A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

17. 6. We believe that Christians ought to practice good citizenship but that when the claims of the state run counter to the claims of Christ, the latter must prevail. 2 Peter 2: 11-17; Acts 5:29. 7. We believe that "super-patriotism" and "militant nationalism" are unbecoming to a Christian. We believe that as Christians we are called to a higher calling and that our primary allegiance is to a heavenly Kingdom. Christians ought not to give undivided loyalty to any political unit. Philippians 3:20; Colossians 1:13. 8. We believe that it is proper for Christians to vote, to exert influence on governmental officials (provided that neither means nor ends are un-Christian) , and also under special conditions to stand for political office, if neither the attempt to gain the position nor the exercising of its functions requires a compromise of Christian ethics. Colossians 3:17. Although the conference accepted these recommended "guidelines" for political involvement, a small minority of delegates took strong exception to point seven. These brethren believed that patriotism and nationalism were Christian virtues. The influence of nationalism on the thought and practice of the M.B. Church in both Canada and the United States has been increasingly noticeable in the last few years." If present trends continue, Mennonite Brethren may drift into what F. H. Littell has called "Protestant nativism." The argument of most Mennonite Brethren leaders against greater participation in government can be GIVING TO CAESAR 347 summarized by stating that the church can deal more effectively with the world's problems by giving its independent witness in word and deed "in the Name of Christ." II. Mennonite Brethren and Government Service Closely related to the question of political involvement is the question of the Christian's attitude toward war and military service. From the very beginning Mennonite Brethren have shared with the larger Mennonite brotherhood and with an ever-widening circle of other evangelicals the conviction that "Christian nonresistance is a way of life in obedience to the will of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and the holy Scriptures." 18 When the Brethren in 1860 declared that "in the Articles (Confession of Faith) we are according to our convictions from the Holy Scriptures in full accord with our beloved Menno" they did not exclude the doctrine of nonresistance. Menno's teaching on this point is clear and unequivocal: The regenerated do not go to war nor engage in strife. "They are the children of peace who have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and know war no more. They give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." 15 The attitude of Mennonites (including Mennonite Brethren) in Russia toward universal military training after 1870 has been mentioned earlier. The form of alternative service they rendere