Discussion Questions

Kyle says “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom,” and then defines wisdom by “Christ’s self-emptying life, His innocent death, and His vindicating resurrection”; what picture of God’s wisdom does that give that might conflict with how you instinctively define “wisdom” for your life? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says God’s wisdom looks like Jesus’ humble life, innocent death, and rising again. How is that different from what you usually think “wisdom” means for your life?

In describing the incarnation, Kyle stresses not only that “God appears on the scene,” but that “He comes in a certain way…a self-emptying manner that ultimately leads to His death”; what does that imply about God’s intentions and “trajectory” toward humanity, and what does it rule out? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says God came to us in a humble way that led to death. What does that say about God’s purpose toward humans, and what ideas about God does it rule out?

Kyle highlights the two movements in Philippians 2—downward humiliation and upward exaltation; how does that “down then up” pattern challenge common Christian expectations that maturity or blessing should look like increasing comfort, respectability, or influence? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Philippians 2 shows a “down then up” path: humiliation then exaltation. How does that challenge the idea that spiritual growth should mean more comfort, respect, or influence?

When Paul says he is “filling up…what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24), Kyle argues this shows an “open-endedness” to Christ’s sufferings as a “cosmic reality”; what do you think is at stake in accepting that, and what fears or objections does it raise in you? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Paul says he is “filling up” what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings (Col. 1:24), and Kyle says Christ’s suffering is still “open-ended.” Why might that matter, and what worries or objections does it bring up for you?

Kyle calls martyrdom “giving witness to Christ’s solidarity with us and to its form,” flowing from “participation in the life of Christ”; what would it look like to treat suffering as witness and participation rather than as interruption, accident, or merely something to be escaped? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says martyrdom is suffering that points to Christ and shares in his life. What would change if you saw suffering as a kind of witness and sharing with Jesus, not just something to avoid?

In Ignatius’ line, “hinder me not from living…When I shall have arrived there…to be killed, I shall become a human being,” Kyle claims Ignatius saw self-emptying as the path to real humanity; how does that confront modern assumptions (including Christian ones) that “really living” means self-protection, self-expression, and maximizing options? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Ignatius thought self-emptying is the way to become truly human. How does that challenge the common idea that “real life” means protecting yourself, expressing yourself, and keeping your options open?

Kyle says Ignatius’ martyrdom was a public protest “against the totalizing claims of Rome,” and he reframes the Coliseum as Eucharist—“The bread is his body”; what “totalizing claims” today demand your ultimate allegiance, and what might a “Eucharistic” kind of resistance look like without becoming performative? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says Ignatius’ martyrdom challenged Rome’s demand for total loyalty, and he even pictures the Coliseum like Eucharist. What forces today want your highest loyalty, and what could faithful resistance look like without turning into a show?

Kyle contrasts Pax Romana coercion with Pax Christi formed through “innumerable reenactments…of the Eucharist” and “communion with the sufferings of Christ”; what early-Christian assumptions about church unity, power, and worship are embedded in that claim, and how might our churches have absorbed more “Rome” than we realize? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle contrasts Rome’s peace by force with Christ’s peace formed through the Eucharist and sharing in Jesus’ suffering. What does that assume about church unity, power, and worship, and in what ways might our churches act more like Rome than we think?

Kyle admits Anabaptists struggle to translate physical martyrdom into a “normative ethic,” yet he names forgiveness, non-retaliation, nonresistance, yieldedness (Gelassenheit), and costly humanitarian response; where do you see your own life (or community life) resisting that translation because it would require real vulnerability or loss? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says it’s hard to turn martyrdom into everyday ethics, but he points to forgiveness, non-retaliation, nonresistance, yieldedness, and costly help for others. Where do you or your community resist living this way because it would cost you safety, comfort, or control?

Kyle says living this way makes Christians “more stable” and “more missional,” insisting that voluntary self-offering is “the way the world actually operates,” and that those outside it see the world “upside down”; what would need to change in your habits (use of money, conflict responses, parenting, career choices, mission methods) for that claim to become concrete—and what “strategy” or self-preservation would you have to demote to second place? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Kyle says choosing self-giving makes Christians more steady and more focused on mission, even if it looks “upside down” to others. What habits would need to change (money, conflict, parenting, career, mission), and what self-protecting plan would you need to put second?