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Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up  /  Chapter 19: So, what does all of this mean for us  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
The chapter contrasts early Christianity’s cross-bearing revolution with the post-Constantinian attempt to “improve Christianity through human means,” warning that “the world converted much of the church”; what “human means” (growth strategies, amenities like recreation centers, political power, prosperity messaging) most shape Christianity around you, and what would a practical “divorce from the world” look like in your money, entertainment, ambitions, and church life?
Another way to ask: What “human methods” most shape the Christianity you see (growth plans, big programs, politics, prosperity talk)? What would separating from the world look like in your spending, entertainment, goals, and church life?

Direct Answer Bercot warns that relying on “human means” to improve Christianity tends to produce bigger churches, not better ones, and it can let the world reshape the church. A practical “divorce from the world,” in his framing, means returning to “simple holiness, genuine love, and cross-bearing,” instead of chasing prosperity, comfort, and worldly methods.

Support from Transcript:

  • He says early Christianity was a “revolution” and “entire way of life,” unstoppable by Roman forces.
  • After 300 years it “partially foundered” because Christians “lost their obedient trust in God” and adopted “methods of the world.”
  • He states bluntly: “They didn't improve Christianity. They gutted it.”
  • He critiques the idea that making Christianity about “material blessings and prosperity instead of suffering” would convert the world; instead, “the world converted much of the church.”
  • Modern parallel: obsession with church growth and “multi-million dollar…family life centers” that help churches grow “much faster.”
  • He concludes Christianity won’t improve until the church returns to “simple holiness, genuine love, and cross-bearing,” calling for a long-overdue “divorce from the world.”
Discussion Follow-ups What is one concrete comfort or status-marker your church could surrender to better reflect cross-bearing rather than worldly success?

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