Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
Elam urges reading the whole Bible “with a Christocentric perspective,” especially when Christians appeal to Old Testament wars; what specific texts or instincts in you resist letting Jesus’ commands reinterpret the Old Testament, and what would obedience require you to surrender?
Another way to ask: When Christians use Old Testament wars to defend violence today, what parts of the Bible—or what feelings in you—push back against letting Jesus be the main guide for reading them? What would you have to give up to obey Jesus fully?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on Elam’s teaching, the main resistance comes when we instinctively use Old Testament war accounts to justify “force and coercion” in Christian life today, rather than letting Jesus’ enemy-love and nonresistance govern our interpretation. Obedience would require surrendering the right to use violence, and even surrendering cherished “freedoms” or protections rather than compromising Christ’s commands.
- Elam explicitly urges “read the entire Bible with a Christocentric perspective,” with “Christ in the center… from cover to cover.”
- He says after Constantine there was “revived” Old Testament moral/lifestyle examples: “using examples of times of war in the Old Testament… to justify using force and coercion… in… Christian life now.”
- He contrasts this with Jesus’ teachings: “love your enemies,” “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and “Put your sword in its place.”
- He teaches apostolic continuity: “the apostles… taught the same thing Jesus taught,” including “we do not war according to the flesh.”
- In Q&A, Elam adds: “Let’s compromise on our properties, on our freedoms… but not on the teachings of Christ.”