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The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 28, The Underground Kingdom  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
Henry of Lausanne told people not to attend Catholic churches, used only the New Testament as authority, and taught mutual confession without priestly absolution; what would it cost—and what might it heal—if a modern congregation treated Jesus’ words as its functional authority and practiced confession “to one another” as a normal Kingdom habit?
Another way to ask: Henry of Lausanne told people to skip Catholic churches, used only the New Testament as authority, and practiced confession without priests. What would it cost—and what might it heal—if a church today treated Jesus’ words as its true authority and made confessing to each other a normal habit?

Direct Answer Based on Bercot’s portrait of Henry, the cost would likely include conflict with established religious authority and loss of comfort with clergy-centered control; the potential “healing” would be a return to apostolic simplicity, direct dependence on the New Testament, and honest community life where believers help each other with sin. Henry’s movement shows many poor people were spiritually helped when authority shifted from institution to Jesus’ teaching.

Support from Transcript:

  • Henry “strongly attacked the wealthy clergy” and told listeners “not to attend the Catholic churches,” indicating a costly break.
  • The Church responded by using “the power of the nobility to drive Henry out,” showing institutional pushback.
  • He urged Christians to return to “the simplicity of the apostles and the early church.”
  • “Instead of relying on the authority of the Church, Henry quoted the New Testament as his only authority.”
  • He taught Christians should “confess their sins to one another” and that priestly “penance and absolution” were “not necessary.”
  • Result: “Thousands and thousands of the poor responded… and focused their lives on Jesus and his Kingdom,” implying spiritual fruit.
Discussion Follow-ups What institutional habits today subtly replace Jesus’ words as “functional authority”? What would mutual confession require in terms of trust, humility, and real relationships—not just meetings?

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