Sexuality within the Mennonites - Research Paper Example

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date LGBT/ Homosexuality within the Mennonites Societies in the contemporary world have become more diverse such that various groups, based on religion or race, are spread throughout most parts of the world. Most of these religious groups or races are mainly categorized in regards to their beliefs, customs, and cultural practices. Specifically, Mennonites represents a Christian group that belongs to church communities of Anabaptist denominations. This denomination is named after Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland (Reddy 2). For many years now, many people have known Mennonites as a major historic peace church, since they are fully committed to pacifism (Reddy 3). The beliefs and practices of Mennonites have raised much attention on the religion such that their stand on homosexuality and LGBT has been explored. The religion has been put in a difficult situation in order to analyze their stand on justice in regards to gayism, lesbian membership, and Marriage (Reddy 15). Generally, the official and original stance of Mennonite Church in USA and Canada is that homosexuality is a sinful cat, since marriage should only occur between a man and a woman. In the current society, the practice of homosexuality has raised queries on the stand or position of the church. The aim of this research paper is to explore the Mennonite’s attitude towards the LGBT group and same sex marriage. Specifically, this will mean exploring the different opinions from leaders, the followers, and the general public. Originally, the Mennonites have always been a conservative Christian group, which believes that same-sex behaviour is disliked by God, and that it is both unnatural and abnormal. According to the Mennonites, homosexuality or bisexual practices are choices, which one can change if he or she decided to. This means that according to the Mennonites, being gay or transgender is a choice and a form of ignorance that occurs out of influences and due to lack of a solid Christian foundation (Kraybill 4). This group also views same-sex behaviour as a morally wrong act regardless of the type or nature of relationship. Most followers have already settled and absorbed these teachings against homosexuality into their religious culture. According to the Mennonites religion, these teachings are already settled and in most cases, debate is not allowed. However, with the changing society, some religious leaders of the denomination claim that it is high time to accept these sexual minorities, since the main practices of the religion are based on promoting justice and fairness for all. This has resulted in other leaders exiting the religious groups whereas other demand that the church goes back to sticking to its olden rules. Despite the small size of the denomination, the Mennonites is not shielded from controversy matters such as the gay issue. Kraybill (11) states that despite their initial stance of what is right and wrong, there are still Mennonites who are supporting the practice of gay marriages and LGBT in the community. For example, Ben Wideman, who is the campus minister for University Mennonite Church in State College, argues that since the church operates on the principle of justice for all, it is only fair to allow all individuals to enjoy justice despite their sexual orientations. Leaders such as Wideman feel that the world is changing, meaning the society is becoming more diverse; hence, it is only fair to accept them into joining the religion. In the year 2015, the church led by Widerman voted to accept the gay community and transgender into the community and to allow gay marriages (Reddy 3). According to the members, this would ensure the ideal of justice applied to all. However, other religious leaders within the same denomination do not support the practice of homosexuality. According to these leaders, gayism and lesbianism are practices that go against the indigenous values that were established for this religion. For instance, Steve Olivieri, who is the pastor at Cornerstone Fellowship, clearly states that the Bible outlines the requirements of a Christian hence we have to follow the rules outlined even though we do not want to. According to the pastor, this means that despite the fact that most people feel it is their right, the Bible says that homosexuals will not be allowed in heaven, meaning that the practice is not allowed. According to Marv Friesen, the church is happy that most members have complied with the indigenous beliefs by avoiding homosexuality. Additionally, it is evident that that the practice of gay marriage and homosexuality will become common amongst the Mennonites, since several other churches have also allowed it in general (Reddy 5). For example, about 10 years ago, there is a church located in the Washington DC that started allowing lesbians and gays to become members of the church (Reddy 7). As a result, the regional conference of the church removed it from the Mennonites group. However, after some few years the church was taken back and this caused some complains from other churches such as the one led by Olivieri's. Precisely, the church threatened to pull out of the conference, because it seemed the religion was allowing the practice of homosexuality. From the above occurrences, it is evident that the issue of homosexuality ahs caused war and division amongst different churches. This is because whiles others feel that everyone has a right to their choice of religion, despite their sexual orientation, others tend to feel that homosexuality is morally and ethically wrong. With the way things seem to appear, it might happen such that the Mennonites will have to bend rules. In order to avoid continuous conflict, the religion must come up with a solid stand. Ben Wideman, who is the leader of the Mennonites church, argues that the religion will have to bend some rules by allowing the sexual minorities to gain membership. According to the article by Kelvin Williams, it is evident that the Mennonites are continuously fighting over the issue of same-sex marriage (4). In this article, Williams first narrates about the personal story of Hunsberger, about how he first converted to being a Mennonite while still young. Hunsberger settled in Virginia, which is known as the home to the largest group of Mennonites in the United States. The main challenge is that Hunsberger is gay, and after 20 years of staying in the region, he starts feeling like he is being dragged away from his church (Williams 5). This is because he feels that he has no support from his church because they actually refuse to perform his vows because they view his sexual orientation as a sin. From this article, one learns that although the society is becoming more diverse, Mennonites are still a conservative