What interpretations would lead to someone receiving "the ban" or excommunication from your church?

[HansMacDonald]

Christopher Petrovich was able to be a member of Amish churches, and he was a Calvinist.

[JohnH]

Christopher Petrovich was able to be a member of Amish churches, and he was a Calvinist.

No he wasn't. He is, at the present time, unwelcome in Amish circles. He kept the fact he was a five-point Calvinist secret for a long time, or maybe not a secret, but it just never occurred to him it could be a problem. Once it came out he held to this, several people took action that he either had to accept what the Amish feel are scriptural doctrines, or else no longer be in spiritual fellowship with the Amish church.

Amongst the unfortunate fallout of this is that his publication is no more.

[Judas Maccabeus]

If someone is willing to say "Jesus is our lord" "Jesus is our savior" "Jesus is the promised messiah" etc. but they are not willing to say "Jesus is God" would specifically stating that ever actually be required? Like at communion or otherwise? Because if the baptism vows don't require specifically saying "Jesus is God" but instead say something like "Jesus is our lord and savior" I wonder if it would be possible to just maintain a silent unusual belief without coming into any argument

It is unlikely that anyone would ever ask you to say that Jesus is God. But if you told anyone in the congregation about not wanting to make that statement, it may get spread around and the church may begin to wonder if you are Christian and you might get asked to testify of your beliefs.

Depending on the church, you may get asked in the application process whether you hold to any beliefs that are considered fringe or not generally held by most Christians.

I would differ with you here. Both people seeking to join, and biannually as part of the council process, people are asked, "Do you affirm the 1963 Mennonite confession of Faith and seek to live by its provisions?" It affirms BOTH the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. So no one could answer truthfully if they did not accept both of these provisions.

A person who denies either of these doctrines does not belong anywhere near membership in a Mennonite church.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Christopher Petrovich was able to be a member of Amish churches, and he was a Calvinist.

No he wasn't. He is, at the present time, unwelcome in Amish circles. He kept the fact he was a five-point Calvinist secret for a long time, or maybe not a secret, but it just never occurred to him it could be a problem. Once it came out he held to this, several people took action that he either had to accept what the Amish feel are scriptural doctrines, or else no longer be in spiritual fellowship with the Amish church.

Amongst the unfortunate fallout of this is that his publication is no more.

I would regard holding reformed doctrine as a much less serious error than denying the deity of Jesus. Nonetheless, it is an error.

[JohnH]

I would regard holding reformed doctrine as a much less serious error than denying the deity of Jesus. Nonetheless, it is an error.

Right. However, it is not something that is acceptable to do in Amish circles, particularly for someone who is running around telling everyone what they should practice and believe.

I hold some views on things that are different from my church, but I keep them to myself as I don't think sharing my views will really help build Jesus' kingdom.

[Soloist]

If someone is willing to say "Jesus is our lord" "Jesus is our savior" "Jesus is the promised messiah" etc. but they are not willing to say "Jesus is God" would specifically stating that ever actually be required? Like at communion or otherwise? Because if the baptism vows don't require specifically saying "Jesus is God" but instead say something like "Jesus is our lord and savior" I wonder if it would be possible to just maintain a silent unusual belief without coming into any argument

It is unlikely that anyone would ever ask you to say that Jesus is God. But if you told anyone in the congregation about not wanting to make that statement, it may get spread around and the church may begin to wonder if you are Christian and you might get asked to testify of your beliefs.

Depending on the church, you may get asked in the application process whether you hold to any beliefs that are considered fringe or not generally held by most Christians.

I would differ with you here. Both people seeking to join, and biannually as part of the council process, people are asked, "Do you affirm the 1963 Mennonite confession of Faith and seek to live by its provisions?" It affirms BOTH the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. So no one could answer truthfully if they did not accept both of these provisions.

A person who denies either of these doctrines does not belong anywhere near membership in a Mennonite church.

