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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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Divine Mysteries: Exploring the Trinity, Evil, and Human Destiny  /  Lessons God Has Taught Me  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
When he warns Anabaptists about judging someone’s spirituality by clothing (bright orange T-shirt, flip-flops) and says stereotyping is a form of judging that could affect “eternal destiny,” what specific judgments do we make quickly because they protect our sense of being the “faithful remnant,” and what would we lose if we stopped making them?
Another way to ask: He warns that judging spirituality by clothing is a kind of stereotyping that can have serious spiritual effects. What quick judgments do we make to feel like the “faithful remnant,” and what would we fear losing if we stopped?

Direct Answer Bercot suggests quick judgments—like labeling someone “worldly” based on non-plain clothing or assuming entire groups (like old order Amish/Mennonites) are unsaved—protect a feeling of spiritual superiority and “faithful remnant” identity. If we stopped, we would lose that easy sense of certainty and superiority, but we would gain fairness and obedience to Jesus’ warning about judging.

Support from Transcript:

  • He gives a concrete example: a man in a “bright orange T-shirt…flip-flops” may be immediately stereotyped as “worldly,” and his Christian profession met with “skepticism.”
  • He says Mennonites may feel “far superior spiritually” based only on dress “without knowing anything else.”
  • He cautions modesty must be handled carefully: dress may be “not inherently immodest…just different” from plain dress.
  • He notes stereotyping old orders: conservative Anabaptists may act as if “none of them are saved…don’t know Christ,” which is “so very wrong” to paint all “with the same brush.”
  • He ties stereotyping to judgment: “Jesus told us not to judge,” and when we stereotype we are “judging all of them by the same negative standard.”
  • He gives the serious warning: Jesus “is going to judge us the same way…This could mean your eternal destiny.”
Discussion Follow-ups What stereotypes make you feel safely “inside” and others safely “outside”? If you couldn’t use dress or group identity as a shortcut, what harder work of discernment and relationship would you have to do?

Jumpstarter 9 of 10
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