Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 10 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
The Life of the Early Christians  /  Entertainment  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 10
Bercot argues Christians didn’t oppose the arena because it was unpopular but because it was wrong—and that Christian influence helped abolish the games; what would it look like for Christians today to be a community whose entertainment choices quietly undermine what the culture profits from, and what specific habits would have to change first (time, money, conversation, media, weekends)?
Another way to ask: What would it look like for Christians today to weaken harmful entertainment industries simply by what we choose not to watch or support? What would you have to change first—your time, money, conversations, media habits, or weekends?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, it would look like Christians consistently refusing popular spectacles that thrive on violence, lust, or frenzy—so clearly that outsiders notice, as they did in Rome. That kind of quiet non-participation, sustained over time, is the sort of influence Bercot says helped end the gladiator games.

Support from Transcript:

  • Tertullian: “We renounce all your spectacles,” naming circus, theater, and arena—Christians didn’t simply “moderate” them.
  • Tertullian says not attending was so distinctive it became “the chief sign” of conversion.
  • Athenagoras and Theophilus emphasize renouncing even watching violent shows, not just refusing to perform violence.
  • Lactantius concludes, “it is not allowed for us to be present at all,” to protect conscience.
  • Bercot states: “it was because of the influence of Christianity that the Gladiator Games were eventually abolished.”
  • He also critiques modern thirst for violence in sports like football and hockey, implying entertainment choices still reveal what a culture “profits from” emotionally.
Discussion Follow-ups Which changes would be most immediate: where you spend weekends, what you pay for, what you talk about, or what you watch alone? What would your friends notice first if you “renounced” certain entertainments?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10
Back Questions Done