Questions from Listeners

Speakers have answered a few questions. If you'd like to answer questions/read the answers, use our e-mail discussion on MennoLink.peace.d. See http://peace.mennolink.org/emaillists.html

Another way to seek your own answers: Try putting key words from your question in our search engine to find articles already on the website.

We might have time to provide more answers. Check back!

General writing/worship materials on Christian Citizenship: scroll all the way down!

Is the Peace Tax movement still alive? Is this a time to get a grassroots movement restarted to resist by not paying a portion of taxes and instead put that "blood money" into peaceful, constructive purposes?

During Charlotte 2005, Thursday, July 7, Mennonites will be invited to take a stand for life and against war. "Proclaiming truth and healing" will include talks, singing and prayer walks, along with a chance to make a public commitment to peacemaking. One of the commitments will be withholding a portion of war taxes. http://peace.mennolink.org/resources/gathering2005/2005flyer.pdf Hope you can join us!

In the meantime, here is an update on the National Campaign for a Peace Tax. http://www.peacetaxfund.org/

"When Jesus road on a donkey into Jerusalem, the place of power he cleansed was the temple. How do we hold in tension the peace work that must be done in our congregations with the prophetic call to our government? Since we live in a culture of violence, what must we keep aware of locally while working globally? What are the most effective ways to relate to government?"

"The ideology or should I say lifestyle of Pacifism developed at a time before weapons capable of killing thousands at once and the threat of biological and nuclear warfare existed. How has the presence of these modern threats changed the tenets of pacifism within the Mennonite Church? What is the current view on the use of physical force or restraint as a preventive measure to avoid the loss of potentially thousands of lives?

'Is the role of state and church different? Are there things that the state is ordained to do that the church cannot participate in? For example, use of the sword for protection and even punishment?'

How to deal with, where it talks about in the Bible, especially in Romans 13, authorities/government leaders having the sword and being God's servant to bring justice in the world and to punish those who do wrong. How do we deal with that? Is it godly for someone to be a policemen or someone who will use force? I see that as being God's servant.

'What should be our objectives in our call to a secular state, and non-Christian rulers in a secular state, in making known to them the Christian ethic? Can we call them to live by a Christian ethic? If so, what is our basis for the call, and what is their basis for living by it? Is it a matter of rulers being made aware that they will some day need to answer to God for what they did? Is it a matter of such people realizing the fear of God? 2)Did the Swiss Brethren express a view at Schleitheim about the responsibilities of non-Christian rulers to protect their home country? Did the Swiss Brethren hold any views about non-Christian rulers defending their own citizens if it meant going into another sovereign state? Do we have insight for what non-Christian rulers may be allowed to do today, from a Scriptural standpoint?'

'Do you believe fear is the root of all war? Or would you say greed is a cause and a quite separate aspect of the human character, unrelated to a foundational fear?'

'There are a good number of two-kingdom nonresistant pacifists among the Mennonite Church membership, pacifist Christians who do not assume that is probable or even desirable that the state totally disarm or adopt nonviolence as its only norm. What message does the church have for the nonresistant pacifist?'

'I am a pastor at Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Maryland. In the months leading up to the Iraq war, people from our congregation held up peace signs and anti-war signs along the busy highway in front of our church. I was surprised that for some of our people, this was the first time they had ever protested anything our government did and were somewhat anxious about doing so. I came realize that this is a historic Mennonite tension, that is, directly confronting government leaders. How would you encourage pastors to help people, steeped in this part of Mennonite tradition, to see that visible protest or opposition to government war-making policies is consistent with following Jesus as peacemakers?

By accepting the notion of an "age of terrorism" as the rationale for our country being "a nation at war," and framing our deliberations that way, I wonder how much we are already conceding to the Powers that rule us, before we even begin.

'Now that the official "war" in Iraq seems to be ending, and elections/new government formation is in process, how do we understand as Mennonite Christians the continuance of the American military in Iraq? Is it a realistically needed role for some time yet, as even many political leaders who are against the war say? Now that the invasion and war already tragically happened, what do we have to say at this point to our leaders about future direction? Personally, I struggle with feeling paralyzed on this issue, and with how to mobilize a congregation toward making a meaningful difference.

'Letters to the editor in our local paper have become a way for conservative evangelicals and Anabaptists to speak to each other. At times an Anabaptist will invite the other person to have breakfast to learn to know each other. In the long run, is a letter to the editor a wise method of witness? If one is concerned about citizens holding the administration responsible for its shenanigans and one lays out facts about what the administration has been doing, is this a wise way to witness? What ways do you suggest?'

'In the context of our concerns, how critical are the 2006 congressional elections?'

'How can we help our congregations develop a global perspective regarding security that addresses debt and poverty issues around the world?'

