Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
Dan says he grew up where voting was treated as “civic duty” and sometimes even “Christian duty” as a way of being “salt and light”; what underlying gospel assumptions about how change happens are baked into that approach, and how does it differ from the “two-kingdom understanding” he says Anabaptists historically held?
Another way to ask: If voting is seen as a “Christian duty” to be “salt and light,” what does that assume about how the gospel changes society? How is that different from the Anabaptist “two-kingdom” view Dan mentions?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, the “civic/Christian duty” view assumes Christians help change society mainly through the state’s processes—using elections, laws, and influence as a tool for good. Dan contrasts that with a two-kingdom view where Christians belong to God’s non-coercive kingdom and do not advance Christ’s mission through the state’s power structures.
- Dan says he grew up where Christians should do their “civic duty,” and that voting was sometimes framed as “our Christian duty.”
- He notes it was presented as a way of being “salt and light… letting our voice be heard in a representative democracy.”
- He describes the Anabaptist “two-kingdom understanding”: believers are “members of the kingdom of God” and that “affects our allegiances” and political involvement.
- He says Anabaptists historically avoided “the coercive power of the state,” and that voting is “advancing… involvement with the state.”
- He emphasizes the kingdom Jesus advances is “invitation, not coercion,” and grows “in the hearts of people.”