Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
Chester quotes a “new definition of neighbor” as “one with whom one shares one’s being… one’s people… the German is our neighbor”; what specific teachings of Jesus does that definition quietly replace, and how would adopting that definition reshape what “love” feels like in a church?
Another way to ask: This “new neighbor” idea says only your own people count as neighbors. Which of Jesus’ teachings does that replace, and how would it change what “love” looks and feels like in a church?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, this “neighbor” definition replaces Jesus’ broad, need-based love (like the Good Samaritan idea) with a blood-and-people-group love that excludes outsiders. In a church, “love” would start to feel selective—warm toward “our people” but cautious, distant, and conditional toward those seen as threats.
- Chester reads the quote redefining neighbor as racial/ethnic: “One with whom one shares one’s being… in whom your blood also flows… The German is our neighbor.”
- He directly contrasts it with Jesus’ model: “Is that the good Samaritan concept where we help anybody who is in need? Obviously not.”
- He says this narrowed love meant “Jews were no longer their neighbors.”
- He explains the practical effect: German Mennonites “would only help Jews if it did not put their own lives in jeopardy.”
- He calls that refusal “cowardice,” showing how love became self-protective rather than sacrificial.