Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 6: The Early Lives of Zwingli and Conrad Grebel  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 8
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?
Another 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?

Direct Answer Dean Taylor’s account exposes a culture that prioritized class status, money, and public respectability over sexual purity and covenant faithfulness. It also warns that even “religious” families may tolerate hidden sin while fiercely opposing obedience that costs reputation.

Support from Transcript:

  • Barbara’s problem was social rank: “she wasn’t of noble birth… it was beneath her to marry a woman like this,” and marriage was tied to “dowry… money.”
  • Grebel’s father openly permitted sexual compromise: “If you need a mistress… we’ll help pay for that… but marrying someone beneath you would be absolutely unacceptable.”
  • Grebel’s love led to conflict: he was “at odds with his father,” left home, and later returned to try to “break down… opposition.”
  • He married anyway in February 1522, “one day when his father was gone,” showing the intensity of the family’s resistance.
  • The response reveals the priority structure: his mother was “furious… crying and bawling,” and “the break with his family was complete.”
Discussion Follow-ups What actions today bring more criticism in Christian circles: quiet immorality or costly obedience that disrupts social expectations? How can families disciple children to value faithfulness over image, especially in marriage choices?

Jumpstarter 8 of 10
Back Questions Next