Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The speaker’s grammar point (“the noun is the strongest word”) is used to argue Christians must be “Christian first,” yet he tells of Mennonites who chose to be “German first, even before Christian”; what loyalties or identities today function like “German” did for them, and how would you recognize when they’ve become the true “noun” in your life?
Another way to ask: What identity today (nation, politics, race, party, class, etc.) can become “first” like being “German first” did for them? How can you tell when that identity is really the main thing guiding your choices instead of being Christian?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests “German” functioned as an identity that demanded first place—above Christian obedience—and today any identity that drives your choices more than Jesus has become the real “noun.”
- The speaker asks how to order “American, Mennonite, and Christian,” then argues grammar shows “the noun is the strongest word,” concluding, “the only proper thing to do is to be a Christian first.”
- He says his story is about Mennonites “who decided that they're going to be German first, even before Christian.”
- He describes Prussian Mennonites who “desired to partake of all the positive elements of being German and wanted to participate fully in German society,” but also wanted their religious traditions—“You can't do both.”
- Under Nazi pressure, the choice sharpened: “One is either a German or a Christian. You can't be both.”
- He shows how “being German” became a loyalty expressed in action: writing Hitler praise, swearing oaths, praising Nazi victories, and compromising nonresistance.