Discussion Questions

David Bercot says that after Nicaea the church’s center of gravity shifted from Jesus’ words “Follow me” to “Study me”; what do you think gets lost when “study” becomes the focus, and what kinds of spiritual habits or church cultures does that shift naturally produce? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the church shifts from “Follow Jesus” to mostly “Study Jesus,” what gets lost? What kinds of habits or church culture does that shift create?

The chapter argues that “Doctrine Anity requires no real relationship with Christ and no fruit… only a change in our heads, not a change in our hearts”; where do you see the temptation in your own life to substitute correct ideas for actual communion with Christ and observable godly fruit? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where are you tempted to trade having the “right ideas” for actually being close to Christ and showing real godly fruit?

Bercot claims “a Pharisee can easily embrace Doctrine Anity, but he will never be able to embrace Christianity without a thorough change of heart”; what traits in the Pharisee mindset make doctrinal precision attractive, and how would a “thorough change of heart” show itself in concrete ways? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why does a Pharisee-like mindset love being theologically correct? What would a real “change of heart” look like in everyday actions?

He says Catholics and Arians, despite bitter conflict, “both embraced the same religion” and “by their actions… were devoid of the Spirit of Christ”; what does this imply about how God evaluates “orthodoxy” when it exists alongside coercion, hatred, or violence? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If people can be “orthodox” but still use force, hatred, or violence, what does that say about how God judges orthodoxy?

Reflect on William Law’s quote about Catholics and Protestants being divided over “opinions” while united in “the lust of the flesh… the pride of life”; what parallels do you see today where Christians are fiercely separated by theological positions but comfortably united in the same cultural sins? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see Christians divided by theology but still sharing the same cultural sins like pride and lust?

The chapter claims both sides assumed “they knew more than the faithful Christians who had preceded them” and that “the essence of Christianity was theology, not an obedient love-faith relationship with Christ”; where do modern Christians (including evangelicals) subtly communicate that Christianity is mainly getting the concepts right rather than obeying Jesus? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do Christians today subtly act like Christianity is mainly about getting the right concepts instead of obeying Jesus?

Bercot highlights that Athanasius labeled “everyone who wouldn’t accept the Nicene Creed as Arian,” even when they had “no connection with Arius”; how does that kind of labeling function in church conflicts, and what does it do to truth-seeking, charity, and the fear of God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What happens in church fights when people label anyone who disagrees as part of the “wrong group”? How does that affect truth, kindness, and reverence for God?

In the Danube account, “professing Christians” among the Roman commanders refused the weak passage, broke promises of land and food, and forced starving Goths to sell children for dog meat; what does this story expose about the relationship between confession of faith, political power, and the actual Spirit of Christ? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the Danube story show about the gap between claiming faith in Christ and using political power without Christ’s Spirit?

Bercot says the early “faithful Christians who had preceded them” would not have recognized these actions as following Jesus; based on the chapter’s logic, what assumptions about discipleship and enemy-love do you think earlier Christians held that made persecution and state-church unity unthinkable? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What did earlier Christians likely believe about discipleship and loving enemies that made persecution and church-state partnership unthinkable to them?

The chapter condemns both Roman cruelty and Gothic retaliation: “His followers don’t… force others to sell their children… [and] don’t retaliate… by slaughtering and plundering”; what situations in your life tempt you toward “Christian” justifications for harshness or revenge, and what would obedience to Jesus look like there instead? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where are you tempted to use “Christian” reasons to be harsh or get revenge? What would it look like to obey Jesus instead in that situation?