My wife and I were invited to dinner with a Mennonite family. The father, Ron Hess, had read my book Finding Faith in a Skeptical World and invited us over to discuss it.
The family belongs to a religious community that produces fine furniture and custom kitchens. In the summer they grow produce to sell at a roadside stand. They also have a church and operate a school for their children.
The women dress in ankle length cotton dresses and wear finely woven white coverings over hair that's worn in a bun, while the men wear unassuming shirts and pants. They speak with a distinctive accent and are unfailingly polite and friendly.
After the meal Ron suggested we sing, and a wave of enthusiasm swept from one end of the table to the other. The kids dived for hymn books stored on a shelf under the table and shouted out numbers. "Let's do #399!" "How about #425?"
Ron picked one, and a pitch pipe appeared in his oldest son's hand. He played a note, everyone hummed, and they sang. Each had a part, each had a unique sound and they sang in practiced harmony.
They sounded great, and we were blown away by their musical talent, mutual love and Christian faith.
It stirs my heart and it makes my life glow;
Gives meaning to life as onward I go
#377, The Wonder of Love
Sitting alongside the pond watching his barefooted children play, I asked Ron if they had a TV.
"No."
"Radio?"
"No."
"How do you get the news?"
"What news would I want to hear?"
I'd welcome the call from on high;
There's nothing can hold me, no money nor home
#399, I'm Longing to Go
The three-room school has three teachers who provide instruction through tenth grade to around 20 pupils. Throughout their education, they place in the top 10% of the state comprehensive assessment exam and handily pass the General Equivalency Diploma test at the end. Christian values are central to this education and it results in focused students unadulterated by the distractions found in public schools.
As the life of a flower,
Be our lives pure and sweet
#386, As The Life of a Flower
Ron and I agreed on the issues we discussed except for one, and he warned me his was a radical view before explaining it. He believes in non-resistance, which means he responds to aggressiveness by praying for the well-being of the perpetrator and never, ever, reacts with force or retribution. It's characteristic of a sect that distances itself from secularists by refusing combatant military service - historically being jailed for it - and declining even to vote in elections.
This kind, gentle, smart man knows what he thinks and why. And I do believe he's got the strength to live up to his convictions. It's an extraordinary thing made possible by the closeness he's had with God his entire life.
Dinner was at 6:30 and we planned to leave at 8:30 so I could make a business appointment at 9:00. But we lost track of time and said quick goodbyes at 8:50.
My wife drove so I could put the light on, find a phone number, grab my cell phone, call to apologize for running late, and sit in not-so-quiet-exasperation at Lisa's not driving fast enough. I met the client, outlined the deal, got some papers signed and later worked on the computer.
It had taken less than 5 minutes to morph back to "normal" and become distracted enough to put the Hesses in the back of my mind.
Ron Hess and his family know God intimately because they see Him all the time. The rest of us are so wrapped up in incessant, ultimately meaningless activity that most of us see Him through a gauze filter.
And we don't even know it.
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Interesting story. There are some things about the Mennonites that are commendable. However, what if they saw someone being mugged or some other physical assault. Would they try to stop it? If one sees another person under duress in such a way it is incumbent upon them to stop such malicious activity so 1) the victim is removed from the situation and 2) so the perpetrator is brought to justice. Turning the other cheek is not about simple non-violence. It sounds great until you think of the destruction brought about by humans on other humans throughout the centuries. One can take this position when they do not value human life the way God does. I commend them for some things but shame on them for pacifism; it is not a biblical doctrine.
ReplyDeleteI harbor the same view as you, which is why Ron and I disagreed on the issue. But you have to respect the depth of their convictions. When I asked about particular instances, he mentioned one from the previous week in another part of the country, where a Mennonite man was taken from his car, robbed and beaten with a pipe. He didn't resist. The perpetrators were caught and the state is pressing charges, but the victim won't pursue it.
ReplyDeleteTheir view is that you could stop a gunman by getting in the way, disarming him if possible, and maybe even sacrificing yourself. But they would never do harm to the assailant. Of course, this wouldn't deter a determined attacker.
The subject of Christian self-defense is discussed in the post of 7/15/09 titled "Christian Gunslingers."