A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
Week 10: Persecution and the Price of the Name
Read the chapters depicting the Roman persecution of Christians and the rising danger for Hadassah. Background Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19; Revelation 2:10.
Previewing Week 10 of A Voice in the Wind
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
Rivers does not allow us to romanticize the suffering of early Christians — she makes it concrete and personal, asking us to feel the weight of what it actually cost people to bear the name of Christ in Rome.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.How does Rivers depict the Roman persecution of Christians? What specific mechanisms of oppression does she portray, and how does she humanize the people subjected to them — refusing to reduce them to abstract martyrs?
2.Peter writes: 'Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you' (1 Peter 4:12). How does Hadassah process the suffering she witnesses and faces? Does she seem surprised by it? What has prepared her — or failed to prepare her?
3.The Roman state persecuted Christians not primarily for theological reasons but because Christians refused to participate in the civic religion that held the empire together. How does this help you understand why genuine Christian faith is inherently countercultural — not because Christians seek conflict, but because the lordship of Christ creates unavoidable friction with any system that demands ultimate allegiance?
a.What contemporary systems or institutions demand a kind of ultimate allegiance that conflicts with Christ's lordship?
b.How do you navigate that friction in your own life?