Discussion Questions

David Bercot insists his teaching on war, non-resistance, and government is not a private interpretation but “the historical position of the Christian Church” until Constantine; what would it require for you to treat “universal or near-universal” early Christian testimony as weighty evidence for Christian discipleship today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says almost all Christians before Constantine agreed about war, non-resistance, and government. What would you need to see to treat that early agreement as strong guidance for following Jesus today?

Bercot claims he has “made the early Church” his field of study for 20 years and knows of “no one before the time of Constantine” who expressed a different view; what standards would you use to evaluate that kind of claim fairly, and what would be at stake spiritually if he’s right? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says he knows of no pre-Constantine Christian who disagreed with him. How would you check a claim like that fairly, and if he’s right, what could it mean for your spiritual life?

Hermas describes Christians as living in a “strange land,” warning that those who “accumulate dwellings and useless buildings…cannot return again to his own”; what does that reveal about God’s view of security and permanence in this world, and where do you see that warning colliding with modern Christian ideas of stewardship, retirement, and “building a legacy”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Hermas warns against piling up houses and buildings because it keeps you from your true home. What does that say about how God views safety and staying settled here, and how does it clash with modern ideas like saving for retirement or leaving a legacy?

Tatian’s self-description—declining military command, rejecting wealth, fame, and “die to the world…live to God”—sounds like a deliberate withdrawal from typical upward mobility; what do you think early Christians believed God was offering that made those refusals seem rational, even attractive? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Tatian turned down military power, money, and fame to “die to the world” and “live to God.” What did early Christians think God was offering that made choices like that seem worth it?

Clement says, “We have no country on earth,” and Tertullian says “nothing is more entirely foreign to us than the affairs of state”; how does that posture challenge modern Christian patriotism, political activism, and the assumption that civic engagement is a primary way to love neighbor? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Clement and Tertullian talk like Christians don’t really belong to any earthly nation or politics. How does that challenge Christian patriotism and activism today, and the idea that politics is a main way to love your neighbor?

Origen answers Celsus by saying Christians decline public office not to escape duty but to reserve themselves for “a more divine and necessary service…for the salvation of men”; what “more divine and necessary service” competes with your time and ambitions, and how would a church today need to change to make that trade-off credible? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Origen says Christians avoid public office so they can focus on a higher service for saving people. What kind of service would pull you away from your goals, and what would a church need to change for that choice to feel realistic today?

Several writers frame non-resistance as absolute—Clement: no violence to correct sin; Tertullian: “evil is not to be repaid with evil”; Lactantius: not resisting “even in word”; which forms of “violence” or retaliation (legal pressure, public shaming, verbal aggression, forceful self-protection) do you instinctively justify, and what reasons do you give that the early Christians would likely reject? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Early Christians talked like non-resistance meant no payback at all, even with words. Which kinds of “payback” do you tend to excuse (lawsuits, online shaming, harsh words, self-defense), and why would early Christians likely disagree?

Tertullian argues that “sheep” are those who are slain with patience rather than those who die “repelling force with force”; what picture of God’s protection and victory is assumed there, and how does it confront modern Christian narratives that equate courage with fighting back? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Tertullian says real “sheep” suffer patiently instead of fighting back. What does that assume about how God protects and wins, and how does it clash with the idea that bravery means hitting back?

Hippolytus’ baptismal policy rejects applicants who seek to become soldiers and requires soldiers to refuse killing and oaths; what does it say about the early church’s understanding of baptism, church discipline, and allegiance that military/civic roles could bar someone from baptism or fellowship? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Hippolytus said people wanting to be soldiers couldn’t be baptized, and soldiers had to refuse killing and oaths. What does that show about how the early church saw baptism, church discipline, and where a Christian’s loyalty belongs?

Origen and Lactantius explicitly choose God’s law over human law even if it brings “death and dishonor”; where do you feel the sharpest pressure to obey “written code” over the “law of God” (workplace demands, legal expectations, national loyalty, family pressure), and what would “giving ourselves up to the legislator, God” practically cost you this year? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Origen and Lactantius say to obey God over human laws even if it brings shame or death. Where do you feel the strongest pull to follow rules over God (job, laws, country, family), and what might obeying God cost you this year?