Is this a subject that matters to you?
Chapter-by-Chapter Guided Reading Questions
Book 1: The Way
First Things
1 The Prodigal
What does "being left behind" mean according to Marks' book? Does this agree with your prior understanding of the phrase?
2 The Nation
What is the relationship between religion and American history according to Marks? According to your understanding of history?
What is the difference between the nation and the country, according to Marks?
3 Lillies
Describe Marks' family upbring compared to how you were raised.
4 The Country
Marks describes a survey finding that African-American and white evangelical protestants believe that God is authoritarian, Catholics think God is benevolent, mainline Protestands and some African-American Protestants consider God to be critical, and Jewish and unaffiliated believers think God is distant (50). Do you agree with these definitions?
Why do you think African Americans are statistically the most religious people in the country? (51)
5 Heaven
What are some of the pop cultural and lay depictions of heaven? How is heaven conceived by the Evangelicals whom Marks interviews? Do you have an image of heaven?
6 The Man Himself
Don McWhinney, the parent with a schizophrenic son, asks Marks, "How is my sorrow different than the sorrow you experienced in Bosnia? And yet I still believe. My faith has been strengthened. Why not yours" (77)? Why do you think Don's faith was strengthened but Marks' was not? How do you evaluate Don's reasons for his increased faith? How do you evaluate Marks' reasons for his loss of faith?
7 The Fundamentals
What is Marks' definition of evangelic and where does it come from? Do you have a definition of evangelical; and, if so, where does it come from?
8 Man of Shadows
How does Jim interpret the McWhinneys' motives in taking Marks to church after the death of their son? How does Marks?
9 Words
How does Tommy Nelson use the Bible to comment on American culture? How do you read Marks' attitude toward this sermon? Do you agree with Nelson's criticism and solution? Why or why not? Are there other commentators you know of who speak about the Bible in American culture? Do you have positive or negative opinions of them?
Book 2: The Truth
10 The Great Commission
What is the truth, and what should be one's duty regarding the truth, according to an evangelical like Tommy Nelson who practices the Great Commission? Are there truth(s) you believe in; and if so, what are your responsibilities according to those truths?
11 The World
Define the term worldview. What is the Truth Project's worldview?
Why do you think churchgoing has declined from 65% of Greatest Generation Americans in the 1940s, 35% of baby boomers in the 1960s, 16% of bridger generation Americans in the 1980s, to a projected 4% in the 2000s? Where did Marks obtain these statistics? Use GALILEO's Statistics: CAUSEWeb to verify these statistics. Do you believe churchgoing will continue to decline? If so, or if not, why?
12 Specklebird
What is your view of the proliferation of megachurches? What do you think Marks' opinion is of these reenactments and performances? What do you think the term specklebird means to Marks?
13 Shepherd
Marks writes, "I have to confess an ambivalence about churches in general" (141). What does he mean? He talks about his upbringing as a reason for his feelings. What is your attitude toward churches; and has your upbringing influenced your feeling or not?
Marks is tolerant toward being evangelized (153). Do you have the same tolerance?
14 Weather
Marks writes, "Many of today's Christians cite their faith as a reason to go to the polls" (160). What do you think about the relationship between religion and politics?
Marks writes, ". . . nothing spoke more eloquently to believers, and to nonbelievers who were paying attention, than the success of a population of believing volunteers measured against the massive and near-total collapse of secular government efforts" (168). What is Marks' view of church responses to Hurricane Katrina? Do you think the same type of Christian response to natural disasters, compared to government action, will continue?
15 Nineveh
What is the purpose of Christian charity in a global context, according to Jerry Rankin, head of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (183)?
Do you agree with Marks' view that a missionary like Niki McDonnall could be "under the spell of complete delusion" (187)
16 Sweet D
Have you ever seen media representations that conflict with your values, and how do you reconcile this when you are amongst your peers?
17 Shofar
What do you make of the relationship between faith, music, and commerce depicted in this chapter?
Book 3: The Life
18 Wretch
Do you have a conversion story of your own or know someone with a conversion story?
Is John Marks' conversion story convincing or understandable to you?
