Discussion Questions

Dean Taylor says he tries to take the Anabaptists’ “successes and their failures” and “call them my own”; what would it look like for a church today to honestly “own” the political entanglements, splits, and identity-loss he referenced (Dutch divisions, Russian Mennonites in politics, etc.) without either excusing them or distancing ourselves from them? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would it look like for a church today to honestly admit the Anabaptists’ political compromises, splits, and loss of identity, without making excuses or acting like it wasn’t “us”?

The quote attributed to Ed Landis was, “Only those churches that have no history have no mistakes”; how does that statement confront the modern impulse to “reinvent the wheel,” and where do you see your own church repeating old Anabaptist problems precisely because it refuses to learn from them? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does “only churches with no history have no mistakes” challenge the idea that we should start over from scratch? Where do you see your church repeating old Anabaptist mistakes because it won’t learn from the past?

Dean called Pennsylvania under William Penn a historically unusual “purpose” for religious toleration; how should Christians think about God’s providence in granting a safe place—what temptations come with “freedom of conscience and peace and liberty,” and what responsibilities come with it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God provided a safe place with religious freedom, what temptations come with that freedom, and what responsibilities come with it?

Early immigrants often settled as “isolated homesteads” rather than as a coordinated people, and Roth is quoted saying this caused them to “lose their distinctive religious identity rather quickly”; what practices would early Christians (and early Anabaptists) have assumed were non-negotiable for maintaining a distinct identity that isolated homesteads would predictably erode? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What practices would early Christians and early Anabaptists have seen as “must-haves” to keep their faith and identity strong? How would living on isolated homesteads make those practices fade?

Six ministers in 1745 pushed to translate and print the 1,400-page Martyrs’ Mirror even though persecution themes “were hardly relevant” in America; what does that decision reveal about how they understood spiritual danger, and what are the “subtle” dangers today that would make a book about martyrdom feel more necessary than it seems? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why would leaders print Martyrs’ Mirror in America when they weren’t being persecuted much? What “hidden” spiritual dangers today could make a martyrdom book feel needed anyway?

The ministers quoted Van Braght’s line, “These times are certainly more dangerous than the times of our fathers,” and tied it to “the flames of war” and the need for “steadfast endurance”; what does this suggest about God’s wisdom in allowing hardship versus ease, and how do comfort and prosperity test endurance in ways modern evangelical culture may underestimate? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What might God be doing by allowing hardship instead of ease? How can comfort and wealth test a Christian’s endurance in ways many churches don’t take seriously?

Roth’s “beguiling paradox” names rugged individualism and market-oriented capitalism as threats to humility, communal accountability, simplicity, and mutual aid; where have you seen those American virtues quietly reshape church life (decision-making, family life, church discipline, generosity) while still sounding “Christian”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where have you seen individualism and capitalism quietly shape church life—like decisions, family habits, discipline, or giving—even while it still sounds Christian?

Dean contrasted scattered immigration with whole-community moves (Jura Swiss group, Alexanderville Russian Mennonites) and noted the Byrne, Indiana church still disciplining members and maintaining language and standards into the 1950s; what do you think was gained spiritually by that kind of cohesion, and what might have been lost or distorted by it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What spiritual good can come from a whole community staying close, keeping the same language, and holding strong standards? What could also be lost or twisted by that kind of tight control?

In the Amish poem, the writer says to his persecutors, “I commend you unto the grace of God…Take all away. Only leave me my Savior”; how does that expose what the Amish believed God was worth, and what possessions, securities, or “beautiful places” would reveal whether we actually share that valuation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the Amish poem show about what they believed God was worth? What things you value most—money, safety, comfort, or a “beautiful place”—show whether you really feel the same?

The Hostetler Massacre account framed nonresistance as “a theology of martyrdom…the point is you die,” and Dean connected that to the Nickel Mines forgiveness; what parts of your theology (of God’s protection, suffering, justice, and assurance) would have to change for you to accept “defenseless death” as a faithful outcome rather than a failure, and how would that reshape how you prepare your family and church for conflict? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would you have to believe differently about God, suffering, justice, and protection to see “defenseless death” as faithfulness, not failure? How would that change how you prepare your family and church for conflict?