Where do you fit?

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective

What are you?

 
Total votes: 0

Ernie
Posts: 5447
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:48 pm
Location: Central PA
Affiliation: Anabaptist Umbrella
Contact:

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by Ernie »

Southerner wrote:I selected "I'm curious about Mennonites." as my answer.

I do not consider myself a pacifist, perhaps more of the "Just War" doctrine type
Welcome to MennoNet!

Many of us on MennoNet do not consider ourselves "pacifist" or "Just War". Have you watched this debate?
A third option is presented here.
http://followers-of-the-way.org/just-war-debate
0 x
The old woodcutter spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?"
User avatar
Chris
Posts: 737
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 10:58 pm
Affiliation: Moderate / unaffil

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by Chris »

Don't lose your culture. My advice. Lose baggage, not culture if it embraces the scripture.
0 x
User avatar
gcdonner
Posts: 2025
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:17 am
Location: Holladay, TN
Affiliation: Anabaptiluthercostal

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by gcdonner »

Chris wrote:Don't lose your culture. My advice. Lose baggage, not culture if it embraces the scripture.
Please explain?
0 x
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed
rightly dividing the word of truth
.
User avatar
Chris
Posts: 737
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 10:58 pm
Affiliation: Moderate / unaffil

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by Chris »

gcdonner wrote:
Chris wrote:Don't lose your culture. My advice. Lose baggage, not culture if it embraces the scripture.
Please explain?
I almost like to leave this open ended and not expanded....

There are biblical & super early Christian elements to some of the things Mennonites do. Modest dress. Head coverings. Also some churches try to avoid people seeking after money in their lives... No makeup. No Jewelry. All part of the early church. Mennonites express these things in their cultural dress.

Many Mennonites have abused this dress/culture and turned it into complete baggage and abuse. My suggestion is to lose the abuse, but not the culture itself. The early church thrived on culture and traditions in different areas. We should be able to ebrace cultures as we spread Christianity.

In other words, if we convert a remote Chinese village, you don't stick them in cape dresses. If they already have modest dress, leave it alone. They also shouldn't have Menno head coverings if they already wore them. Let them have their culture. Menno culture is nice when not abused and Biblical. No need to lose it... One must break free the difference between "baggage and culture".
0 x
francis
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:16 pm
Location: USA
Affiliation:

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by francis »

Chris wrote:
gcdonner wrote:
Chris wrote:Don't lose your culture. My advice. Lose baggage, not culture if it embraces the scripture.
Please explain?
I almost like to leave this open ended and not expanded....

There are biblical & super early Christian elements to some of the things Mennonites do. Modest dress. Head coverings. Also some churches try to avoid people seeking after money in their lives... No makeup. No Jewelry. All part of the early church. Mennonites express these things in their cultural dress.

Many Mennonites have abused this dress/culture and turned it into complete baggage and abuse. My suggestion is to lose the abuse, but not the culture itself. The early church thrived on culture and traditions in different areas. We should be able to ebrace cultures as we spread Christianity.

In other words, if we convert a remote Chinese village, you don't stick them in cape dresses. If they already have modest dress, leave it alone. They also shouldn't have Menno head coverings if they already wore them. Let them have their culture. Menno culture is nice when not abused and Biblical. No need to lose it... One must break free the difference between "baggage and culture".
I come to this thread very late, but I can't agree with you more. I've seen this happen to an Anabaptist church plant in a majority non-Anabaptist area, and the congregation nearly fell apart due to cultural differences which many (certainly outsiders and potential converts) would consider minuscule (beard length, stuff like that.) It's important not to lose track of the important things.
0 x
temporal1
Posts: 16279
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 12:09 pm
Location: U.S. midwest and PNW
Affiliation: Christian other

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by temporal1 »

2016 Poll: Revisit?
lesterb wrote:I wish we could have a poll similar to this for every new member to answer.
But maybe if each of us could participate in this survey, we'd have a better idea of who we really are talking to.

Maybe we aren't even a Mennonite forum. Or maybe there are only a few conservative Mennonites and we should stop pretending that this forum represents any kind of such identity.

This is not intended to ostracize anyone, and you can respond anonymously if you want.
:)
0 x
Most or all of this drama, humiliation, wasted taxpayer money could be spared -
with even modest attempt at presenting balanced facts from the start.


”We’re all just walking each other home.”
UNKNOWN
User avatar
Dan Z
Posts: 2651
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:20 am
Location: Central Minnesota
Affiliation: Conservative Menno

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by Dan Z »

Well...it looks like MennoNet is a Mennonite forum after all.

2/3 of us are non-conformed Anabaptists according to the poll (although I wonder if social desirability bias may be at play to some extent).
0 x
temporal1
Posts: 16279
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 12:09 pm
Location: U.S. midwest and PNW
Affiliation: Christian other

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by temporal1 »

Dan Z wrote:Well...it looks like MennoNet is a Mennonite forum after all.

2/3 of us are non-conformed Anabaptists according to the poll (although I wonder if social desirability bias may be at play to some extent).
that was interesting. a bit racy. lol
but, yes, often test-takers can skew their answers to affect different results.

sometimes my family will play with for-fun online quizzes.
i would find one, then read questions aloud ..
it did not take long before i realized, answers could be chosen to lean results this way or that.

for these quizzes, i began skipping telling them the initial question until after they answered.
that helped. :D

quizzes, such as:
what flower best represents you?
what storm is most like your temper?
where in the world should you live?

i have no direct idea about your specific question and how it might relate to this poll.

my guess is, most members here answer “straight-up” on these types of questions.
there is no requirement to participate or share details. if there was a requirement, that mght change somewhat. i.e., performace pressure. :P
0 x
Most or all of this drama, humiliation, wasted taxpayer money could be spared -
with even modest attempt at presenting balanced facts from the start.