19 Daddy
After examining the stated liberal arts mission of GCSU, how do you think this differs from the descriptions of Christian colleges that Marks provides? What tenets of liberal arts colleges and Christian colleges do you find admirable?
20 Young Life
Does each member of your family hold the same beliefs? Do each of your friends? What do you perceive as the advantages and disadvantages, if any, of this?
21 Girlfriend
Marks recounts the story of Daniel and how his beliefs affect his relationship with his girlfriend. How do you think Americans as a whole are influenced by religion in their romantic relationships?
22 Submission
Do you perceive Christianity as having different meanings for women as compared to men? Do any of the belief systems or institutions you adhere to have different expectations for women and men? Do you agree with these differences?
23 Skin
What do you think Marks' view is of the African-American influence on Christianity? Do you agree or disagree with his view?
24 Geist
Does Marks believe that members of the gay community can nurture a belief in and relationship with God? Do you agree or disagree with Marks' view?
25 The Castle
What are the components of Marks' dilemma between Dawkins and Meier (330)? What do you make of Marks' crisis?
26 Habakkuk
Marks reports on the work of David Barton in this chapter. Do you think Barton's claims about the contributions of religion to American history are valid or a worthwhile pursuit?
27 Burn
Marks predicts "an incompatibility in the body politic will only ever resolve itself through a massive act of violence" (349). What do you think of his forecast? his comparison of this act to civil war?
28 Eunice
Throughout the book, Marks continues to join evangelicals in worship and in prayer. Despite his asserting that he has been left behind, Marks has said that he wanted to his portrayals of evangelicals to be compassionate. Do you think he has achieved his goal?
Afterword to the Paperback Edition
Marks writes, ". . . I felt the inadequacy of both faith and reason to answer our deepest questions" (370). Are faith and reason, separate or combined, adequate to answering your deepest questions?
General Questions after Reading the Entire Book
- After reading the book, why do you think the Billy Graham Center in the Institute of Strategic Evangelism of Wheaton College, Abilene Christian University, Baylor University (the Southwest Baptist University), Davidson College (a Presbyterian private liberal arts college), and New York University invited Marks to talk about Reasons to Believe? What kinds of discussions do you think happened at those institutions?
- Do you think Marks' loss of faith is sorrowful or sad to him on a tragic level? Or do you have another interpretation?
- Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky are featured prominently in the book. What similarities and differences do you notice between Oklahoma culture and the community from which you come?
- Can you name any lessons you have learned from this book?
- John Marks shared his spiritual journey with you. What do you consider to be his motive for sharing his story? If you have had a spiritual journey, would you share it with others? Why or why not, and with whom?
- What is Marks' attitude toward the beliefs of others? Would you consider adopting Marks' approach when interacting with others whose world views differ from your own? Or, would you modify his approach? How so and why?
- Reflect upon the kinds of discussions you have had with others of different belief systems, or watched. Can you predict the outcome if believers of different faiths could discuss their personal "reasons to believe"?
- What evidence did you find that told you John Marks was familiar with his topic? Was unfamiliar with his topic?
- How has learning about others' beliefs ever strengthened your own belief?
- John Marks is very interested in evangelical beliefs and culture, so much so that he devoted two years of his life to studying and researching them. What topics and issues might you be interested in reading more about, learning more about, either in a non-fiction book, a class, or perhaps a major?
Circles/Class Discussion Strategies
- Set ground rules for the discussion so that students know that the circle/class is debating ideas.
- Allow students to create the ground rules.
- Do not sway from the ground rules.
- Draw a circle on the board and brainstorm with the group what discourse is acceptable. Then brainstorm what is out of bounds, outside of the circle.
- Use a stoplight metaphor for discourse: green means this type of talk is a go; yellow means caution; red means stop.
- Design a brainstorming activity for small groups to report back to the larger class.
- As leader/instructor, model for the circle/class the academic, neutral rhetoric their discussion should emulate. Keep it in the book: "Marks says/thinks/writes X" and "What do you think of X idea presented in the book?" and "I appreciate X aspect of the book but question Y."