Discussion Questions

Dr. Byrd Wilson said God was “absolutely voted out of the Constitution,” and Bercot agrees after comparing the founding documents; what specific contrasts in wording between the state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution most convinced you that the omission of God was deliberate rather than accidental? JumpstartAnother way to ask: After comparing the state constitutions with the U.S. Constitution, what exact wording differences most convinced you that leaving God out was on purpose and not an accident?

Bercot argues that “every nation on earth should acknowledge that there is a God” and that governmental authority is “granted…by God” (citing Jesus’ words to Pilate); how does that claim reshape the way Christians should talk about political authority, legitimacy, and national “rights” today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If all nations should admit God exists and that government authority comes from God, how should Christians talk today about who has political power, what makes a government “legit,” and what a nation has a “right” to do?

Several state constitutions (Delaware, North Carolina, Pennsylvania) required officeholders to affirm belief in the Trinity or the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments; what do those religious tests reveal about how early Americans connected civil leadership with doctrinal confession, and how does that differ from how modern Christians evaluate candidates? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do those state rules about believing in the Trinity or the Bible show about how early Americans linked being a leader with specific beliefs, and how is that different from how Christians judge candidates now?

Massachusetts treated public support of Protestant teachers as a public good, comparing it to public education (“everyone benefits”); what assumptions about human nature, morality, and social order are embedded in that model, and which of those assumptions do you think Bercot believes are compatible—or incompatible—with the kingdom of God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Massachusetts supported Protestant teachers like it supports schools, what does that say about what they believed people need to be moral and keep society stable, and which of those ideas does Bercot think fit (or don’t fit) with God’s kingdom?

Bercot calls the First Amendment’s “no law respecting an establishment of religion” dangerously ambiguous, even “shoddy” drafting compared to the clarity of state constitutions; what do you think the framers were trying to protect by keeping it general, and how has that vagueness shaped the religious landscape you live in? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why do you think the founders made the First Amendment so general about “no establishment of religion,” and how has that unclear wording shaped religion where you live?

Bercot blames the Supreme Court for “absurd interpretations” (school prayer, Ten Commandments displays, Bible clubs), while still faulting the framers for making those interpretations possible; what does this two-level critique suggest about human wisdom, unintended consequences, and the limits of trying to secure righteousness through legal wording? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does Bercot’s blame of both the Supreme Court and the framers teach about human wisdom, unexpected results, and the limits of trying to make people righteous through carefully written laws?

Bercot describes a spiritual decline during and after the Revolution (church attendance dropping, strange alliances, “hard to talk about brotherly love when you’re slaughtering one another”); how does his explanation challenge common Christian narratives that portray the Revolution as spiritually pure or obviously blessed by God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Bercot’s story of spiritual decline during and after the Revolution challenge the idea that the Revolution was clearly pure or clearly blessed by God?

In Bercot’s telling, political unity redefined “brother” and “enemy,” pushing religion into second place (“you cannot serve two masters”); where do you see that same reordering of loyalties in modern Christian political engagement, and what would repentance look like in concrete terms? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see politics becoming more important than faith for Christians today, and what would real repentance look like in specific actions?

Benjamin Franklin’s plea for prayer at the Constitutional Convention—along with Washington’s lack of support and the minimal votes—forms one of Bercot’s most striking moments; what picture of God’s role in public life is Franklin assuming, and what does the convention’s response suggest about the spiritual posture of the nation’s leadership? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does Franklin seem to believe about God’s role in public decisions when he asks for prayer, and what does the convention’s weak response say about the leaders’ spiritual attitude?

Bercot highlights the Treaty of Tripoli statement that the U.S. government “is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion,” then concludes both “Christian patriots” and “secular humanists” are often dishonest; what parts of your own thinking about “Christian America” might be closer to proof-texting history than facing the full record, and how should “kingdom Christians” speak truthfully without drifting into either nostalgia or cynicism? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What parts of your own view of “Christian America” might be based on picking only the facts you like, and how can “kingdom Christians” tell the truth about history without turning it into either happy nostalgia or bitter cynicism?