Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Shunning and Mennonites



    • A discussion on the Mennonite practice of shunning...

      Shunning and excommunication are simple issues that are well understood and practiced by the secular world and proper Christians.
      Depending on the severity of the infraction, a sports person who disobeys or breaks the rules, is benched or dropped from the team, the soldier is court marshalled or shot by a firing squad, the employee is suspended or dismissed, the criminal is jailed or executed, the Christian is shunned(under discipline) or excommunicated(disfellowshipped).
      Sports organizations, the military, companies, society and Christianity must have rules and regulations which govern the behavior and conduct of their members in order to prevent chaos, for satan reigns in chaos.
      God is a God of law and order and the Bible is His rule book, His code of conduct and ethics. Rebel or disobey God and there must be consequences, otherwise Christianity becomes a valueless demonic joke.
      Reply to Comment
      Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
    • Why shun them in the first place? Why not forgive them? Isn’t that a more christian response? What would Jesus do and my guess is shunning would not even cross his mind. It seems positive reinforcement with a loving, caring response would have more success in building a sense of Christian community then does shunning. Shunning is tthe Berlin Wall of religion. It is a failure in diplomacy just as shunning is a failure in theology.
      Reply to Comment
      Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
  • The “sin” that resulted in the shunning is not as severe as the shunning itself. The group,not the individual is in the wrong. I am sixty and yesterday I discovered my own mother had been excommunicated because my father was unbaptized. The action of that congregation was a group sin against my mother. mennonites have narrow minds
    Reply to Comment
    • Marty they were not wrong. The Bible quite clearly teaches that a believer is not to be unequally yoked with a non-believer. The fact that your mother was excommunicated indicates that she had been baptized, that she had made a voluntary decision to be obedient to the will of God, yet she rebelled and choose your father over God. She choose the tempory love of a human over the eternal love of God. Seems you have as well, by holding her rebellion as righteous and the Bible as error. Be warned, the rebel and the unbeliever shall not enter the kingdom heaven without repentance.
      Reply to Comment
      Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
      • John A. Powell
        Comment on Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites(September 27th, 2012 at 14:46)
        reply to Daryl ,May 8,2012
        it is possible the whole story hasn’t been told..there is Scripture for the ministry to the unGodly by the Godly..your behavior may win the lost to the cause of Christ..you commited to God your union,BUT if the unbeliever wants to leave you are not obligated tyo force them to stay..BUT.. you must remain unmarried until that person dies therefore no chance of reconciliation..look for it in the inerent Word of God…JAP
        Reply to Comment
        Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
      • shunning
        Daryl, I just read your comment and have to say that your narrow minded and short sighted view of the world is what I most detest about being assoiciated with Mennonites. I now distance myself from this religion because of your type of mind set. People in authority in the church my say they act in the name of God which allows them to do horribly vindictive things. I hope to God and I mean God that most Mennonites have stopped thinking like you. The congregation and leadership that shunned my mother was wrong and will always be wrong because shunning is wrong and the loving god I believe in will back me up, not some ignorant literal dogma that you seem to follow. I hope your mother never reads what you wrote. Its not christian.
        Reply to Comment
        Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
  • Janelle Miller
    Comment on Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites(March 13th, 2011 at 20:23)
    Our God is a forgiving God and the Bible teaches us to love and forgive. I don’t understand why there is such a thing called shunning. It makes me sad. I suppose if the offender keeps doing the same thing over and over again, I can understand seperating yourself from them so that they can’t influence those who are babes or easily influenced.
    Reply to Comment
  • I think shunning is absolutely wrong because not one Christian is perfect or does not sin. We are all sinners and we all make mistakes. Like Christ commanded love your neighbors as yourself so instead of shunning the person forgive them and show them love and have faith that that person will repent. But if they keep repeatedly sinning over and over and not repenting of their ways then its understandable to stop being around that person. But give the person hope and a chance to change their ways.
    Reply to Comment
    Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites
  • Comment on Excommunication and shunning among Old Order Mennonites(September 27th, 2012 at 14:53)
    excommunication and shunning..
    there must be rules about what is acceptable to the good order and discipline of any group..If the rules just reflect a desire to CONTROL by the leadership..GET OUT! The unwritten ORDNUNG gives too much authority sometimes to a few individuals or a leader and that is basis for CULT CONTROL..We know what happens then,sex with children, arranged marriage,mass suicide..Jim Jones,and other meglomanics,Hitler,ad nauseum! JAP
    Reply to Comment
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)