Discussion Questions

The speaker calls the early Christian view “a genuine two kingdoms” that demands “genuine loyalty and allegiance to only one,” even paraphrasing “Jesus is president”; what specific loyalties in your life (votes, party identity, media habits, national identity, “lesser evil” thinking) most compete with that kind of single-kingdom allegiance? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If your main loyalty is to Jesus’ kingdom, what loyalties in your life compete with that (your vote, party label, news habits, national pride, or “lesser evil” thinking)? Which ones pull you the hardest?

The speaker uses his U.S. Army-in-Germany analogy (voting American elections, paying American taxes, not caring about the burgermeister) to frame Christian identity “living in Germany”; what would it look like in your town for Christians to be visibly “here” and useful, yet as clearly foreign to the political culture as an expatriate—without becoming cloistered? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would it look like for Christians in your town to be clearly “here” and helpful, but still feel like outsiders to local political culture—without hiding away from people?

When the Schleithaim Confession says, “it is not appropriate for a Christian to serve as a magistrate,” and connects magistracy with “steel and iron” versus the church’s “armor of God,” what assumptions about discipleship and church life are being taken for granted that many modern Protestants no longer share? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When the Schleithaim Confession says Christians shouldn’t be magistrates because the state uses “steel and iron” and the church uses the “armor of God,” what view of following Jesus and church life is it assuming that many Protestants today don’t share?

The speaker insists the Anabaptist/early church approach is “not intended to be hiding,” but to have a “prophetic voice…by Christian kingdom principles”; in your experience, what does “prophetic” typically get reduced to in modern evangelical politics, and how does the speaker’s definition challenge that reduction? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In your experience, what does “prophetic” usually mean in modern evangelical politics? How does the speaker’s idea of being “prophetic” challenge that?

In the John 18–19 Pilate scenes, the speaker warns against “the Gnostic concept of spiritualizing” Jesus’ words (“My kingdom is not of this world”), then highlights Jesus affirming Pilate’s real authority “given…from above”; how does holding both truths at once confront common Christian instincts either to dismiss politics as “just earthly” or to baptize politics as “God’s kingdom work”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Jesus saying his kingdom is not from this world, while also saying Pilate’s authority is “from above,” challenge the way Christians either ignore politics as “just earthly” or treat politics like it is God’s kingdom work?

The speaker argues from Romans 13 that the ruler is God’s “minister…Diakonos,” and then presses the unsettling claim that the same God-given sword “did not change when…[it] cut the apostle Paul’s head off”; what does that do to how you interpret “God’s will” in national events, and how might it correct the tendency to equate “appointed by God” with “approved by God”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Romans 13 says rulers are God’s servants, and that same “sword” also killed Paul, how should that change the way you read national events as “God’s will”? How does it help you see the difference between “God appointed it” and “God approves it”?

Using Jeremiah 25 (Nebuchadnezzar “my servant”) and Isaiah 10 (Assyria as “the rod of my anger,” yet acting from a heart that “does not mean so”), the speaker claims God uses empires while condemning their pride; how would early Christians have heard these texts in a Roman context, and what modern Christian narratives about “our nation’s special role” are exposed as naïve or dangerous by Isaiah 10? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God can use empires and still judge them for pride, how might early Christians have heard Jeremiah 25 and Isaiah 10 while living under Rome? What stories Christians tell today about “our nation’s special role” does Isaiah 10 expose as dangerous or naïve?

The speaker quotes Trump’s “unmatched wisdom” tweet and says it gave him a “sinking” feeling because it echoed biblical portraits of arrogant rulers; what criteria does the speaker seem to use for discerning when political rhetoric reflects “the arrogant heart” Isaiah condemns, and how should Christians respond when “their side” speaks that way? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What signs does the speaker use to spot proud, self-exalting political talk like the “arrogant heart” in Isaiah? How should Christians respond when leaders on “their side” talk that way?

The parable of Jotham (Judges 9) is used to argue that fruitful trees refuse kingship because they have a higher purpose, while brambles seize rule and threaten destruction; how does that parable reframe the popular argument, “If Christians don’t get involved, only the worst people will lead,” and what “fatness/sweetness/wine” (distinct gifts and callings) might Christians be abandoning when they chase political power? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Jotham’s story change the idea that “if Christians don’t get power, only the worst people will lead”? What good work or calling (“fatness/sweetness/wine”) might Christians give up when they chase political power?

Peter Riedemann is quoted saying government is “a sign and reminder of people’s estrangement from God,” even “a sign that God’s wrath…has not yet come to an end,” while still calling Christians to “serve humanity…in every possible way”; what concrete forms of service and public witness could replace voting/office-seeking in your community, and which of those would feel like a real loss of comfort, status, or control for you? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If government is a sign that people are far from God, but Christians should still serve everyone, what practical acts of service and public witness could replace voting or running for office in your community? Which of those would cost you comfort, status, or control?