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A Christian
Declaration on Peace, War, and Military Service, 1953
Introduction
Central
Affirmations
Scriptural
Authority
Scriptural
Principles Applied to Life
Application
to Military Service
Conclusion
Introduction
"We believe that war is altogether contrary to the teaching
and spirit of Christ and the Gospel; that therefore war is sin."
Thus spoke representatives of the General Conference Mennonite
Church, meeting at Souderton, Pennsylvania, August 17-22, 1941.
The world was just then beginning to experience the full tragedy
of the most devastating war in history. The armistice, which
concluded World War II, ushered in an era which has been one
not of peace but of the sword. Among the most grievous conflicts
of our day is the deeply embedded ideological and power struggle
between East and West. Today the world is haunted by fear of
future war.
In this moment of world history
we wish humbly to acknowledge anew the total claim of Jesus Christ
in our lives individually and jointly. We pray that our brotherhood
might achieve a new unity of conviction concerning the Gospel
teachings of love, peace, and nonresistance. We pray also that
many outside our Conference may be led to respond to the call
of Christ and to a life of nonresistance. To this end we submit
this declaration on peace, war, and military service.
Central
Affirmations
Our convictions concerning the way of love and peace are shared
with Christians in many communions because these beliefs are
rooted in the great essentials of the Christian Gospel. We appreciate
the mutual encouragement this wider fellowship has afforded.
We share with other Mennonite branches the conviction that the
doctrine of love, peace, and nonresistance is of Christ's and
not of man's making. We join in the reaffirmation of the inter-Mennonite
peace statement issued in 1950 at Winona Lake, Indiana, as follows:
It is our faith that one is our
Master, even Christ, to whom alone supreme loyalty and obedience
is due, who is our only Savior and Lord.
It is our faith that by the renewing grace of God which makes
us new creatures in Christ, and alone thereby, we can through
the power of the indwelling Spirit live the life of holy obedience
and discipleship to which all the sons of God are called, for
His grace does forgive and heal the penitent sinner and brings
us to a new life of fellowship with Him and with one another.
It is our faith that redeeming love is at the heart of the Gospel,
coming from God and into us to constrain us to love Him and our
neighbor, and that such love must henceforth be at the center
of every thought and act.
It is our faith that Christ has established in His church a universal
community and brotherhood within which the fullness of Christ's
reign must be practiced, into which the redeemed must be brought,
and from which must go out into all human society the saving
and healing ministry of the Gospel.
It is our faith that the life of love and peace is God's plan
for the individual and the race, and that therefore discipleship
means the abandonment of hatred, strife and violence in all human
relations, both individual and social.
Scriptural
Authority
Our convictions concerning peace and war grow out of our understanding
of the Bible as the infallible Word of God, believing that God
has revealed himself supremely in Jesus Christ and that all Scripture
must be interpreted in the light of this revelation. The term
"nonresistance," which has traditionally characterized
our biblical peace position, is derived from the admonition of
our Lord: "Resist not evil" (Matt. 5:39). Nonresistance
is an expression of Christian love and emphasizes that which
love refrains from doing as it encounters evil. The pages of
Scripture are written large with the divine judgment upon resistance,
war, and hatred. For example:
Matt. 26:52 "Put up again thy sword into his place; for
all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
John 18:36 "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight."
Rom. 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather
give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine;
I will repay, saith the Lord."
II Tim. 3:24 "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but
be gentle unto all men."
I Peter 3:8, 9 "Be ye all of one mind, having compassion
one for another ... not rendering evil for evil, or railing for
railing."
James 4:1 "From whence come wars and fightings among you,
come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"
II Cor. 10:4 "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal."
Rom. 12:21 "Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil
with good."
Christian love is essentially positive. Jesus admonishes us to
love others as God loves us: "As the Father hath loved me,
so have I loved you; continue ye in my love" (John 15:9);
"This is my commandment; that ye love one another, as I
have loved you" (John 15:12). If God loved us while we were
his enemies, we must love our earthly enemies.
Matt. 5:44-45 "Love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven."
Rom. 12:20 "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,
give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire
on his head."
Matt. 7:12 "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them."
Rom. 12:18 "Live peaceably with all men."
Matt. 6:14 "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you."
Matt. 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers."
I Cor. 13:13 "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love."
All these words concerning nonresistance, reconciliation and
ways of overcoming evil were brought to living fulfillment in
Jesus Himself, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us
an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled,
reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not"
(I Peter 2:21-23). Not only did Christ reveal in His life, death,
and resurrection His way of nonresistant suffering and triumphant,
reconciling love, but also the whole tenor of the Gospel manifests
this theme. The atoning cross of Christ in the center of human
history stands also for the acceptance of suffering, the sacrifice
of self, the outpouring of love, and the complete surrender of
life to the ministry of redemption for others. As disciples of
the Cross we are called to a life of nonresistance and peacemaking:
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
Scriptural
Principles Applied to Life
These peace principles--rooted in the Gospel of Christ--have
been cherished by our fathers and forefathers through more than
four centuries of faith and obedience. We are penitent because
we today embody so imperfectly that glorious heritage of high
commitment which was wrought out of the fires of sacrifice, persecution,
and martyrdom. Conscious that all members of our congregations
are not of a single mind on these issues, we humbly present our
convictions on how the love of Christ does lead us unitedly to
seek living expression in our total relationship to others.
We believe that the way of nonresistance
and peacemaking finds its true source in a soul that is at peace
with God; and we pray that "the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding" may abide in our hearts and minds and
imbue all our relations with our fellow men.
