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In God We Don't Trust  /  Chapter 6: A Shining City on a Hill  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
The chapter says the Puritans “said they trusted in God, but their violent methods showed they actually trusted in their superior weapons”; where are Christians today tempted to say “we trust God” while functionally trusting in power (political influence, legal leverage, wealth, institutional force), and what concrete changes would demonstrate trust that looks more like Jesus’ kingdom than like “superior weapons”?
Another way to ask: Where are Christians today tempted to say “we trust God” while really trusting power like politics, courts, money, or institutional force? What practical changes would show trust that looks more like Jesus’ kingdom than like relying on “better weapons”?

Direct Answer The transcript doesn’t give modern examples like politics or wealth, but its principle is clear: Christians can claim trust in God while relying on coercive power to secure their goals. Concrete kingdom-shaped change, based on this chapter, would mean rejecting violent or forceful methods and returning to justice, mercy, humility, and sacrificial community life.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot’s diagnosis is explicit: they “said they trusted in God,” yet “trusted in their superior weapons.”
  • The Puritans chose preemptive attack (“attack the Indians first”), showing functional trust in force.
  • They used tactics and weapons to trap and kill fleeing people (“waited outside with their guns… shot them down”).
  • Their behavior is contrasted with Winthrop’s stated path to “prosperity”: “do justly,” “love mercy,” “walk humbly,” share “superfluities,” and “labor and suffer together.”
  • Bercot says their actions showed “no real understanding of the kingdom of God,” implying the needed change is to embrace Jesus’ kingdom teachings rather than conquest models.
Discussion Follow-ups If a church removed its “weapons” (whatever forms of coercive leverage it uses), what would it have left—and would that look like the Micah-and-kingdom pattern described in the chapter?

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