War, Peace and Nonresistance: A Classic Statement of a Mennonite Peace Position in Faith and Practice

Rating:
Summary: A Great study of the Christian Peace position/history....
Review: My own religion is is in such a strange, sad state today...Why are so many Amercian evangelical, so-called "fundamentalist" Christians in America so supportive of the their country's violent and worldy war machine? Why is it that so many of the very people that claim to live by the highest moral standard are all to willing to set aside ALL moral and ethical boundaries for the sake of patriotism and "winning the battle"? Why is it that so many who claim to follow Jesus Christ hold his commands to "overcome evil with good" and "turn the other cheek" in utter contempt? Why is the flag-waving mainstream Christianity of today so different from that of the peaceful, forgiving, nonviolent first-century Church founded by Christ and his apostles? Well, the answers to these questions may not be easy to take for some, but "War, Peace, and Nonresistance" (a classic book from Mennonite writer/theologian Guy F. Hershberger, originally published in 1944 and revised several times over the years) goes a long, long way towards showing where modern Christianity has gone wrong...and how with a some work, it could get back to its roots! Through a very careful and EXREMELY THOROUGH study of Old and New Testament scriptures, early Church & cultural history, and sound theological ideals, Hershberger builds a most convicing case for for the validity (and even neccessity) of Biblical Christian pacifism/nonresistance. Hershberger gives the historical timeline of early Christianity's pacifist/nonresitant roots, and the eventual, progressive disintigration of those roots at the hands of Augustine, Constantine, and others who sought to "militarize" Christians and sever them from the heart of Christ's moral teachings (often for reasons that can best be described as "self-serving"). A particularly interesting section deals with writings from some early-Church fathers (Origen, Tertullian, Arnobius, etc.) which state the first century-Church's peaceful position quite clearly. Being that the author is a proud Mennonite, there is also much history given of the Mennonite Church and it's bold and valiant efforts to return Christianity to it's nonviolent roots (in fact, the subtitle of this book is "A classic statement of a Mennonite peace position in faith and practice"), but it is the Chapters dealing directly with Christ's teaching & the first-century Church that will likely set many modern "fundamentalists" to question the teachings of their own denomination. There is also plenty of History given on "concientious objection" in America, and the moral/legal ordeals of the nonviolent Christian in draft/wartime. The most disturbing section of the book comes when we learn of the American Government's treatment of Christian pacifists during World War One. Why is it that a supposedly "Christian nation" sentenced 503 men to prison sentences of up to 30 years (143 of them recieved LIFE-SENTENCES!) for simply following the Biblical teachings of nonviolence? Granted, our Goverment often gives these sort of sentences to those who kill...but by what logic should they be given to those who DON'T kill, who REFUSE to kill, those who (by their own beliefs, actions, and moral convictions) pose no physical harm to anyone or anything??? Perhaps the saddest story is that of four WW1-era Christian concientious objectors (Mennonite brothers Joseph, Michael, and David Hofer, and a draftie named Jacob Wipf) who were sentenced to 20 years in a Miltary prison for refusing to participate in military service on religious grounds. Instead of 20 years confinement these four men were cruely tortured, starved, abused, and violated by American soldiers over several months time - until the day that Joseph and Michael were rushed to the hospital...and were soon pronounced dead. Anyone who does not see the contradiction between service to Christ and service in the Military should really consider the moral, ethical (and even legal) implications of cases like that of the Hofer Brothers. In various chapters Hershberger answers almost every critisism, comment, and concern that could be raised by those who want their Christianity served with a side-dish of militarism - and he does an excellent job of debunking and deconstructing their arguments in light of the New Testament scriptures, and Jesus Christ's teaching in particular. Perhaps most interesting of all, Hershberger gives a detailed and solid explaination of the apparent disparity between what many Bible-students see as the harsh "wrathful God" of the Old Testament, and the forgiving "God of love" in the New Testament" - his thesis is deeply-considered,...and to complex to explain in this brief review! Any criticisms? Well, as the original version was written in 1944, this book may throw-off modern readers because it does not cover more recent devolopments in warfare (such as nuclear weapons, "smart bombs", etc.) Also, sometimes because of it's footnote-heavy historical/scriptural nature this book can have a bit of that "clinical" feel of a college textbook (and far too many pages are devoted to the subject of non-Military "Civilian Services" that the Mennonite's helped to found) - but as a sorce of study and contemplation for the nonvilolent disciple of Christ, this book is indespensible, and really does deserve to be called a "classic"! I especially found the extensive "Appendix" section at the end of the book helpful for study purposes. All in all, in just over 400 pages (but using suprisingly plain, easy-to-digest language) Hershberger gives us a history/theology lesson that once read...is hard to forget!