Quite a long title huh?
For those that are unfamiliar with groups of Christians that identify themselves as "anabaptist", that group includes the Amish, Mennonites, the Old German Baptist Brethren(O.G.B.B.), the Hutterites, and the various other groups that fall under the name of "Brethren".............and then you have us......Anabaptist Pentecostals.
I've not spoken to any of the other groups about how they look at non-violence except for the O.G.B.B., I expect that the Amish and the Mennonites agree for the most part with their interpretation of scripture.
What they told me is this. That they do not believe in violence and that they abstain from war.
This I can agree with.
Then they elaborated.
They told me that even if someone broke into their home, that they would not offer resistance, even if the invader initiated the rape of their wife.
I try to be agreeable as much as possible, but this was too much for me to handle.
I chalked my disagreement with them up to the fact that I was only then becoming familiar with anabaptists. I figured that there was something in the Word that I had skimmed over and that I needed to find.
So I read the New Testament again, I still did not agree with them.
I can only speculate that the other groups agree with their ideology.
It's been approximately five and a half years since I had that conversation.
Ever since then I have struggled with my partial agreement with them.
I agree that a man should not engage in violence. That violence is evidence of hate, and that those that hate will not enter into heaven.
The Bible tells us to forgive.
I agree that war is not the manner in which the Lord intended for us to resolve our disputes.
But I've always felt strongly that when diplomacy fails, and an individual or group resorts to aggression, that any man or woman has the right and privilege of self-preservation, including self-defense.
A saint of God will not instigate hate, violence, or aggression at any time.
But the other half of the disagreement revolves around the fact that to attain peace, after trying diplomacy, our only resort to neutralize violent aggression may be to utilize aggression ourselves.
When the dust has settled, we have peace.
The next aspect of this line of thought becomes; if we don't resist-is it suicide or martyrdom.
The fact of the matter is it can not be martyrdom if they are not persecuting us for our faith.
A random stranger invading our home has no idea what our faith is unless they ask. Even if we declare our faith at the moment of their attack, our faith will most likely play no role in why they chose us at their target.
If we permit the rape of our spouse, we are as guilty as the rapist.
The word of God calls us to be peace-makers.
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
I desire to be a peacemaker in all that I say and do. Diplomacy is always the first step. Having love towards everyone, our brothers and sisters, is imperative to creating and maintaining a peaceful attitude and atmosphere.
This week I met another Sabbath keeping anabaptist family. We discussed many topics. This issue was discussed. They agreed with me.
The verse the father used to reinforce his point was one that I've mentioned on this blog before. I've never heard it used in this context.
1 Timothy 5:8- But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
I think this is an interesting interpretation of the verse, one that I'm not prone to disagree with.
Providing for our own takes on many different responsibilities, not just financial.
I feel that henceforth my conviction on this matter has been settled, however it didn't require me to compromise. I feel comfortable now about this. However I will continue to pray, and ask Yeshua for his guidance on the matter.
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