Russia Invades Ukraine 2022

[AndersonD]

i think you know .. there are other forum members, some read only, that were in the military, then converted to CO.

I guess I assumed that there would be no members in the military on a Mennonite forum. Sort of like, "Only Mennonites, Allowed". Sigh, now Mennonet doesn't feel like a safe space.

Please understand, these are not active military .. CONVERTED hearts, invited by Jesus. (To me, each an impressive Christian testimony.)

Not that it makes the forum a safe place. For other reasons.

Ok, good. I feel better. The military turns men into little devils.

[temporal1]

I guess I assumed that there would be no members in the military on a Mennonite forum. Sort of like, "Only Mennonites, Allowed". Sigh, now Mennonet doesn't feel like a safe space.

Please understand, these are not active military .. CONVERTED hearts, invited by Jesus. (To me, each an impressive Christian testimony.)

Not that it makes the forum a safe place. For other reasons.

Ok, good. I feel better. The military turns men into little devils.

i believe you would be encouraged if you read Soloist’s posting history, i am.
the others’, too, altho i don’t see them posting currently. i’m not aware of all, i’m sure. i value ones i’m aware of.

[Soloist]

I didn’t realize that being a conscientious objector would make Mennonet unsafe. I don’t endorse the military, but the military does not corrupt people, they do that to themselves.
As they say, “everybody’s a thief and you’re just trying to get your stuff back.”

As for the decisions to use cluster munitions and land mines, that’s politicians.
The decision to violate the Geneva convention is usually lower level… and the military violated the Geneva conventions regularly. There was unofficial training off the record of real expectations.
Would Dean Taylor make you feel unsafe? You do realize that most Mennonites have a fairly weak stance on nonresistance whereas CO’s have a very strong stance on non-resistance.

[temporal1]

I didn’t realize that being a conscientious objector would make Mennonet unsafe. I don’t endorse the military, but the military does not corrupt people, they do that to themselves.
As they say, “everybody’s a thief and you’re just trying to get your stuff back.”

As for the decisions to use cluster munitions and land mines, that’s politicians.
The decision to violate the Geneva convention is usually lower level… and the military violated the Geneva conventions regularly. There was unofficial training off the record of real expectations.
Would Dean Taylor make you feel unsafe? You do realize that most Mennonites have a fairly weak stance on nonresistance whereas CO’s have a very strong stance on non-resistance.

My understanding of NT is, Jesus sees 2 kinds of people, converted and not.
Regardless if you’re a 17 year old civilian seeker, or 37 year old soldier, He wants your heart. “Converted” is the operative word.
Authentic conversions make compelling testimonies. Very special. Each Christian has a before and after.

[Szdfan]

I guess I assumed that there would be no members in the military on a Mennonite forum. Sort of like, "Only Mennonites, Allowed". Sigh, now Mennonet doesn't feel like a safe space.

Please understand, these are not active military .. CONVERTED hearts, invited by Jesus. (To me, each an impressive Christian testimony.)

Not that it makes the forum a safe place. For other reasons.

Ok, good. I feel better. The military turns men into little devils.

All of us have a past. All of us have done things we'd rather not remember. What matters is how we change and grow. Soloist is not an active duty member of the military. He's a Conscientious Objector. There are plenty of things that I disagree with him about, but I don't doubt his faith or commitment to Jesus.

[AndersonD]

I don’t endorse the military, but the military does not corrupt people, they do that to themselves.

How is the military not corrupting a man when he is being trained to kill humans? To train someone to kill another human is allowing our lowest, most depraved nature to rule which is of the devil.

The Mennonites I relate to are die hard CO's to the point they returned their stimulus checks to the feds because they don't want to have to serve in any military capacity and they feel if they pocketed a government handout that they are beholden to the government if they are called upon in wartime.

[JimFoxvog]

The Mennonites I relate to are die hard CO's to the point they returned their stimulus checks to the feds because they don't want to have to serve in any military capacity and they feel if they pocketed a government handout that they are beholden to the government if they are called upon in wartime.

I respect that stance but personally see it differently. While I've always stayed below the income tax taxable level, the Federal government taxes us in other ways, such as excise taxes. As they use this money to support military action yet it is hard to avoid, I feel good in getting that money back as a stimulus check or an earned income credit.

[Ken]

You do realize that most Mennonites have a fairly weak stance on nonresistance whereas CO’s have a very strong stance on non-resistance.

I grew up in a traditional Mennonite family in the old Mennonite Church (long before the MC-GC union into what is now MC-USA). I was a child in the 1970s and turned 18 on 1982 so never faced conscription or war. However I did spend a lot of time with both sets of grandparents during that time in both PA and OR and remember going through old photo albums and discovering the occasional guy in uniform. “Oh, that was Uncle Raymond” or “Oh, that was Uncle Milton” and so forth was the response as I discovered that I had various older relatives (great uncles) who had served in uniform in WW2 on both sides of my family. From what I could discern, they quietly got drafted, went off to serve in the war, came back home to resume their previous lives like everyone else, and then no one ever really talked about it. That episode of their lives was just sort of vanished from family history unless you could get grandpa or grandma to sit and talk about their brother who went to war. And without finding old photos I would frankly have never known as the older generation of family just sort of vanished those episodes from the younger generation.

At the same time we heard all the stories about my other uncles and great uncles who did the traditional VS service during WW2 and Korea. That was talked about openly to the younger generation.

I don’t know how typical my family was. But given that it was the same in two completely different historical Mennonite clans, I doubt it was that unusual. History and memory can be filtered over time.

[Szdfan]

I don’t endorse the military, but the military does not corrupt people, they do that to themselves.

How is the military not corrupting a man when he is being trained to kill humans? To train someone to kill another human is allowing our lowest, most depraved nature to rule which is of the devil.

The Mennonites I relate to are die hard CO's to the point they returned their stimulus checks to the feds because they don't want to have to serve in any military capacity and they feel if they pocketed a government handout that they are beholden to the government if they are called upon in wartime.

If you're expecting a space where everyone is like you, has the same history as you and believes like you, this might not be the forum for you.

[Ken]

I don’t endorse the military, but the military does not corrupt people, they do that to themselves.

How is the military not corrupting a man when he is being trained to kill humans? To train someone to kill another human is allowing our lowest, most depraved nature to rule which is of the devil.

One of my neighbors and best friends for many years in Alaska was a Lt. Commander and rescue pilot with the US Coast Guard. His life was getting out of bed in the middle of the night to fly out into the middle of enormous storms over the Gulf of Alaska to search for and rescue fishermen out of the water after their boats had sank. And then pluck them out of 20 foot seas with the assistance of rescue swimmers who would jump off the helicopter into the water to assist. Over his career he rescued many dozens of fishermen and other mariners. Books were written about one of the more famous rescues that he was involved in. https://www.amazon.com/Last-Run-Rescue ... fee3b1eb79 and https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Back-Ali ... cea7cac9a5Had there been a war he would have continued to do the same. When he was rotating off flight duty he worked in uniform down the hall from me reviewing and approving or disapproving oil spill contingency plans for all companies in the region that transported or dealt with oil in coastal waters (Cruise ship companies, barge lines, etc.).

Cancer took him far too young leaving a widow and three young boys. He was one of the best guys I have ever known.

There are many such people around the country working in uniform.