We believe that the way of reconciling love should find its first
expression in the intimate relationships of home, and that from
here these relationships should extend to the church, school,
community, and vocation. We confess that we have too often been
found wanting in the Christian graces of love, forgiveness, patience,
and peacemaking. We hearken to the admonition of the Apostle
Paul: "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you"
(Eph. 4:32).
We believe that Christian love knows none of the artificial barriers
of race and class. The disciple of Christ loves and ministers
to all men. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free...for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal.
3:28). We would humbly seek deliverance from the prejudices which
continue to erode our souls.
We believe that strife and wars are born of the selfishness and
greed of individuals, groups, and nations. (James 4:1). We invoke
divine aid that we might be emancipated from a covetous passion
for material gain and that we might be sensitive and responsive
to the basic needs and wishes of our neighbors both near and
far. We acknowledge the summons of Christ to transform all our
economic and social relationships with the spirit of love.
We believe that we are called to minister through the spoken
and the written word and in loving deeds to those who suffer
and live in want. With thankfulness to God for channels of service,
we pledge our labors in missions and relief, reconstruction and
resettlement, voluntary service and disaster work, and other
programs of the Conference and the Mennonite Central Committee.
In all these voluntary works of love to suffering humanity we
pray that everything may be done "in the name of Christ."
Seeking for all men first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
we must embrace in one united ministry the evangelism which brings
men to Christ and the creative application of the Gospel to cultural,
social, and material needs.
We believe that God has established the state in its place of
authority and we express gratitude to our respective governments
for making legal provision for the expression of Christian conscience.
We pledge prayers of intercession for our governments and promise
to live lives of usefulness and moral integrity.
We believe, however, that when instances arise where the demands
of the state run counter to the authority of God, we must declare
with Peter that "We ought to obey God rather than men"
(Acts 5:29).
We believe that even toward the monstrous evils of such totalitarian
systems as secular Communism the Christian Gospel has a positive
word: Christ's followers meet their enemies in the spirit of
Christian love. Our warfare must be spiritual, "overcoming
evil with good."
This leads us to the conviction with which we began, that war
is altogether contrary to the teaching and spirit of Christ and
the Gospel. War is sin. If we profess the principle of peace
and nevertheless engage in warfare and strife, we as Christians
become guilty of sin and fall under the condemnation of Christ,
"the righteous judge."
We are deeply concerned that some of our fellowship when confronted
with the issue have not found themselves in full accord with
the official church position and have accepted or endorsed some
form of military service. However, as a church and as individuals
we assure them of our continued love and prayers thereby "endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ... till
we all come in the unity of the faith ...." (Eph. 4:3, 13)
Application
to Military Service
In the light of the foregoing statements of belief and in the
sincere desire to stand with Christ, the Prince of Peace, we
cannot approve military service in any form. Our position leads
us to the following convictions:
We are constrained of Christ
to take no part in warfare or military service as combatants
or as noncombatants because both forms of service have as their
ultimate military end the impairment and destruction of life
or property of our fellow men.
We cannot with clear conscience apply our labor, money or material
resources for the furtherances of military ends. For example,
we cannot remain true to our peace witness if we purchase war
bonds or work in defense industries.
We cannot serve under civilian organizations if their purposes
are diverted to military objectives.
We declare it unchristian to share in wartime propaganda, hysteria,
and mass hatred and revenge.
We are aware that as laborers, employers, farmers, professional
people, and property holders we benefit from the inflationary
values of wartime. We therefore hold ourselves morally responsible
to share generously these monetary gains for the relief of human
suffering and the spread of the Gospel.
If we reject military service, it follows that we can have no
part in any form of peacetime or wartime preparation for that
service--such as training in schools and colleges or participating
in other forms of scientific, educational or cultural programs
designed to contribute to military purposes.
We continue to witness against universal military conscription
with its injurious effects on the moral fibre of men and nations.
Because we cannot support military conscription in any form we
seek to find alternative patterns of service that both satisfy
and transcend the demands of the state. We pledge ourselves to
the sacrificial support of these alternative services.
If war does come again with all its possible terrors of destructiveness,
bombing, atomic blasts, bacteriological warfare, poison gas--we
declare our readiness to serve sacrificially to save and restore
life but not to destroy it. In the light of our above statements
it follows, however, that we cannot serve in civilian defense
programs if they are under military direction, designed to fulfill
military objectives.
Conclusion
We humbly confess our inadequacies in fully understanding and
faithfully living the abundant life of love and peace which Jesus
taught us. We are aware of the gulf which separates our official
conference position and our individual practice; nevertheless,
we press on in the hope of having each member drawn into a close,
personal, living relationship of Jesus Christ. We believe that,
with God's grace, our fellowship will be revived in the ways
of love, peace and nonresistance if we yield ourselves in an
unqualified discipleship to Christ, earnestly search the Scriptures,
diligently educate our children, build churches that are consecrated
brotherhoods, permeate our communities with Christian patterns
of living, and move forward in a mighty thrust of teaching, preaching,
healing and service.
To the Christians of all communions we affirm that our Lord is
pleading with his Church for a break with war and that He is
calling His children to a life of love, nonresistance and peacemaking
in Christ. We appeal to all men to search reverently the Scriptures,
to respond affirmatively to the claims of Christ, and to be colaborers
with Christ in the blessed ministry of reconciliation of man
to God and man to his fellow man. AMEN.
The Position of the General Conference Mennonite
Church on love and nonresistance as adopted at Portland, Oregon,
August 22, 1953.
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