Mennonite
Central
Committee

Anabaptist beliefs and peacemaking

Today's Mennonites are rooted in the radical wing of the 16th century reformation that called itself Anabaptist. Anabaptists believed that faith must be expressed in daily living and found inspiration and guidance in Christ's teachings, love, service and nonviolence.

They observed that the early church, until the reign of Constantine, was pacifist and did not participate in nor support the military.

Core beliefs of the early Anabaptists included:

• Voluntary membership, adult believer's baptism
• Discipleship, following Christ in all aspects of life
• Community and participation in mutual support
• Stewardship of all God's gifts, with simplicity as a lifestyle
• Love as the central directing element in all relationships, including a concern for human need and the enemy
• Rejection of violence, military service and war

 

In 1539 Menno Simons, an early Anabaptist leader, said:

The regenerated do not go to war nor engage in strife. They are the children of peace who have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and know of no war.... Since we are to be conformed to Christ, how can we then fight our enemies with the sword?

These radical beliefs and behavior resulted in suffering and martyrdom for Anabaptist men and women. Many were persecuted by the official church and the state.

In 1569 Dirk Willems, an early Dutch Anabaptist, translated the theology of "loving the enemy" and "overcoming evil with good" into harsh reality when he turned back to rescue his government pursuer who had fallen through the ice. Willems was later burned at the stake. Anabaptists responded to intense persecution by debating, hiding and migrating. Those who were tortured and killed often sang hymns as they suffered. Where possible, Anabaptists built strong, caring communities whose members ministered to each other's needs and reached out to help people beyond their own communities.

During the American Revolution, American Mennonite minister, Benjamin Hershey, wrote in a petition to the Pennsylvania legislature:

We have dedicated ourselves to serve...in everything that can be helpful to the preservation of lives, but we find no freedom in giving or doing or assisting in anything by which lives are destroyed or hurt.

The North American Mennonite church became known as one of the three historic peace churches that refuse military service, care for war sufferers and refugees, and work for justice. The Church of the Brethren and Quakers are also historic peace churches.