”We’re all just walking each other home.”
UNKNOWN
Fidelio
Posts: 620
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:57 pm
Location: Near Detroit MI
Affiliation: ACCA Friend

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by Fidelio »

I selected "Other." As a babe in the Anabaptist teachings (about 6 months), I find my self currently between these two choices with the bold underlined part being what I agree with:

2. A moderate Anabaptist (plain coat and cape dress not required, radio accepted, but sisters don't cut their hair)

3. An Anabaptist by theology, but not plain (pacifist, etc., but not non-conformed in appearance. TV is okay.)

I don't know what to make of the pacifist part. I always felt that one should defend others against harm.

TV? What do we mean? I have not had a TV for 30 years and don't miss it. But I do watch select videos (Opera actually).

As for being plain, I generally don't concern myself with having fancy things or dress. I drive old beat up vehicles, but my pickup is bright red, though I don't really care about the color. Red is perhaps safer being more noticeable (exactly what the plain don't want). I do wear screen-printed T-shirts a lot and jointly own (with my son) a hot rod automobile.

I feel that modesty in dress is very important and have rarely gone to a public swimming beach in 35 years because I fell the sights there are generally not appropriate. Before I was born again, I thought nothing of running around with no shirt in the summer, but my wife (of 30 years) taught me that is inappropriate, so I have never did that again. Even the few times I went swimming, I kept a t-shirt on.

My wife and daughter don't wear any jewelry or makup. Daughter never has and wife hasn't since we were engaged, other than necklace and ear rings for the wedding. Wife's wedding band is a simple gold ring, no stone. She has the part with the stone but it was impractical, catching on things, so she put it away.

Wife wears pants most of the time and has hair cuts. She did wear dresses and skirts when she taught in a church school many years ago and she pulled one of those skirts out from storage and wears it to church now that we are attending at an Apostolic Church where the ladies all wear skirts. She has also mentioned possibly taking on wearing a head covering at church. The Lutherans always taught us that was just a custom at Corinth, but the Bible never seemed to say that. We want to do it right and are learning.
0 x
Convert to Anabaptist truth early 2019; now associated (friend) with the Apostolic Christian Church of America.
User avatar
gcdonner
Posts: 2025
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:17 am
Location: Holladay, TN
Affiliation: Anabaptiluthercostal

Re: Where do you fit?

Post by gcdonner »

Fidelio wrote:I selected "Other." As a babe in the Anabaptist teachings (about 6 months), I find my self currently between these two choices with the bold underlined part being what I agree with:

2. A moderate Anabaptist (plain coat and cape dress not required, radio accepted, but sisters don't cut their hair)

3. An Anabaptist by theology, but not plain (pacifist, etc., but not non-conformed in appearance. TV is okay.)

I don't know what to make of the pacifist part. I always felt that one should defend others against harm.

TV? What do we mean? I have not had a TV for 30 years and don't miss it. But I do watch select videos (Opera actually).

As for being plain, I generally don't concern myself with having fancy things or dress. I drive old beat up vehicles, but my pickup is bright red, though I don't really care about the color. Red is perhaps safer being more noticeable (exactly what the plain don't want). I do wear screen-printed T-shirts a lot and jointly own (with my son) a hot rod automobile.

I feel that modesty in dress is very important and have rarely gone to a public swimming beach in 35 years because I fell the sights there are generally not appropriate. Before I was born again, I thought nothing of running around with no shirt in the summer, but my wife (of 30 years) taught me that is inappropriate, so I have never did that again. Even the few times I went swimming, I kept a t-shirt on.

My wife and daughter don't wear any jewelry or makup. Daughter never has and wife hasn't since we were engaged, other than necklace and ear rings for the wedding. Wife's wedding band is a simple gold ring, no stone. She has the part with the stone but it was impractical, catching on things, so she put it away.

Wife wears pants most of the time and has hair cuts. She did wear dresses and skirts when she taught in a church school many years ago and she pulled one of those skirts out from storage and wears it to church now that we are attending at an Apostolic Church where the ladies all wear skirts. She has also mentioned possibly taking on wearing a head covering at church. The Lutherans always taught us that was just a custom at Corinth, but the Bible never seemed to say that. We want to do it right and are learning.
Read your bible and do what it tells you to do, first and foremost. One denomination over another will not get you to heaven or even make you more holy. Find a fellowship where you believe God wants you to be, conform to the teachings of the Word and walk before HIM in holiness. You may find yourself in a Mennonite church or you may end up in a Pentecostal church or even be in a Lutheran church like my wife and I were for the last 7 years. She wears a head covering all of her waking hours. "Modesty" differs from one church to another, even amongst Mennonites, What is pleasing to God may not be according to the traditions of a particular group. Ask God to direct you, consider the teachings you hear, but be like the Bereans who listened to Paul's preaching, but checked it against the Word of God to see whether what he taught was so. They were called "more noble" for their response to the preaching of the Word.
0 x
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed
rightly dividing the word of truth
.
Post Reply