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Question 10

He insists that non-resistance is not to make you “passive,” but to make you “a soldier…of the Kingdom of God,” and he prays each page would be “stained with the shed blood of Jesus”; what does “soldier” mean in a non-violent kingdom, what does it cost, and where might you be tempted to choose either passivity or earthly aggression instead of the cruciform allegiance he’s calling for?

Another way to ask: He says non-resistance should make you a “soldier” in God’s Kingdom, not passive—what does it mean to be a soldier in a non-violent kingdom, and what does it cost? Where are you tempted to be either passive or aggressive instead of following Jesus’ way of the cross?

Direct Answer In Dean Taylor’s framing, a “soldier…of the Kingdom of God” is active and committed, but shaped by non-resistance and the cross—strength expressed through allegiance to Jesus’ words rather than violence. The cost is total devotion (“your life, your all”) and a willingness to be marked by Christ’s suffering rather than worldly power.

Support from Transcript:

He clarifies: “while this book is about non-resistance, my aim is not to make you passive, but rather to make you a soldier…of the Kingdom of God.”
He adds: “although this book is about non-violence,” showing this soldiering is explicitly nonviolent.
He prays “each page might be stained with the shed blood of Jesus,” tying Kingdom warfare to the sacrifice of Christ.
He calls readers to “hear His living words and do His blessed will,” describing the active obedience of this “soldier.”
He ends with the strongest cost language: “give your allegiance, your life, your all, completely for Christ.”

Discussion Follow-ups Where do you confuse non-resistance with doing nothing? Where do you feel drawn to “fight” in ways that look more like worldly citizenship than Kingdom allegiance?

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