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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 9, But What If  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
Bercot argues the Pax Romana was God’s intervention preparing the world for the Prince of Peace, and he quotes Origen and Arnobius claiming Christ’s teachings actually diminished wars; how does this claim reshape your understanding of God’s purposes in history, and what would it require you to believe about prayer as a public, world-shaping force?
Another way to ask: Bercot says the Pax Romana was God preparing the world for the Prince of Peace, and that Jesus’ teaching helped reduce wars. How does that change how you see God’s plan in history, and what would it mean to believe prayer can shape nations and events?

Direct Answer Bercot’s claim frames God as actively shaping world events toward Christ’s mission, even producing international peace without relying on armies. It requires viewing prayer and non-resistant Christian living as powerful public forces that restrain war and even “defeat” spiritual powers behind it.

Support from Transcript:

  • He describes the Pax Romana (27 BC–AD 180) as an unusually long peace with no successful invasions and no Roman civil wars.
  • He argues it was not mainly “mighty armies” (still present later when peace vanished) nor merely good rulers (peace persisted under Caligula, Nero, Domitian).
  • His explanation: God “introduced peace…into which His Son, the Prince of Peace, was to be born,” “without the help of any human armies.”
  • He says Christians “maintained that peace…by their non-resistance…peaceful lives, and by their prayers.”
  • Origen: peace doctrine spread because “a milder spirit had been introduced” at Jesus’ coming.
  • Arnobius: after Christ, wars “diminished,” and if all listened to His “peaceful rules,” the world would live in “peaceful tranquility.”
  • Origen to critics: “Our prayers defeat all demons who stir up war…we are much more helpful to the kings than those who…fight.”
Discussion Follow-ups This challenges a view where history moves mainly by political force. Do you believe prayer is effective enough to shape nations, or only to comfort individuals?

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