Discussion Questions

Zwingli’s plague poem included the line, “I am thy vessel… to make whole or break to pieces… so that it will not grow evil and will not mar the pious lives of others”; what does that reveal about how he understood God’s severity and protection, and how does that sit with the modern instinct to assume God’s primary will is comfort and prolonged life? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does Zwingli’s poem show about how he saw God’s harshness and protection? How does that fit with today’s idea that God mainly wants us to be comfortable and live a long time?

Zwingli said, “Nothing but God will prevent me from acquiring Greek… for the sake of the Scriptures,” and he reportedly hand-copied Paul’s epistles and memorized the Greek New Testament; what view of God and of Scripture is assumed in that kind of effort, and what would early Christians (who often heard Scripture read aloud and memorized it communally) recognize—or challenge—in our approach to Bible knowledge today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does Zwingli’s hard work to learn Greek and copy Scripture say about how he viewed God and the Bible? What would early Christians recognize—or question—about how we try to know the Bible today?

The “sausage incident” during Lent became the first public controversy around Zwingli, and he defended it with a sermon titled *Regarding the Choice and Freedom of Foods*; how should Christians discern when breaking a long-standing church practice is faithful “freedom” and when it is merely provocative self-assertion, especially given that some fasting traditions do reach back into early church practice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can Christians tell when breaking an old church practice is real Christian freedom and when it’s just trying to shock or prove a point? How should we think about this if some fasting traditions go back to the early church?

Dean described Zurich as a place where “the church hardly—no one even hardly ever heard the Bible,” and then expository preaching through Matthew felt revolutionary; what does this episode suggest about God’s intention for ordinary believers’ access to His Word, and where do modern churches still functionally keep people dependent on “experts” even if everyone owns Bibles? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the push for Bible teaching in Zurich show about God wanting regular people to hear and understand His Word? In what ways do churches today still keep people relying on “experts” even though we all have Bibles?

Grebel came from a politically powerful family where “no important political event took place in Zurich in which a Grebel did not have a part”; how does God’s work through someone embedded in elite civic power challenge the assumption that spiritual renewal mainly comes from either isolated monasteries or “outsiders,” and how might that confront the way Christians today relate to status and influence? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does God working through Grebel, who had power and status, challenge the idea that renewal only comes from outsiders or monasteries? How should this affect how Christians think about status and influence today?

Grebel’s moral collapse in Paris (excess drinking, brawls, disease, being cut off financially) led him to sign a letter, “a poor, little, miserable friend of yours,” and Dean comments, “God’s about to redeem this loser”; how does this story reshape what you believe God is willing to do with deep shame and consequences, and what does it expose about how churches decide who is “usable” for serious ministry? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Grebel’s failure and shame change what you think God can do with someone who has messed up badly? What does it reveal about how churches decide who is fit for serious ministry?

Grebel wrestled with taking scholarship money tied to Swiss-French political manipulation, and his father justified it with technicalities (“when you’re a student, you’re not really a citizen… besides, everybody’s doing it”); where do you see similar moral reasoning in Christian institutions or families today, and what does the transcript suggest God’s holiness demands when “everybody’s doing it”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see people in Christian families or organizations making excuses like, “It’s technically okay” or “Everyone does it”? What does this story suggest God’s holiness requires even when sin is normal?

Grebel married Barbara against his parents’ will, while his father said he could fund a mistress but not a “beneath-you” wife; how does that contrast expose the spiritual priorities of their culture, and what parallels do you see in modern Christian respectability—where sexual sin is quietly tolerated but sacrificial obedience that threatens social standing is opposed? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the father’s approval of a mistress but rejection of a “lower-status” wife show about the culture’s values? Where do you see similar “respectable” Christianity today that hides sexual sin but fights costly obedience that hurts social image?

After Grebel’s 1522 change, he wrote, “I don’t even hold my life dear… if only I knew the scripture better,” and he and others interrupted monks publicly for “unscriptural doctrine”; what does this reveal about his view of God, truth, and the value of human life, and how would early Christian expectations about confessing Christ publicly critique the modern preference for private faith and conflict-avoidance? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do Grebel’s words and public confrontations show about how he valued truth and even his own life? How might early Christians, who expected public loyalty to Christ, challenge our desire to keep faith private and avoid conflict?

The turning point in Zurich was Zwingli placing reforms (including the mass) in the city council’s hands—“The city will discern how the mass should be properly observed”—prompting Simon Stump to answer, “The Spirit of God decides… if the council… decides anything contrary… I will… act against it”; what do you believe this conflict says about who has authority in the church under God, and what “city council” equivalents (denominations, boards, donors, political pressure, courts, popular opinion) most shape obedience in your own Christian world? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the fight between the city council and people like Stump show about who should have authority in the church under God? What things today (denominations, boards, donors, politics, courts, public opinion) most shape what Christians in your world obey?