Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
The account of German Mennonites “losing their non-resistance a little bit at a time” and coming to “love the martial spirit” (bands, parades, emotion) suggests compromise can be incremental and even pleasurable; what are the modern equivalents of those emotional pulls, and how do you discern when an emotion is discipling you away from Jesus?
Another way to ask: What kinds of feelings today (pride, fear, belonging, excitement, anger) pull Christians little by little toward compromise? How do you know when your emotions are training you to move away from Jesus?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, modern “martial spirit” equivalents are any emotional thrills that make cultural power feel righteous; you discern the danger when the emotion starts softening biblical convictions (like nonresistance) “a little bit at a time.”
- He describes a long, gradual shift: German Mennonites spent “a hundred years losing their non-resistance one step at a time,” until “by 1900, they were ready to take up arms.”
- He says they “had come to love the martial spirit of their times,” noting its emotional force: military bands and parades are “emotional,” and Mennonites “loved that emotion and bought into it.”
- He ties compromise to assimilation: they wanted to “participate fully in German society,” which pressured them to abandon separation and nonconformity.
- He later shows the practical outcome: “not one able-bodied Mennonite man of draft age… refused conscription,” and “some even joined the notorious SS.”
- His theme “ideas have consequences” frames how feelings and ideas lead to reaping over time.