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Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up  /  Chapter 18: The Anabaptist Fire  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 7
In the story of Dirk Willems returning to save his pursuer and then being burned alive, what picture of God’s love and Jesus’ commands does this embody, and what situations today would feel like “turning back to rescue” someone who is actively harming your interests?
Another way to ask: What does Dirk Willems turning back to save his pursuer show about God’s love and Jesus’ commands? What situation today would feel like helping someone who is hurting you?

Direct Answer The story embodies unselfish love that refuses self-protection and treats an enemy’s life as worth saving, even at great personal cost. It reflects obedience to Jesus’ teaching not to retaliate and shows a love that is active, costly, and directed even toward persecutors.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot says the Anabaptists “refused to fight back or retaliate against their persecutors.”
  • Dirk Willems escapes across a frozen lake, then sees the deputy fall through the ice “about to drown.”
  • “Although he could now have escaped with ease,” Willems “turned back and pulled the drowning deputy to safety.”
  • The response is unjust: the officer orders the deputy to arrest Willems, and Willems is “eventually burned alive.”
  • Bercot frames the account as “one of the most touching examples of their unselfish love for others.”
Discussion Follow-ups What would “turning back” look like in your life—helping an opponent at work, showing kindness in a lawsuit, protecting someone who has slandered you, or serving those who oppose your faith?

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