Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
Hilary of Poitiers laments that the church “now bring men to faith by compulsion…now hunts priest in her turn” and cries “it’s lost, it’s lost”; what do those words suggest early Christians assumed about how faith spreads, and what kinds of church “success” today might actually be evidence of losing something essential?
Another way to ask: What does Hilary’s complaint about forcing people to believe tell you about how early Christians thought faith should spread? What kinds of “church success” today might actually show we’re losing something important?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Hilary’s words suggest early Christians assumed faith spreads through voluntary adherence and patient endurance, not through threats, imprisonment, or state-backed pressure. The speaker implies that “success” measured by political influence, cultural power, or forced conformity may actually signal the church has lost its true spiritual character.
- Hilary contrasts the earlier church that “gained adherence in spite of dungeons and exile” with the new church that uses “threats of exile and dungeon.”
- He says the church now “bring[s] men to faith by compulsion,” reversing the earlier pattern of suffering witness.
- He notes, “She who was propagated by hunted priest now hunts priest in her turn,” implying a deep betrayal of identity.
- Hilary calls it “that church…handed down to us and which now we have lost,” and cries, “it’s lost, it’s lost.”
- The speaker connects loss to modern temptations: when groups lose their “edge…essence,” they risk losing their “lampstand.”
- He also warns that political flags in Anabaptist settings become a “contradiction” even to the world, signaling compromised witness.