group that believes in the conservation of indigenous values, beliefs, and practices. Although the Mennonites are known as people who are vocal about peace and as a group that supports social justice, this does not seem to reflect on their attitude towards homosexuality (Williams 11). The controversy caused by this issue has affected the faith and unity that exists within his religion. Most of the Mennonites who are gay tend to divert from the religious way, since in most cases they face rejection from the church. In my perspective, this form of discrimination is hypocritical, since the same religion preaches about promoting social justice and emphasises on love for all. The main rhetoric question that arises here is why should they introduce ethical policies and principles that they themselves do not observe or adhere to. Neufeld clearly explains that the only effective way to solve this issue is by leaders meeting up and discussion on where different churches stand (6). The confusion that has resulted from these controversies are resulting in members not knowing where their opinions lie. Most of the followers are known to reasoning like their church leaders, who act as their role models whereas others reason in accordance with their own inner conviction on right and wrong. In order to try solve this debate, some religious leaders such as Winkler Bergthaler’s have arranged for meetings with other leaders in order to go through the readings carefully (Neufeld 9). I believe this is the way forward, since it will help the church in coming up with basic arguments regarding what is right and wrong. Specifically, Winkler Bergthaler requested for a meeting with the other church congregations on June 30th, 2015. His main aim for advocating for this discussion was in order to know the exact position of the religion in regards to the gay rights. According to Warkentin, the most important thing for the religion is to come up with ways to live with the disagreements. This means that the church should introduce rules that are fair for everyone in order to enhance its mission towards social justice. Therefore, controversies try to explain why there is a major division amongst these churches. It is the responsibility of leaders to come up with effective strategies that will ensure there is no disunity among the Mennonites. This will means learning to accept each other differences and allowing others to be themselves. According to Krause (5) the issue of homosexuality and existence of LGBT is becoming prevalent because it has spread from the United States to Canada. In order to understand at what rate the practice has spread, it is important to understand the Mennonite Church in Canada stands in regards to their perception towards sexual minorities (Krause 3). Understanding how MC Canada has tackled the issues of homosexuality and same sex marriage will help the general society to determine the moral stand of the religion. In the contemporary society, the level of diversity in churches has increased in Canada and other countries worldwide. Sexual ethics is both an ethical and theological issue that has raised questions on where the beliefs of the Mennonites stand (Krause 7). Although the Mennonites are fully committed in following the ways of Jesus Christ, the public has for many years debated on the honesty portrayed by the Mennonites. This is because the gay practices go against the basic rules of the religion. In Canada, the society is also divided between those who support homosexuality and those who feel that it is part of God’s plan and will. All in all, the bard still believes that it should act in accordance with the ways of the church and biblical rules. This means that according to the church delegates, same sex marriage is a wrongful act. The decisions made by the General board concerning homosexuality are in consistent with the denominational statements. However, with the increase in diversity, the church will have to modify some of its rules in order to avoid division. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the church board as well as leaders to ensure that the religion remains intact, but still ensure that the rights of come individuals are not restricted. Conclusively, it is evident that the practice of homosexuality and existence of LGTBs amongst the Mennonite religion has brought a controversy debate amongst the followers and the general public. In the olden days, the Mennonites have always maintained a conservative society that only focuses on following biblical teachings. However, the society of the US as well as Canada is becoming more diverse; hence the percentage of homosexuals and LGBTs is increasing at a rapid rate. Some of the Mennonite church leaders, for example, Ben Wideman, argue that in order for the church to promote justice, it must allow the gay members to practice their rights. On the other hand, leaders such as Steve Olivieri refute this statement, claiming that homosexuality is an act against God’s rules and what is right. These controversial opinions have cause a division in the church. It is the role of the church leaders to come up with effective solutions in order to reduce the level of disagreements in the church. Although the indigenous beliefs of Mennonites speak against homosexuality, members of this church should understand that we are all human beings, despite our sexual orientation. Therefore, in order to maintain unity, Mennonites should ensure that they establish the most neutral rules that are fair for all. Overall, Mennonites should work towards maintaining their policy of social justice and fairness for all church members. Works Cited Krause, Henry. A report on our understanding of the church’s position regarding same-sex issues. Mennonite Church Canada. June 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Retrieved December7th,2016 fromhttp://www.mennonitechurch.ca/news/statements/ssm/stand.htm Kraybill, Donald B. Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. Web. Neufeld, J. More study on homosexuality and the Bible sought. Canadian Mennonite. June 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Retrieved December 7th, 2016 from http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/more-study-homosexuality-and-bible-sought Reddy, Emily. "For Mennonites, Question Of LGBT Membership Yields Few Easy Answers." NPR. NPR, June 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Retrieved December 7th, 2016 from http://www.npr.org/2015/06/28/415742055/for-mennonites-question-of-lgbt-membership-yields-few-easy-answers Williams, Kevin. " Mennonites struggle to agree with each other on same-sex marriage. " Aljazeera America. July 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Retrieved December 7th, 2016 from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/26/mennonites-struggle-with-same-sex-marriage.html Read More

