Despite the great diversity in the so-called peace churches today, the Mennonites with their 16th-century European anabaptist origins, the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers (17th-century English origins), and the Church of the Brethren (early 18th-century German roots) do hold to a tradition that is in one sense synonymous with civil disobedience. The peace churches are, by definition, committed to civil disobedience in the matter of conscientious objection to military service. The historical record shows these Christians in many countries disobeying civil laws demanding military conscription.
Being the church, rather than living in the nation, has been the primary source of identity for peace church believers. Living first under the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ, the question for the Christian is not, "May I disobey the civil law?" but rather, "Does the will of Christ permit me to obey the civil law?" The peace church tradition carries a realism about the fallen nature of the state, rooted in the biblical record of God's people suffering repeatedly at the hands of kings and presidents, and the peace churches' own historical experience of the same.
The peace churches emphasize discipleship as obedience to Jesus Christ, defining what it means to be a Christian as a way of living in the present rather than as a mode of thinking about the hereafter. The lordship of Christ has present, not only future, and political, not only spiritual, implications. Romans 13:1, which states, "Be subject to the governing authorities," is held in tension with Matthew 28:18, where Jesus claims, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." In this matching of unequals, the peace church tradition begins with a presumption in favor of the authority of Jesus.
The peace churches have seen the prophetic ministry of Jesus in confronting the powers and principalities as an exemplary witness: what Jesus did and how he did it was not just for him to do alone, but is for us to do also.
Further, the peace church is characterized by a theology of the cross. Though this is a special accent of the anabaptists, all the peace churches have taught the possibility of the baptism by blood as a consequence of faithfulness to Christ and non-conformity to society. George Fox, founder of the Quakers, and his followers were fully aware that suffering was often the result of action in obedience to God that violated civil law.
Yet a theology of the resurrection infuses hope into the costly discipleship of the peace church tradition. We believe that even in suffering and death we experience the first fruits of the ultimately victorious kingdom of peace.
When tradition combines an identity rooted in being God's people rather than being citizens of a nation, discipleship as obedience to the lordship of Christ, and a theology of the exemplary witness of Jesus, his cross, and the resurrection, the result is a basis for civil disobedience in situations where civil law denies God's intentions.
Nonviolence is non-negotiable in the theology and lifestyle of peace church believers. Thus, they do not ask whether refusing participation in war is legal; they only ask whether it is right. Having decided that, they act, and sometimes their action means civil disobedience.
John Stoner was executive secretary of the U.S. Peace Section of the Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pennsylvania when this article appeared.
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!