One of the things that made me wary of the Mennonites was the traditional practice of obstaining from voting. Most Mennonites in this country now do vote, just as most drive cars and have abandoned all distinctive dress. But there are those who still believe that Anabaptists should stay out of civic affairs. Here’s an article in Mennonite Weekly Review about a recent forum on the subject.
Here’s a summary of the “no-vote” side:
John Roth, professor of history at Goshen College and author of Choosing Against War, presented a case for abstention from voting in the upcoming presidential election.
“Love of the enemy is at the heart of our faith,†Roth said. “We would do well to remember that when we vote for the president of the USA, we are voting for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.â€
Roth believes the differences among presidential candidates are illusory. Any candidate will have an America-first perspective, which is problematic for Anabaptists whose primary allegiance is to Jesus Christ.
“Not voting shows our children that we are citizens of an international kingdom, the kingdom of the body of Christ,†Roth said.
Roth said not voting does not mean retreating from civic life. He said political involvement means caring about the community. Relating to foreigners, welcoming the homeless and being advocates for victims of domestic violence are all political acts.
The argument for casting votes went thus:
Keith Graber Miller, professor of Bible, religion and philosophy at Goshen and author of Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves, said Mennonites moved toward political activism when they encountered “the least of these†as they served in America’s cities and in other parts of the world.
“We began to understand better what happened when our government had certain kinds of policies and practices,†Miller said. “We came home from that service and shared those stories. Mennonites were driven to speak to Washington.â€
His faith prompts him to vote in local and national elections.
“I feel called to participate in the process of selecting leaders, all fallible to the core, who’ll have an impact on caring for the least of these in the U.S. and around the globe, all the while realizing that Washington is not the center of the universe,†he said.
I like that phrase, “all fallible to the core.”
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