Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The transcript says German Mennonites “would only help Jews if it did not put their own lives in jeopardy,” contrasted with Corrie ten Boom’s risk-taking; where do you see self-preservation being treated as wisdom in the church today, and what would it look like to renounce that “wisdom” without becoming reckless?
Another way to ask: Where do you see churches today calling self-protection “wisdom”? How can someone choose to take real risks for others without being careless?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript doesn’t give many modern examples beyond the speaker’s concern about current compromise, but it frames “self-preservation” as the excuse that kept German Mennonites from costly obedience. Renouncing that “wisdom,” in the transcript’s terms, would mean refusing cowardly silence and being willing to suffer for what is right, while still acting thoughtfully rather than impulsively.
- Chester states the pattern plainly: they “would only help Jews if it did not put their own lives in jeopardy.”
- He quotes the fear logic: “If you were seen talking to a Jew, then the Germans would treat you like a Jew.”
- He contrasts this with people who did risk themselves: “Corrie ten Boom… and others… were willing to risk their lives for Jews.”
- He judges the Mennonite response as moral failure: “in cowardice, backed away from their own neighbors.”
- In the Q&A, Chester says compromise today begins when we “compromise the two kingdom concept,” and he points to the recent election as a sign “it has already started.”