Bootstrap wrote:Request: Until Friday, I would like responses only from Conservative Anabaptists and moderators. I will not respond until Friday either to make room for them to respond.
I think most of us on MennoNet really appreciate the Conservative Anabaptists and are glad they are here.
But sometimes I get the feeling that people who are not Conservative Anabaptist are speaking on their behalf, as though they were experts on Conservative Anabaptism or had been asked to serve as their representatives. And I also get the feeling that for many newcomers, it would be hard to distinguish Conservative Anabaptists from some people who may have rarely even been in a Conservative Anabaptist setting.
Do other people get the same feeling? I would really like to learn more about Conservative Anabaptism from the Conservative Anabaptists. I'd also like to hear fewer opinions about Conservative Anabaptism from everyone else - why not ask questions that they can answer instead? I find it especially ironic when someone who is not at all Mennonite / Anabaptist starts lecturing a Conservative Anabaptist for not being Conservative Anabaptist enough - that has actually happened.
I try to share from my own perspective. If I get that wrong, please let me know.
There's an obvious irony in this post. I am saying what I would like to see, but in some ways I am also speaking for the Conservative Anabaptists. I'd like to hear them weigh in on this.
I'm not sure what you want to know. But if you want to know about something specific, start a thread about the question and specify that you want actual conservative anabaptists to answer. I think we would comply.
Probably we don't always realize that someone wants to hear what we are thinking. It takes longer for me to formulate a good answer than it used to, and I tend to contribute mostly when a short answer is all that is needed.
I know somewhat of what you are speaking of, Boot. It hasn't happened so much recently, but on MD there were times that at least I felt on the defensive. I can't speak for others, but I know that I have felt that way.
We tend to feel inferior. Most of us don't have university degrees. Most of us can't read Greek. To some of us, terms like inductive and deductive reasoning don't mean that much. We're just simple Christians who want to serve God and enjoy discussing the repercussions of doing so, and learning how to do it better.
We tend to avoid controversy because of our nonresistant upbringing. So it's just easier to remain quiet at times.
These are only my personal thoughts. I can't speak for others on here.
There have been times in the past where could seem a bit like the Plain Anabaptists were spoken about as if they were not able to give answers, or as if they weren't in the room. When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.
That is why I've been a proponent of filling in the affiliation field on our profiles. That way, when someone answers a question you at least know that it is an observatory answer from the "crowd" so to speak, and not an answer from the person in the "information booth" who is actually living the Mennonite life.
Not that Mennonites have the best answers, but I do assume that people coming to a Mennonite forum are interested in the Mennonite answers.
RZehr wrote:When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.
Not that MN is any different; excluding hermits with inflated post counts, the top six, responsible for just over half of the posts, are (to the best of my knowledge) not active members of a Mennonite church, plain or otherwise, though one may be moving in that direction.
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I grew up around Indiana, You grew up around Galilee; And if I ever really do grow up, I wanna grow up to be just like You -- Rich Mullins
I am a Christian and my name is Pilgram; I'm on a journey, but I'm not alone -- NewSong, slightly edited
It does feel at times like some of the "outsiders" looking in have more certainty than we ourselves about what makes a Conservative Anabaptist tick, and about what CAs believe and why they believe that way.
My emotional response to such comments varies. Sometimes I'm amused, sometimes annoyed, and occasionally astounded. On an intellectual level, however, I think it is good for us to understand how others might be seeing us.
Some people seem to think that they can spend some time getting to know a Conservative Anabaptist group and within a year or two feel like they have a pretty good handle motives, beliefs, etc. Maybe that is the case, but having grown up in and remaining in a CA setting, I feel like my understanding of core beliefs and practices continues to expand.
I've felt sometimes like some non-CAs have leveled charges against CAs as a group that maybe are accurate on a local level within a certain group, but don't reflect Conservative Anabaptists as a whole (not that we CAs aren't guilty of doing the same thing sometimes to "liberals" or "the world" as we term it).
It has wondered me recently why this thing is still called a Mennonite forum. Not complaining, just sharing my thoughts. I certainly don't have any seniority around here....
RZehr wrote:When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.
Not that MN is any different; excluding hermits with inflated post counts, the top six, responsible for just over half of the posts, are (to the best of my knowledge) not active members of a Mennonite church, plain or otherwise, though one may be moving in that direction.
On the old board, there were times I thought I had stepped into Russian Orthodoxy Online. Nothing new here.
Some of us who work at jobs that fully engage us, and have an active church to be a part of, just don't have a lot of time to post. I find the 3D world far more fulfilling.
This is an uncomfortable topic (and apparently it is for all the other CAs) but I would use Cory Anderson's article "Who are the Plain Anabaptists?" published in JAPAS.
From there, I would include people who are applying for membership or regularly attending a church on his list, and also people who for various reasons can't be near a church and attend it but would like to be, especially if they regularly attended in the past.
Finally, I would leave some of it up to self identification: do you identify as Plain/Conservative Anabaptist? Why or why not?
RZehr wrote:There have been times in the past where could seem a bit like the Plain Anabaptists were spoken about as if they were not able to give answers, or as if they weren't in the room. When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.
That is why I've been a proponent of filling in the affiliation field on our profiles. That way, when someone answers a question you at least know that it is an observatory answer from the "crowd" so to speak, and not an answer from the person in the "information booth" who is actually living the Mennonite life.
Not that Mennonites have the best answers, but I do assume that people coming to a Mennonite forum are interested in the Mennonite answers.
I want to clarify, that I do not feel like Mennonites are synonymous with Plain or Conservative Anabaptists. Far from it.
As a Plain Mennonite, I identify and feel much more comfortable with other non-Mennonite conservative anabaptist people than I do with more liberal Mennonites.
RZehr wrote:There have been times in the past where could seem a bit like the Plain Anabaptists were spoken about as if they were not able to give answers, or as if they weren't in the room. When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.
That is why I've been a proponent of filling in the affiliation field on our profiles. That way, when someone answers a question you at least know that it is an observatory answer from the "crowd" so to speak, and not an answer from the person in the "information booth" who is actually living the Mennonite life.
Not that Mennonites have the best answers, but I do assume that people coming to a Mennonite forum are interested in the Mennonite answers.
I want to clarify, that I do not feel like Mennonites are synonymous with Plain or Conservative Anabaptists. Far from it.
As a Plain Mennonite, I identify and feel much more comfortable with other non-Mennonite conservative anabaptist people than I do with more liberal Mennonites.
your latter post, esp, aligns with private messages i've received over the years from different CM's. i find similar in other denoms, the Catholic Church is experiencing this in a big way. liberal members tend to "wave flags," which can appear to skew perceptions, but do not represent (reality.)
i'm not sure this needs to be "fixed." but, it's important to discern.
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Most or all of this drama, humiliation, wasted taxpayer money could be spared -
with even modest attempt at presenting balanced facts from the start.
Mennonites aren't a cohesive denomination like Catholics are. Conservative Mennonites don't identify at all with organisations liberal Mennonites or even evangelical Mennonites are in anymore like MWC or RMM.
This is quite different from traditional Catholics or SSPX type of sedevecantists.
Ultimately, conservative Mennonites and other conservative Anabaptists try to identify as sincere followers of Jesus, and generally go on "feel" to find other sincere followers.