"Given the historical presence of religious belief as a motivation and/or a support (implicit or explicit) of conflict, how do you (any of the religiously identified panel members) explain the ambiguity inherent in a religious perspective (Christianity) that simultaneously serves as the source of inspiration for both 'peacemakers' and 'war-makers'?"

As Anabaptist Mennonites with an evangelical faith we hold to the centrality of Christ. In saying this, we mean to relate to the whole Jesus, the One who expressed the nature and the will of God in what he said, what he did and what he was. True, he died for our sins, according to the scripture, but he also taught the will of God and that includes loving one's neighbor including one's enemies. If one is truly evangelical he cannot take the life of another when he wants that person to become a brother or sister in Christ, an evangelical can not take the life of one for whom Christ died. Myron Augsburger

'Where are the protest songs? Where is the outrage at our nation's course of action? Why are we silent?'

"Why are our congregations so innocuous and quiet about the war in Iraq? What can we do as pastors and conference leaders to engage our congregations?"

"The Pastors in our church have put off dealing with the issue of peace and Conscientious Objection within our congregation for about three years now. We've been telling them how important it is to give God's word on this issue. They've responded by saying that Peace issues are not their strong suit. Our church is not made of people who grew up in the Mennonite church. I was not raised in a Mennonite church, but I know the need for this ministry. How do I encourage my Pastors to have this ministry in our church and what can I do to help them along the way? "My name is Yvette Coil and my husband's name is Tim Coil. Tim filed as a Conscientious Objector during the first Gulf War. It was because of a few Mennonites who passed out fliers at the Army base in Germany where my husband was stationed, that we learned about how God felt about war and peace. We now attend Aurora Mennonite Church and are more than willing to share our story, or help in any way we can to share God's message with others. If there is anything we can do to further the message of Mennonite Church USA peace and justice work please let us know.

'What do we do when we have church leadership that will not respect our nonresistance stand and aloud nonresistance to be preached and taught in our Mennonite Churches and membership classes.'

'Beyond teaching and preaching, are there suggestions for activities that Pastors/Church leadership should be initiating to put flesh to our peace witness in the community?'

I'm a Lutheran (hence, an "outsider"), but I have been reading some Mennonite/Amish history, originally for genealogy, but with renewed interest since the lead-up to Iraq because of its historical "non-state church" convictions and its "non-retaliation/peace" commitment. I know the church press of my own denomination has carried numerous articles, reports, and letters decidedly favoring the war. There were perhaps a few modest hints of dissent, but the "patiotism" side was most explicit. While disappointing to me, this was not unexpected because of its historical "state church" (now replaced by what seems like a "cultural church"), let's say "attitude." I write here, not to criticize but to say I was startled and disappointed to see "divisions within [Mennonite] congregations" as one of the topics in the forthcoming discussion. From (perhaps a naive) outsider's point of view, the full weight of Mennonite history would be on the side of non-resistance (let alone pre-emptive action). On what Scriptural grounds does the "dissenter" within the "dissenting community" stand? You need not feel obliged to address this question explicitly. Perhaps your segment of the discussion was intended to address just such a question. I am grateful for the entire discussion and look forward to it. Thank you.

As Anabaptist Mennonites we are committed to the way of nonviolence in our expression of the dynamic of peace toward all. Peace is the extension of the love of Christ who came "preaching peace" (J.H.Yoder's book). Our position is one of nonresistance which calls us to take a position of conscientious objection to participation in war. Many other Christian groups take the position of so called `Just War', but are inconsistent in that they rarely speak to a war being unjust.( See J.H.Yoder's book done for the Lutherans, When War is Unjust, and note the Forward by the Lutheran minister, Clarence Lutz agreeing that if this theory were carried out it would mean being a `Selective Conscientious Objector' in an unjust war.) We don't expect everyone to accept our position on pacifism, nor do we expect the government to take our position, therefore we really witness to government officials to live up to the highest level of their own claims, that is, `just war' claims. Myron Augsburger

As a person who converted into the Mennonite Church, how serious do you think the erosion of peace and nonviolent commitment is in the Mennonite church, and how best can people work to reverse that erosion?

'What are some useful tools or ways to facilitate dialogue among members of our congregation who do not share a total commitment to peace (are in support of the war in Iraq)?'

'Any suggestions to those Christians who take up passionately, but less than peacefully, an attitude of picketing, fight the system, or hate mail to the government, on the right to life issues of our day? Such as abortion issues, and the Terri Schiavo case.'

'You recently proposed a church-wide 5 year sabbatical from partisan politics. How can this proposal be communicated throughout the North American Anabaptist groups, and how can we use this common experience to align our separate congregations more closely with God's will?'

'What are some of the uniting themes for theological conservatives and progressives to join together in opposition to further war in Iraq?'

I don't think there are accurate numbers on who voted for Bush vs Kerry. How do we talk about peace in such a way that it doesn't turn into Bush bashing and alienation of those who voted for Bush.

