Discussion Questions

Dean Taylor repeats Charles Hamilton’s line “Ideas have consequences” and adds that ideas “produce a people” and “produce a heart”; where did you see that principle playing out in the groups he described (Waldensians, Bécaires/Begins, Brethren of the Common Life), and what consequences do you think modern evangelical “ideas” are producing right now? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says “ideas have consequences” and even shape people’s hearts. How did you see that in the Waldensians, Bécaires/Begins, and the Brethren of the Common Life, and what do you think today’s evangelical ideas are producing now?

When Dean describes the “discipline” of telling the Anabaptist story in greater detail instead of grabbing “quick evangelical stories,” what does that suggest about what God values in how His people remember history, and how might John F. Kennedy’s quote about a nation honoring certain men expose what the church tends to honor and forget? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why does Dean think it matters to tell the Anabaptist story in a fuller way instead of using quick, simple stories? How does JFK’s quote about what a nation honors help show what the church tends to remember and what it forgets?

Dean says if Scripture were used “as a blueprint” and we truly believed Jesus meant His words, it would produce communities like the ones he keeps mentioning; what specific teachings of Jesus do you think would most obviously reshape church life today if taken that literally, and what would we have to stop excusing as “just an idea”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If we treated Jesus’ words like a real plan to follow, what specific teachings of Jesus would most change church life today? What do we keep brushing off as “just an idea” that we would have to stop excusing?

Dean’s visit to the Ephrata Cloister left him asking, “Is anybody even trying anymore?”—what do you think he means by “trying,” what forms of “white vanilla…mediocre Christianity” might be normal to us, and what might sincere obedience look like without sliding into bizarre extremes? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Dean asks, “Is anybody even trying anymore?,” what kind of obedience do you think he means? What “normal” habits of safe, mediocre Christianity might we accept, and what could sincere obedience look like without going to weird extremes?

The Waldensian-related Bécaires/Begins built practical systems to care for the poor, seemingly driven by Matthew 25; what does that imply about God’s priorities at the judgment, and how does Dean’s comment (“In America, we kind of put our poor in far-off countries”) challenge the way we mentally distance ourselves from responsibility? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The Bécaires/Begins created practical ways to care for the poor, inspired by Matthew 25. What does that suggest God will care about at judgment, and how does Dean’s comment about sending our poor “far off” challenge how we avoid responsibility?

The Brethren of the Common Life practiced monastic-like disciplines (poverty, celibacy, obedience) but “were not bound by a vow” and “anyone could leave…at will”; what does this combination of strictness and freedom reveal about their assumptions regarding conscience, community, and voluntary discipleship, and what would be gained or lost if churches tried something similar now? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The Brethren lived with strict practices like poverty, celibacy, and obedience, but no one was forced to stay. What does that mix of strictness and freedom say about conscience and choosing to follow Jesus, and what might churches gain or lose by trying something like it today?

In Capito’s tavern story, the young monk says the most important thing is “a friendly relationship with Christ” and that rites are “empty if the heart…be not engaged”; how does that confront both sacramental/ritual Christianity and modern “I have a relationship with Jesus” language, and what would it look like to test whether our own practices are empty or engaged? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In the tavern story, the monk says what matters most is a “friendly relationship with Christ,” and rituals mean nothing if the heart isn’t involved. How does that challenge both ritual-focused Christianity and the modern “I have a relationship with Jesus” idea, and how could we check if our own practices are empty or real?

Capito’s self-examination ends with, “Perhaps…what the church needs, what I need, is less religion and more Christ”; in the lesson’s context (educating orphans, bathing lepers, inner devotion, public meetings), what would “more Christ” concretely mean, and what religious activities might we need to subtract—not because they’re evil, but because they replace Christ? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Capito says we may need “less religion and more Christ,” what would “more Christ” look like in real actions like caring for orphans, helping lepers, and inner devotion? What good religious activities might we need to cut back because they start replacing Christ?

Dean portrays Erasmus as arguing against war not only from Jesus’ teaching but also from reason and human nature, then connects it to his own military memories (“Kill, kill with cold blue steel,” “Finally a day it’s legal to kill”); how does this section challenge common Christian categories about patriotism, “just war,” and the separation of faith from public life, and what parts of that challenge do you instinctively resist? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Erasmus argues against war from Jesus’ teaching and from basic human reasoning, and Dean connects it to his own military memories. How does this challenge Christian views on patriotism, “just war,” and keeping faith private, and what parts of the challenge do you resist most?

Luther’s story includes intense conscience, extreme self-punishment, despair, a breakthrough in Paul (“born again”), and then political strategy (“attack…with steel,” nationalism, princes), plus the peasants misreading his “freedom”; what does this mix suggest about God’s work through flawed leaders, and how should Christians discern when a reform movement is drifting from Christ’s kingdom into power, violence, or worldly definitions of freedom? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Luther’s story mixes deep guilt, self-punishment, a breakthrough in Paul, and later political power and violence, plus people misunderstanding his idea of “freedom.” What does this say about God working through flawed leaders, and how can Christians tell when reform is turning into worldly power, violence, or a wrong idea of freedom?