Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
Edsel Burge says the 1725 Pennsylvania leaders adopted the Dordrecht Confession partly so English authorities could see, “We’re peaceful…we aren’t rebellious”; what does that reveal about how these Mennonites understood God’s purposes for the church in relation to the state, and what did they assume the state needed to hear?
Another way to ask: If Mennonite leaders adopted the Dordrecht Confession to look peaceful to English rulers, what does that show about how they thought the church should relate to the government? What did they think the government needed to hear from them?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, these Mennonites assumed the church should be visibly peaceable and non-rebellious in society, and they believed it was appropriate to explain their faith to civil authorities to remove suspicion. They assumed the state mainly needed reassurance that Mennonites were not political threats and that their beliefs supported public order.
- The speaker says Pennsylvania leaders adopted Dordrecht in 1725 so they could give it to authorities: “This is what we believe. We’re peaceful. We aren’t rebellious.”
- He connects this to the problem of outsiders’ labels: “Wiedertäufer… our opponents accused us,” implying authorities might view them as dangerous.
- Germantown Mennonites earlier asked Dutch Mennonites for an English translation (1712) so they could show “their English neighbors and… the authorities” their beliefs.
- The confession functioned as a public-facing statement: “This is our confession of faith.”
- The speaker highlights ongoing Mennonite concerns like “non-resistance” as central to their witness (later illustrated by Funk’s 1864 anti-war booklet).