Catalog Home | Newly Printed | Excerpts Bibles | Doctrine | Education Family & Marriage | History | Issues | Moody Press Stories: Children | Stories: Youth/Adult | Studies Various | Victorious Living | Women | Youth Music | Spanish

The Doctrine of Nonresistance
$3.75	The term nonresistance is derived from the teaching of Jesus: "Resist not evil" (Matthew 5:39). Jesus began His teaching on nonresistance with "Ye have heard . . . but I say . . . ." This indicates that the doctrine of nonresistance ws a new teaching for anew era, a practice unique to the kingdom of Christ. He instructed His followers to be meedk and "harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). Nonresistance is a hall mark of the Anabaptist-Mennonite history and faith. The early Christians and Anabaptists were known as "defenseless Christians," as noted on the title page of van Braught's Martyrs Mirror. They believed that the will of God requires the renunciation of warfare and all other compulsory means in daily life. Many of them faithfully lived and died for this belief. Biblical nonresistance emphasizes that we live peaceable lives. Jesus declared, "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9). Consequently, the terms pacifism and nonresistance are some times used synonymously. Present-day pacificism, however, is based on humanistic and political tenets. We therefore refrain from using the term to avoid confusing and weakening our understanding of true nonresistance. The first edition of this study course was published in 1973; it was revised in 1977. For more than thirty years it has served the church well. We express our appreciation to the brethren who developed a vision and faithfully labored in bringing this work to completion. It has been an asset in helping the church to develop and maintain conviction for this fundamental Bible doctrine. The purpose of this new edition is to again restate the Biblical basis for nonresistance and to expand the practical applications relating to our time in the twenty-first century. We are concerned that doctrinal and practical aspects of this study remain closely associated. (Formerly titled Studies in the Doctrine of Nonresistance. 92 pages. Paperback. Eastern Mennonite Publications. Published in 2005. Link to this page: http://www.anabaptistbooks.com/catalog/titles/119.shtml

[an error occurred while processing this directive]