Anabaptists have always had a rather complicated relationship with government. Perhaps the best illustration of this comes from Menno Simons, the namesake of Mennonites. After becoming an Anabaptist, Menno led a life on the run, fleeing the authorities as a result of his religious beliefs. But Menno also took the time to reflect on what makes good government.
Throughout our history, Anabaptists have probably been more comfortable playing the role of the Old Testament prophet, decrying the injustices of government. Like all fallen human entities, the U.S. government certainly has its faults and it is appropriate to speak out against these. But it is also important to recognize, as did Menno, that government can play a positive role in society.
A modern-day Mennonite leader, Ricardo Esquivia, speaks from the context of decades-long civil war in Colombia. He is quick to point out what many U.S. Mennonites take for granted: that good government is necessary to bring order and stability to society. This is the view presented by the apostle Paul in Romans 13.
It is important to be clear, of course, that government must not overstep its bounds, nor should it confuse its role with that of the church. Nonetheless, there are some basic expectations that Christians can have of their governments, based on Scripture.
A document released several years ago by the National Association of Evangelicals called, “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility,” said that Christians should encourage government to:
- protect religious freedom and liberty of conscience
- nurture family life and protect children
- protect the sanctity of human life and safeguard its nature
- seek justice and compassion for the poor and vulnerable
- protect human rights
- seek peace and work to restrain violence and
- labor to protect God’s creation.
In his book, Politics Under God, John Redekop lists 20 expectations for government. His list is similar to the previous one, but adds expectations such as: A government should see its role as a trust. A good government should practice procedural fairness and fiscal integrity. An inherent function of government is to regulate the exercising of power by other institutions and organizations. A government should implement fair trading laws.
As for Menno, he wrote to the authorities that they are “called of God and ordained to [their] offices to punish the transgressors and protect the good; to judge rightly between a man and his fellows; to do justice to the widows and orphans, to the poor, despised stranger and pilgrim; to protect them against violence and tyranny; to rule cities and countries justly by a good policy and administration not contrary to God’sWord, in peace and quiet, unto the benefit and profit of the common people, to rule well.”
While we might phrase some of this differently today, it is striking how applicable Menno’s words still are nearly 500 years later.
Interestingly, Menno did not die a martyr’s death, as did so many early Anabaptists. Despite having spent much of his adult life in hiding, Menno lived to the age of 65, when he died of natural causes. Perhaps some of the authorities were listening to his words after all.
