Discussion Questions

Dean Taylor says the “primary fundamental dividing point” between the Anabaptists and the new evangelical movement was not finally the mass or infant baptism, but authority—God’s Word versus Roman councils versus city councils; where do you see modern Christians quietly accepting “city council” authority today (state, courts, party politics, donors, platforms), and what changes when scripture is treated as the final court of appeal? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do Christians today let the state, courts, politics, money, or online platforms have the final say instead of the Bible? What would change if Scripture was truly the highest authority?

Binder is quoted saying the Magisterial Reformers’ choice to keep a state church may have been “wise and statesmanlike,” but “in terms of an absolute principle and plain scripture teaching, it was indefensible”; what does this lesson suggest about the difference between prudence and obedience, and how do you personally decide when “statesmanlike” compromises become disobedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What’s the difference between being practical and obeying God when the two don’t match? How do you decide when a “smart compromise” has crossed the line into disobedience?

The lesson contrasts an “invisible church” mindset (“everybody in the whole area is a Christian… only God knows”) with the Anabaptist claim that the church is visible and tied to incarnation and the kingdom; how would an early Christian (pre-Constantine) have understood the visibility of the church, and what practices today either reinforce or undermine that visibility? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Before Christianity had government support, how would early Christians have shown that the church was something you could actually see? What do churches today do that makes the church more visible—or hides it?

Grebel’s letter to Müntzer criticizes “false leniency of the preachers” and calls out people who want “a faith easy enough for everybody… who show no change of heart”; in what specific ways does modern evangelicalism mirror the “easy faith” Grebel describes, and what would “true faith expressed in deeds of love” demand that many churches avoid? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does modern evangelicalism sometimes promote an “easy faith” that doesn’t change how people live? What actions of love would real faith require that many churches try to avoid?

Grebel writes, “I believe the word of God without a complicated interpretation. And out of this belief, I speak”; what parts of Jesus’ teaching do you find yourself wanting to “complicate” so you can keep control of your life, and what would it cost you to read those words plainly? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which teachings of Jesus do you tend to explain away so you can stay in control of your life? What would you lose if you took those words in the simplest, most direct way?

In the Hutterian Chronicle account, the group falls to their knees, aware of suffering ahead, and then baptize because “there was no appointed servants of the word”; what does this reveal about God’s willingness to work through “unappointed” believers, and how does that challenge modern assumptions about ordination, credentials, and who is “allowed” to act? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it show about God that these believers baptized even without official leaders? How does that challenge our ideas about who needs credentials or permission to serve and act?

The first baptisms are described as a covenant: baptism on confession of faith “as a covenant of a good conscience with God… remaining steadfast to the end, even in times of tribulation”; how does that covenant-shaped baptism confront common ideas of assurance that are detached from obedience and perseverance? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If baptism is a promise to follow God with a clean conscience even through suffering, how does that challenge the idea that you’re “secure” without ongoing obedience? What does it say about staying faithful over time?

Dean highlights that nonresistance was present “from the very start” because they took Jesus’ words as meaning what they say; what do you think early Christians assumed about violence and the sword, and where do modern believers justify what the Swiss Brethren rebuked in Müntzer? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do you think early Christians believed about using violence or the sword? Where do Christians today excuse the kind of violence the Swiss Brethren said was wrong?

The decree demanded infant baptism within eight days or exile “with wife and child and possessions,” and then banned the “special schools” (their Bible groups), naming Grebel and Manz directly; if authorities shut down your small groups and publicly named leaders, what would your instinctive response reveal about whether your faith is tied more to comfort/safety or to Jesus’ commands? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the government shut down your Bible group and publicly named your leaders, how would you respond? What would your reaction show about whether you follow Jesus more for comfort and safety or for obedience?

The lesson shows both zeal and messiness: Blauroch disrupts a sermon pounding his staff and quoting “den of thieves,” Zurich arrests new converts, many recant, and later Barbara threatens to report Felix because she can’t bear the danger with three babies; how should Christians evaluate “radical zeal” when it creates backlash or family strain, and what does faithful obedience look like when revival, fear, and real-life responsibilities collide? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How should Christians judge “bold zeal” when it brings trouble, backlash, or stress on families? What does faithful obedience look like when excitement, fear, and daily responsibilities all clash?