Why has the non resistant peace position of the historic peace churches not been more attractive to other main stream and especially bible based independent churches? The sermon on the mount and Jesus' final days speaks so clearly against using military force.

What about peace between Christians? This is the biggest issue for me as a new Mennonite in an ecumenical Christian student scene. The Reformed worry that our 16th-century peace ideas are contaminated with the pacifism of 19th-century post-enlightenment humanism and the rejection of the sovereignty of God. The Catholics worry that the Anabaptists' rejection of tradition, even corrupted tradition, is a harmful severance from our historical roots, especially given the many spurious claims to be "returning to the ways of the early church", that are ignorant of the intervening history. And, of course, politically conservative Christians raise very persuasive objections about human responsibility to punish evil, a side of justice to which it is hard for us to speak. What are Mennonites doing to build bridges with Reformed, Conservative, and Catholic Christians?

'I belong to a Mennonite church, but I find the doctrinal emphasis of Anabaptists on "Peace" to be somewhat redundant theologically. I feel that all Christian values flow out naturally from the two greatest commandments pointed out by Jesus. All values exist in subordination to and are measured by Love for God and neighbor. Why single out peace and tag it on to church doctrine? While Love, the heart of God and commandment of Jesus, is unchangeable since the beginning of creation, Peace is but one of the expressions of that Love and is probably bound by historical circumstances. Doesn't raising peace to the level of church doctrine risk idolizing peace and theoretically ex-communicating other Christians who might feel called under certain circumstances, and after much prayerful consideration, to use an amount of lethal or non-lethal violence to prevent much greater harm to person, society or civilization? I don't have an answer to that frankly, but this is a thought to share nonetheless.'

Can the Menno Peace Witness be used as a tool for evangelism? How? Ideas please. (Don't most Mennos hide this light under their baskets because they think peace is not attractive to outsiders.)

'How can Christian peacemakers speak from the heart of the gospel to our Christian and non-Christian neighbors without being dismissed as partisan political dimwits who don't understand "terrorism"?'

We do not claim that the church can answer every problem but one of the greater things we do is to maintain our integrity in society. Any society will be the better for the presence of the Church when the church is more than institution to actually be a community of disciples of Christ.

Our approach to the tensions and and terrorism in society is to be realists about the teachings of Jesus, that "violence only begets violence", and again, "if one smites us on the cheek we should turn the other cheek." This is not a surrender, it is our strategy of operation, for in this act we are free, our action determined by our principles not by what is done to us. This means that we can work at strategies of love in conversation, in refusing any attempt to dominate, in seeking to be my brother's brother, in cultivating mutual respect. In a world of so much problem we should be known for both words of justice and equity but also for practices of sharing with the needy. Our MCC programs are expressions of this commitment and call us to be global citizens.

The church is the one group that could and should be free from a nationalism that tends to politicize all of our action. In turn we should and could be free to be global citizens, caring for the well being of all peoples and sacrificing to that end. Our exploitation or use of the world's resources to the deprivation of others is never acceptable. We are called to be servants of God and thereby servants of others. In doing so we need to serve them as they need to be served in their context. Myron Augsburger

'How do we maintain our heritage of a peace church yet be inviting to new members/visitors who may not be at the same place on peace issues? '

How would you answer someone (especially if she's your mother) who wonders if the Jewish synagogue you visit talks about Jesus Christ as their Savior?

We are continuing to work on resources to invite youth to consider service and not enter the military. Here is a beginning.

'Some are saying that the draft would be good because it would force our congregational members to take a stand on the C.O. position. What are your views? 2.How can we get our pastors to speak more about peace and justice issues and encourage the congregations to get more active.

'If there would be a new draft what would it look like? Who would it entail? And what role would consumer history play in obtaining CO status? (I'm specifically thinking of entertainment patterns: video games, movies, etc)'

'When working with minority youth here in Chicago, I discover that the military often appears the best option for poor youth to escape their gang infested neighborhoods learn some life skills [as well as death skills] which may enable them to get a job in the real world. MCC and various MVS programs offer great life-affirming alternatives for Mennonite youth. Do Mennonite institutions have anything to offer poor non-Mennonite youth as a life-affirming alternative to military service?'

'Why don't we have a stronger connection with other peace organizations, i.e. Veterans for Peace, FCNL, OXFAM, AI, or other similar organizations?'

'How can more congregations find out about the work of CPT?'

'How can we overcome the influence of the popular media, especially TV, in the congregation?'

What are the most reliable media sources for information regarding the situation in Iraq?

'I'm involved in a faith based peace coalition in the Chicago area. We're currently looking to compile a list of speakers or programs to be made available to churches of various denominations on the general topic of "A Beginning Exploration of Peacemaking from a Christian Perspective", sort of 'Peacemaking 101 For Churches'. Are there specific speakers or programs you could recommend? -Thanks.'