According to the Mennonites religion, these teachings are already settled and in most cases, debate is not allowed. However, with the changing society, some religious leaders of the denomination claim that it is high time to accept these sexual minorities, since the main practices of the religion are based on promoting justice and fairness for all. This has resulted in other leaders exiting the religious groups whereas other demand that the church goes back to sticking to its olden rules. Despite the small size of the denomination, the Mennonites is not shielded from controversy matters such as the gay issue.

Kraybill (11) states that despite their initial stance of what is right and wrong, there are still Mennonites who are supporting the practice of gay marriages and LGBT in the community. For example, Ben Wideman, who is the campus minister for University Mennonite Church in State College, argues that since the church operates on the principle of justice for all, it is only fair to allow all individuals to enjoy justice despite their sexual orientations. Leaders such as Wideman feel that the world is changing, meaning the society is becoming more diverse; hence, it is only fair to accept them into joining the religion.

In the year 2015, the church led by Widerman voted to accept the gay community and transgender into the community and to allow gay marriages (Reddy 3). According to the members, this would ensure the ideal of justice applied to all. However, other religious leaders within the same denomination do not support the practice of homosexuality. According to these leaders, gayism and lesbianism are practices that go against the indigenous values that were established for this religion. For instance, Steve Olivieri, who is the pastor at Cornerstone Fellowship, clearly states that the Bible outlines the requirements of a Christian hence we have to follow the rules outlined even though we do not want to.

According to the pastor, this means that despite the fact that most people feel it is their right, the Bible says that homosexuals will not be allowed in heaven, meaning that the practice is not allowed. According to Marv Friesen, the church is happy that most members have complied with the indigenous beliefs by avoiding homosexuality. Additionally, it is evident that that the practice of gay marriage and homosexuality will become common amongst the Mennonites, since several other churches have also allowed it in general (Reddy 5).

For example, about 10 years ago, there is a church located in the Washington DC that started allowing lesbians and gays to become members of the church (Reddy 7). As a result, the regional conference of the church removed it from the Mennonites group. However, after some few years the church was taken back and this caused some complains from other churches such as the one led by Olivieri's. Precisely, the church threatened to pull out of the conference, because it seemed the religion was allowing the practice of homosexuality.

From the above occurrences, it is evident that the issue of homosexuality ahs caused war and division amongst different churches. This is because whiles others feel that everyone has a right to their choice of religion, despite their sexual orientation, others tend to feel that homosexuality is morally and ethically wrong. With the way things seem to appear, it might happen such that the Mennonites will have to bend rules. In order to avoid continuous conflict, the religion must come up with a solid stand.

Ben Wideman, who is the leader of the Mennonites church, argues that the religion will have to bend some rules by allowing the sexual minorities to gain membership. According to the article by Kelvin Williams, it is evident that the Mennonites are continuously fighting over the issue of same-sex marriage (4). In this article, Williams first narrates about the personal story of Hunsberger, about how he first converted to being a Mennonite while still young. Hunsberger settled in Virginia, which is known as the home to the largest group of Mennonites in the United States.

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