Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
The speaker argues, “If there hasn’t been a repentance in this Constantinian synthesis…given similar circumstances again, [it] will very likely once again create the same result”; what would “repentance” look like at the level of theology and church practice rather than just individual voting choices?
Another way to ask: He says without repentance from the “Constantinian synthesis,” the church will repeat the same mistakes when it gets power again. What would that repentance look like in what the church teaches and practices, not just in how individuals vote?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
In the speaker’s framework, “repentance” means rejecting the Christendom/Constantinian assumption that the church should use state power for God’s purposes, and returning to a pre-Constantine, two-kingdom understanding where the church lives as a distinct kingdom community. Practically, it would reshape preaching, discipleship, and church identity around being an “embassy of heaven,” not a political coalition.
- He says if there has not been repentance in “this Constantinian synthesis… the same theology… will very likely once again create the same result,” calling it a “virus in our systematic theology.”
- He describes Christendom as “church and state together,” saying it still exists “dressed in Brooks Brothers’ suits, and megachurches.”
- He contrasts the church’s mission: “offering his cure for humanity,” representing “what the whole world should look like if it would follow King Jesus.”
- He invokes Jeremiah 2:13 to describe trusting a broken system: people forsake “the fountain of living water” and use “broken cisterns.”
- He repeatedly emphasizes the issue is “not just the voting itself… that’s just the symptom of a bigger problem.”
- He calls for corporate turning: “I’m asking you to repent… turn from these things… reconsider this Constantinian synthesis.”