Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mennonite nonresistance vs MLK/civil rights non-violence

http://www.mennolink.org/doc/cof/art.22.html

Article 22. Peace, Justice, and Nonresistance

We believe that peace is the will of God. God created the world in peace, and God's peace is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the whole world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ in the way of peace, doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance even in the face of violence and warfare.
Although God created a peaceable world, humanity chose the way of unrighteousness and violence. 1 The spirit of revenge increased, and violence multiplied, yet the original vision of peace and justice did not die. 2 Prophets and other messengers of God continued to point the people of Israel toward trust in God rather than in weapons and military force. 3

The peace God intends for humanity and creation was revealed most fully in Jesus Christ. A joyous song of peace announced Jesus' birth. 4 Jesus taught love of enemies, forgave wrongdoers, and called for right relationships. 5 When threatened, he chose not to resist, but gave his life freely. 6 By his death and resurrection, he has removed the dominion of death and given us peace with God. 7 Thus he has reconciled us to God and has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. 8

As followers of Jesus, we participate in his ministry of peace and justice. He has called us to find our blessing in making peace and seeking justice. We do so in a spirit of gentleness, willing to be persecuted for righteousness' sake. 9 As disciples of Christ, we do not prepare for war, or participate in war or military service. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus also empowers us to love enemies, to forgive rather than to seek revenge, to practice right relationships, to rely on the community of faith to settle disputes, and to resist evil without violence. 10

Led by the Spirit, and beginning in the church, we witness to all people that violence is not the will of God. We witness against all forms of violence, including war among nations, hostility among races and classes, abuse of children and women, violence between men and women, abortion, and capital punishment.

We give our ultimate loyalty to the God of grace and peace, who guides the church daily in overcoming evil with good, who empowers us to do justice, and who sustains us in the glorious hope of the peaceable reign of God

There are many contrastst that could be made; but first I would point out that ultimately the Civil Rights movement was not non-violent. The "sanctified-violence" of the centralized federal government was invoked by King to bring justice to and for his people in the south. It was bayonets and rifles that won the day for MLK.

The Mennonites are an interesting contrast; understanding of course that there are various different tuypes of Mennonites.

I have some good Mennonite friends.

But..... given their dedication to peace and harmony....... I can't figure why A town the size of Seminole Tx needs SIX different Mennonite Churches.

'Infighting'...?

There are many sects of Mennonites. The Amish are the most radically conservative, then they range to very liberal. Around here we have 2 churches. One allows the people to wear normal clothes, etc. The other dresses their women in those horrible sack dresses with hair buns and the men all have beards and wear plain clothes.

I have two very good friends who became Mennonite. I got to studying them because of their conversations with me. Anabaptists were slaughtered all over Europe by the tens of thousands, by Catholic and Calvinist. They were some of the bravest and most faithful Christians to ever live since the times of the Apostles. I admire them very much.

I cannot swear off on total non-resistance because I think there is a lawful time for good men to bear arms. But on the other hand I think serious Christians should in fact have a bent towards peace and non-violence.

I need to visit with my Mennonite friend a bit more! Never inquired enough to become "eddicated", and should.

http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/govt-challenging-pastor-beaten-in-brutal-attack/?cat_orig=faith

Mennonite pastor beaten by communists in Vietnam.

Do the MLK worshippers in USA know or care?

I have thought about the non-violence issue a lot and I can't say I understand it. On the one hand, Jesus taught us to forgive and turn the other cheek, yet on the other, Moses and God's people spent years fighting various tribes and nations in search of Caanan, and once they found it, it was occupied and they had to forcibly annihilate the inhabitants to take it over.

I am not sure how this squares with the Mennonite idea's of non-violence. I have no problem with the Mennonites being non-violent; hell, if the whole world followed their beliefs we wouldn't have all the wars and violence that we currently have, but I believe they base their views on a few select passages in the bible and not its entirety.

Gene - looks like Rock Chuck said a good part of it. Some earlier folks in my lineage were anabaptist types (Schwenkfelders) who fled Saxony and settled in Pennsylvania near lots of other "Mennonite" groups. The mentioned hierarchy of strictures in dress/etc. seems to have developed to enable keeping folks in the general fold even though some outward expressions/behaviors could vary.

A few years ago, while hunting elk in a wild canyon out in the Pelonas, I met a lone cowboy on horseback accompanied by his dog - looking for strays. We talked a while - stayed in touch - became friends. He had left his family's long-time Mennonite congregation in Ohio to stay with relatives in Oregon in a less strict environment, and eventually made a break from that circle. The church back home excommunicated him.

He learned horses, learned cattle, landed on a big/prosperous ranch out here where they treasure him as a hand. He sure does live the core Mennonite values and has taught me a bunch about the ways of those folks. Eventually he courted and married a fine Christian daughter of a local vet. Several of his brothers/sisters from back East came for the wedding weekend and Maddy and I had some visit here. Wonderful people, and they treated him very lovingly. They have their own ways of dealing with the things of this world.

Mennonite farmers have been pulling out of Chihuahua southeast of us and moving up to our little part of the world, driven out by the drug cartels. The cartels have been taking over their farms and appropriating their machinery, often at gunpoint. They are using these farming operations to launder cash.

The Mennonite farmers have bought up most of the vacant farmland and unused water rights in the Animas Valley north of us. All of the old abandoned farm buildings and cotton gins have been or are being torn down. Fields which have grown nothing but weeds and mesquite shrubs for over forty years are now plowed and planted. Rusting farm machinery has been replaced by rows of new John Deere farm implements. Irrigation wells are pumping again.

I, for one, am glad to see them settling in and prospering. They seem to be good neighbors.

Some of the more conservative Mennonite groups either have church schools or home school their kids through the 8th grade. Then school ends and they start learning a trade. We have lots of Mennonite craftsmen around here and they're known for quality work and fair prices.