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2004-05-04 issue:

Mennonite-Lutheran talks debate history

Lutherans: Condemnations of Anabaptists do not apply to Mennonites today.

by Thomas Finger

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The first-ever official ecumenical dialogue between Mennonite Church USA and another denomination concluded March 18-21 at Valparaiso (Ind.) University. Representatives from Mennonite Church USA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) finalized a report of findings from a series of meetings that began in February 2002. “Right Remembering in Anabaptist-Lutheran Relations,” identifies major similarities and differences between the denominations and includes 11 recommendations.

The report recommends that the ELCA’s Church Council declare that nearly all the 16th-century condemnations—many of which were inaccurate even then—do not apply to Mennonites today.  The report also recommends that each denomination appoint a representative to a further discussion planned by the Lutheran World Federation and Mennonite World Conference.

Two condemnations in the Augsburg Confession, however, point toward remaining differences: baptism and church-state relationships. These issues were discussed in detail during the conversations, and the report includes points of agreement and divergence on both subjects.

For both Lutherans and Mennonites baptism concerns not only the individuals baptized but also their incorporation into the church. The congregation’s reception of them, and pledge to support and nurture them, is essential. For both denominations, baptism is not an isolated event but closely linked to the overall process of Christian growth.

Mennonite representatives, however, said that baptism involves conscious, voluntary participation by baptized people. Baptism, then, cannot be applied to infants as it usually is among Lutherans. According to the Mennonites, many meanings that Lutherans attribute to infant baptism are included in Mennonite practices of infant dedication.

Lutherans stress the priority of God’s grace in salvation. They find that infant baptism, where the recipient is passive, can symbolize this grace. They tend to fear that Mennonites, by emphasizing active, conscious response, may obscure God’s grace. Mennonites, conversely, tend to fear that Lutherans, by emphasizing receptivity, may obscure the importance of discipleship. The report notes that these differences, and others, may be influenced by different understandings of human nature and the church, and these differences require further exploration.

Both Lutherans and Mennonites view the church as the messenger of God’s kingdom, clearly distinct from the world. Both reject nuclear war and believe that Christians should behave nonviolently in their personal lives. According to both denominations, Christians should live out their faith in the midst of society and not isolate themselves from it.

Lutherans, however, permit members who serve in public roles to sometimes employ lethal force, justly and impartially, to preserve order. Mennonites reject the use of lethal force. Mennonites, however, sometimes encourage governments to act by standards which, while lower than those of the church, are still closer to God’s will.

The report also recommends that Mennonites and Lutherans provide resources and work more closely in education, worship and social ministry.   It proposes that several congregations in each denomination become pilot sites for this. It recommends that conversation on topics that surfaced in this round of conversations continue. But the report proposes no specific structure for this, and it does not envision any formal unity between the denominations.—Thomas Finger

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