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LET ME DIE IN IRELAND  /  Chapter 17: The Saxon Fury  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
The mission’s logistics include paying tribute to chieftains for safe passage, exhausting resources, and expecting “murder, deceit, captivity”; how do you evaluate this strategy ethically and spiritually, and what does it suggest about early Christian assumptions regarding simplicity, money, and risk in gospel work?
Another way to ask: The mission paid tribute for safe travel, spent a lot, and expected danger like murder or captivity. Is that plan right or wrong in God’s eyes, and what does it show about early Christians’ views on money, simplicity, and risk in sharing the gospel?

Direct Answer The transcript presents paying tribute as a pragmatic, customary means of gaining access for preaching, accepted as part of costly mission life rather than a moral compromise. Spiritually, it assumes money is expendable for gospel advance, simplicity is normal, and serious risk is expected.

Support from Transcript:

  • The danger is real and constant: traveling clan to clan is “highly dangerous,” with threats of kidnapping, ransom, or slavery.
  • The strategy is explained as culturally informed: “since Patrick knew the customs… he pays tribute to each chieftain in order to travel freely.”
  • It drains resources without complaint: “This can get to be expensive. We’ve exhausted all our resources… no doubt Patrick will spend his entire inheritance in the same way.”
  • The tribute is not magic protection: “Usually it does, but not always,” and Lomond recounts theft and imprisonment even after payment.
  • Their posture is not security-seeking but God-dependent: “without God’s hand of protection, Patrick and I wouldn’t have lasted more than a week.”
  • Patrick’s lifestyle supports simplicity: “practically no material possessions… little huts made of sticks and mud.”
Discussion Follow-ups How do we distinguish between wise cultural accommodation and sinful compromise when money is involved? What does it say about our priorities if we protect resources more than we protect opportunities to preach?

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