Category Archives: Mennonites

Is God Nonviolent?

Leave a reply

It is difficult to think of a more difficult and more important moral issue in our world today than the issue of violence. For Christians, one important foundation issue that directly impacts our understanding of our own use of violence in how we understand God. Is it meaningful to think of God as nonviolent? Here is an essay that examines this question and argues that we can (and, indeed, must, if we hope to overcome the scourge of violence in our world) imagine God as indeed being nonviolent.

Why People Saying “No” to World War II Still Matters

Leave a reply

During World War II, about 12,000 young draftees chose, because of their pacifist convictions, to refuse to go into the military and instead performed alternative service (another 6,000 or so went to prison out of similar convictions).  This made up only a tiny percentage of draftees–pacifism certainly did not carry the day.

However, that little, flickering light of witness continues to be worth reflecting on (as does our society’s continued assumption that this indeed was a “good war”–see Nicholson Baker’s critique of such an assumption in his book, Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, and my reflections on critique).  

Here is a recent article I wrote suggesting that the experience on conscientious objectors in Civilian Public Service (the name of the alternative service program) provides a continually important legacy.

Our confession as Mennonites of Jesus as Lord

Leave a reply

Here is an article I published in 1995 (Gospel Herald) called “No other foundation can anyone lay than is laid: Jesus Christ.” This article was assigned to me as part of a series of articles the magazine ran on the newly formulated Mennonite confession of faith.  I was asked to provide reflections on the article in the Confession on Jesus Christ.

This article takes a narrative approach to christology, linking together our stories as modern people with the gospel story of Jesus. Special attention is paid to Jesus’ death and resurrection–with an emphasis on how those two events point us toward life, toward ethical faithfulness.  The article strikes a consistently positive tone. Only in asking what is not mentioned in the article would one begin to get a sense that this portrayal of the meaning of Jesus is presented as an alternative to christologies that emphasize Jesus’ divinity and his death as a sacrifice needed to satisfy God’s honor (or wrath or holiness).

Pacifism is a gift from God

Leave a reply

The Mennonite tradition is well-known for its rejection of participation in warfare.  This pacifism has many fruitful expressions over the past nearly 500 years.  However, Mennonite pacifism has a shadow side as well. In my article, “Pacifism is a gift from God” (published in the Gospel Herald, February 1, 1994), I reflect on some of the problems with this tradition and propose a strongly grace (rather than obligation) oriented approach to pacifism.

I do believe in pacifism as a core conviction that should be taken seriously by all followers of Jesus (indeed, all human beings). However, we need to think through the motivations for our commitment to nonviolence.  I believe this commitment must ultimately stem from love if it is to be fruitful and sustainable.

Witnessing to Anabaptist faith in American politics

Leave a reply

Are the only alternatives for pacifist Christians in America either to withdraw into separated communities that remain (relatively) free of violence or to bracket their pacifist convictions while engaging in the public arena?  This article, “Anabaptist Faith and American Democracy,” makes the case for a third approach.

This third approach follows from the belief that Jesus’ peaceable social ethics are ultimately meant for the entire world and that the call he has given his followers is to witness to his way to the ends of the earth.  One helpful insight that should encourage American pacifist Christians is an awareness that we live in two Americas, the American republic (which is compatible with pacifism) and the American empire (which is not).  One may oppose the American empire while still embracing (nonviolently) the American republic.

The Anabaptists: what we can learn from their troubles

Leave a reply

The traumas the 16th-century Anabaptists faced due to their core convictions (church free from state control, refusal to support war, rejection of social hierarchies, and non-possessive economics) remain highly instructive, both for helping us understand problematic elements in Mennonite communities and for reminding us of the continuing relevance of those ideals.

This article, “The Anabaptist faith: a living tradition” that was published in The Mennonite (May 2, 2006), reflects on these themes.

Mennonite Pacifism and World War II

Leave a reply

How does one stick to pacifist convictions during war time, especially a war with strong social acceptance? This is the issue Mennonites in the United States faced during World War II. I have written an essay, Civilian Public Service and Mennonite Pacifism, that addresses this question.

I suggest that the key elements in the ability of the young men of draft age to stay faithful to their convictions were the efforts made by their church communities to offer spiritual and material support. About 50% of the Mennonite young men who were drafted performed alternative service (they made up about 40% of all legally recognized conscientious objectors).

Though this was a difficult time for Mennonites in the U.S. in many ways, they emerged from World War II with their sense of identity intact. Many of those who performed alternative service became leaders in the churches in the years following–and exerted a powerful influence in deepening Mennonite pacifist commitments.