Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
David called it “the height of heresy for Christians to be killing each other” and tied it to Paul’s rebuke about believers taking each other to court; what picture of God’s kingdom and global Christian identity is being asserted here, and what would have to change in our loyalties for that to become normal Christian thinking again?
Another way to ask: David said it’s deeply wrong for Christians to kill other Christians, and he linked it to Paul’s warning about lawsuits. What view of God’s kingdom and Christian unity is he pushing, and what loyalties would we need to change for that to feel normal again?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
David presents God’s kingdom as a worldwide citizenship that outranks national loyalties, so Christians should not kill fellow believers because their countries conflict. For this to feel normal again, Christians would need to treat their primary identity as belonging to Christ’s kingdom rather than political nations.
- He describes his evangelical church as “very militaristic… pro-war… super patriotic,” which deeply bothered him.
- He says it is “the height of heresy for Christians to be killing each other.”
- He reasons from Paul: “Paul said we shouldn’t take each other to court… what about killing one another because our countries disagree?”
- He asserts kingdom identity: “The Kingdom of God should be a worldwide thing… we’re all citizens of this same kingdom.”
- He concludes that even if “our countries are at war, we as Christians aren’t.”
- His later study confirmed the early Christians “definitely did not go to war” and “didn’t get involved in politics.”