This is the only blog entry that will be dedicated to giving a brief explanation of Mennonites and how I fit into the scheme of Mennonite-ness.
For those of you who are reading this and are not Mennonite, I will clarify one of the never ending questions about Mennonites, namely, who are we? No we are not Amish, though we politely say we are “related” to the Amish. Historically, Mennonites were a more “ethnic” based Christian protestant denomination. Meaning, Mennonites came from Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. While there are many “non-ethnic” Mennonites involved in the Mennonite denomination today, this “race thing” is still a point of contention. (The “Mennonite Game” is a case in point: When "ethnic" Mennonites meet each other, they will often try to figure out how – not if – they are related!) For an interesting article about the interplay of "ethnic" and "non-ethnic" Mennonites read and article by Janet Trevino-Elizarraraz: http://www.themennonite.org/issues/13-1/articles/Where_faith_and_culture_intersect
Allow me to be crass. Mennonites are a little like Jews: We are from a certain place, adhere to certain beliefs, and were persecuted for those beliefs (and still like to use the “persecuted” card). There are many Mennonites who are not “ethnically Mennonite” but practice the Mennonite (Christian Protestant) faith. There are also many Mennonites who are “ethnically Mennonite” but are not in the least bit Christian. (Kind of like the ethnic, non-practicing, even atheist, Jews.) There are many veins of Mennonites ranging from uber-conservatives who still ride in horse and buggy or who only ride black vehicles and wear dresses and head-coverings and beards (not simultaneously of course!!). And then there are your average to liberal Mennonites who, on the street, you cannot pick out in a crowd. There are even uber-liberal Mennonites who are fine with same-sex marriage, vote for the president and live in cities.
I used to fall into the “average Mennonite” category. You wouldn’t know I was Mennonite if you saw me in the grocery store or Metro station or PTA meeting. Though I had some gay friends, I was still “weirded out” by same-sex marriage. I thought the “live simply” values were noble and tried to live them. But I rarely voted in political elections. Since moving out of the Mennonite Bubble, however, I would put myself more in the liberal category. I find it appalling that the United States, the country with the oldest constitution in the world, is still hesitant to grant equal rights to ALL its citizens (gays and lesbians, Native Americans, migrant workers). My child is being raised in a “mixed-religion” home, so God has become much more expansive (by say, 1 million times). Jesus is an amazing person and I seriously think he was influenced by eastern religion. (King Xerxes – husband to Queen Esther – did attain rule over like the entire eastern hemisphere you know.)
Now that we have that clarified...let's get down to more interesting business!
Interesting you should make the observation about eastern (you said religion but I call it philosophy, as Buddhism is not a religion). It has been my belief for some time now that Christ's message was in fact a reiteration of the Buddhist principles he learned in his time "in the wilderness." Christ was indeed calling those to whom he spoke to eternal life. But in a different way than Christian doctrine, evolving over thousands of years, instructs.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting...I had never thought of this argument/idea that buddhism would be a philosophy rather than a religion. Buddhism is always included in the world religion books and classes, and while God is not really a factor, it's still recognized as a religion. Also, I guess I refered to it as religion because I'm in a region of the world where hinduism is the predominant religion. Islam and Buddhism would follow (along with Christiainty, Sikhism, Jainism, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI know it's from about.com, but I found this interesting comment: In my experience, people who say Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion usually mean it as a compliment. They are trying to say, I think, that Buddhism is something other than the superstitious rubbish they believe religion to be.
In this view, religion is a jumble of primitive folklore that humankind drags through the ages like a cosmic security blanket. Religion is passionate and irrational and messy. But philosophy is the flower of human intellect. It is reasonable and civilized. Religion inspires war and atrocity; at worst, philosophy incites mild arguments over coffee and dessert.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/philosophy.htm
Does this resonate?
Finally, have you read Living Buddha, Living Christ? This was so refreshing for me.
- LiberatedMennoMomma
PS...After I reread my comment it sounded kind of preachy, which is wasn't meant to be at all. I'm not trying to defend Buddhism as a religion. I had never thought of it otherwise, so this is interesting to think about! Thanks for the stimulating comments!
ReplyDeletelook what i find if i google myself... :) thanks for your rec'd. i'll have too look around your blog later. :)
ReplyDelete