Wife: it would appear that both Soloist and I would agree with that confession of faith as far as it goes regarding the first seven articles and probably more. I just didn’t bother reading beyond there. FWIW, Bercot would consider himself a Trinitarian. I would call my view Trinitarian, Soloist would be more hesitant to, but we have virtually the same beliefs so I think part of it’s just semantics, and baggage from the initial Aryan/Trinitarian wars

[Neto]

If someone is willing to say "Jesus is our lord" "Jesus is our savior" "Jesus is the promised messiah" etc. but they are not willing to say "Jesus is God" would specifically stating that ever actually be required? Like at communion or otherwise? Because if the baptism vows don't require specifically saying "Jesus is God" but instead say something like "Jesus is our lord and savior" I wonder if it would be possible to just maintain a silent unusual belief without coming into any argument

It is unlikely that anyone would ever ask you to say that Jesus is God. But if you told anyone in the congregation about not wanting to make that statement, it may get spread around and the church may begin to wonder if you are Christian and you might get asked to testify of your beliefs.

Depending on the church, you may get asked in the application process whether you hold to any beliefs that are considered fringe or not generally held by most Christians.

I would differ with you here. Both people seeking to join, and biannually as part of the council process, people are asked, "Do you affirm the 1963 Mennonite confession of Faith and seek to live by its provisions?" It affirms BOTH the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. So no one could answer truthfully if they did not accept both of these provisions.

A person who denies either of these doctrines does not belong anywhere near membership in a Mennonite church.

I find no mention of the doctrine of the trinity in this confession of faith. Yes, it affirms the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but it does not go beyond Scripture, in any attempt to explain how this can be true, at the same time as that the following is also true:

(Article 1. God and His Attributes)
.... This one and only God ....

[JohnH]

I would differ with you here. Both people seeking to join, and biannually as part of the council process, people are asked, "Do you affirm the 1963 Mennonite confession of Faith and seek to live by its provisions?" It affirms BOTH the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. So no one could answer truthfully if they did not accept both of these provisions.

A person who denies either of these doctrines does not belong anywhere near membership in a Mennonite church.

And if we dig into the history of why we have such confessions and why it is required to affirm them at baptism and communion... we'll find because of very weird errors that crept into the church.

My own denomination had a major problem with Swedenborgianism in the late 1800s/early 1900s. A lot of members were lost to it, and part of the reaction was to firm up the statement of faith. Before that people were just asked to affirm the Bible and, oddly enough, the Martyrs' Mirror. After that debacle, the 33 articles of faith from the Martyrs' Mirror were crystalised.

Similar shennanigans were happening in other Mennonite churches. Swedenborgianism is some really weird stuff, too.

[HansMacDonald]

Christopher Petrovich was able to be a member of Amish churches, and he was a Calvinist.

No he wasn't. He is, at the present time, unwelcome in Amish circles. He kept the fact he was a five-point Calvinist secret for a long time, or maybe not a secret, but it just never occurred to him it could be a problem. Once it came out he held to this, several people took action that he either had to accept what the Amish feel are scriptural doctrines, or else no longer be in spiritual fellowship with the Amish church.

Amongst the unfortunate fallout of this is that his publication is no more.

Oh ok, I was wrong. It is good to hear that several people took action.

[Judas Maccabeus]

It is unlikely that anyone would ever ask you to say that Jesus is God. But if you told anyone in the congregation about not wanting to make that statement, it may get spread around and the church may begin to wonder if you are Christian and you might get asked to testify of your beliefs.

Depending on the church, you may get asked in the application process whether you hold to any beliefs that are considered fringe or not generally held by most Christians.

I would differ with you here. Both people seeking to join, and biannually as part of the council process, people are asked, "Do you affirm the 1963 Mennonite confession of Faith and seek to live by its provisions?" It affirms BOTH the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. So no one could answer truthfully if they did not accept both of these provisions.

A person who denies either of these doctrines does not belong anywhere near membership in a Mennonite church.

I find no mention of the doctrine of the trinity in this confession of faith. Yes, it affirms the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but it does not go beyond Scripture, in any attempt to explain how this can be true, at the same time as that the following is also true:

(Article 1. God and His Attributes)
.... This one and only God ....

That is trinitarian doctrine, by definition. It does not require anyone to affirm HOW it can be true, it merely requires someone to affirm that it IS true. It is a doctrine of revelation, not a doctrine of reason.

""I find no mention of the doctrine of the trinity in this confession of faith. Yes, it affirms the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ""

It therefor affirms the Trinity. Were you thinking one had to affirm the entirety of the Athanasian Creed?