Читать книгу Mennonites in the World War - Jonas Smucker Hartzler - Страница 28

As early as 1775 the Pennsylvania Assembly passed a law exempting the Mennonites and Quakers from military service under certain circumstances. The Mennonites wrote a letter of thanks to the Assembly and had a number of the bishops to sign it. The following are extracts from it:

"To the Honorable Assembly, In the first place we acknowledge us indebted to the most high God, who created heaven and earth, the only good Being for all His great goodness and manifold mercies and love through our Savior Jesus Christ."

"Further, we find ourselves indebted to be thankful to our late worthy Assembly for their giving so good an advice in these troublesome times to all ranks of people in Pennsylvania, particularly in allowing those who, by the doctrine of our Savior Jesus Christ are persuaded in their conscience to love their enemies and not to resist evil to enjoy the liberty of their conscience.

The advice to those who do not find freedom of conscience to take up arms, that hey ought to be helpful to those who are in need and distressed circumstances, we receive with cheerfulness towards all men of what station they may be it being our principle to feed the hungry and give the thirsty drink; we have dedicated ourselves to serve all men in everything that we can be helpful to the preservation of men's lives, but we find no freedom in giving or doing, or assisting in any thing by which men's lives are destroyed or hurt. We beg the patience of all those who believe we err in this point."

Records are still extant, giving the names with their respective amounts paid in money fines to be freed from military service on the above basis.

The war spirit ran high. Mob violence was not uncommon even in communities where the practices of the Church should have been well known. Government protests did little good as the parties who carried them on did them in the name of loyalty, not realizing that they were encouraging anarchy instead of good citizenship.