War and American Mennonites. Why this blog?

 

Mennonites in the USA are blessed to live in peace. We believe that God and Jesus have provided us with a way of peace, and that we should live in this peace and offer it to others.


We're peace people through-and-through; the way we read the Bible calls us to be peaceful, we treat each other and our neighbors peacefully, and our charitable work promotes and supports peace. Our peaceful practices rest on hundreds of years of pro-peace theology.


I am a member of one of the small Mennonite Churches scattered throughout New York. I've been a member for the past 15 years.


About 8 years ago I had the opportunity to take an excellent class at Columbia University entitled War, Peace, and Strategy, taught by Professor Richard Betts. It was an overview of many of the theories of how and why warfare happens.


I took this class so I could contribute to discussions among my Mennonite brothers and sisters in the event that we had to talk about war once again.


Unfortunately, that time has come.

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