Here
are some of the things that the Mennonites believed.
•
The Bible is the best and only guide to life.
•
It is important to put Jesus Christ at the centre
of your life.
•
Believers should live a life of love and peace-making.
•
No earthly government can take the place of God's
laws and commands
•
You should live a holy life in a community of believers.
What
does all that mean? In a nutshell, it means that Mennonites wanted
to live a life of serving others, using Jesus' example as their
model.
As
far as they were able, Mennonites tried to act, live, and think
as Jesus did. Because Mennonites put following Jesus above their
country, their government, and other churches, these authorities
often persecuted Mennonites. People who were not Mennonites did
not like it that Mennonites tried so hard to separate themselves
from society.
In
the early days of the Mennonite movement, many died because of what
they believed.
They
were drowned.
They
were burned alive.
They
were executed in many other ways
Mennonites
did not give up because of this. Instead, they saw suffering for
their faith as an important way in which they could be more like
Jesus. Even when faced with death, most Mennonites remained true
to what they believed.
Mennonites
would not even defend themselves when they were in personal danger.
This was part of their specific theology
of peace.
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