Talk:Mennonite

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POV of Types of Worship section
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[edit] Article neutrality

What is questionably neutral in the Mennonites article?

For a site that encompasses hundreds of thousands of people, we should probably discuss more about this subject. Any thoughts on changes format, content, or wording of this article?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Hochstetler51 (talk • contribs) 13:46, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

If you are referring to the neutrality tag in the Worship, doctrine, and tradition section, read the POV of Types of Worship section (see the archive box above) to read the discussion of this. It certainly is time to clean it up. On a somewhat related note, I would like to see the whole "Further reading" section removed and individual entries added back if there is a consensus. If I recall correctly, bulk of that section was added about a year ago in an attempt to justify placing the article in the "Mind control" category and to skirt consensus on external links. ✤ JonHarder talk 00:14, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

I am in the process of preparing to move and joing a conservative Mennonite church in NC. I will evaluate and edit the paragraphs on Conservative based on the information I have received in the last few months. There is a good book of doctrines by Kaufman that is widely used and accepted by the conservative mennonite churches. Also, I'm not sure if the word "pacifism" is applicable. I'll look it up and see if it really applies. The doctrines of Separation from the world and Nonresistance are definitely applicable though. NC_Creeper|3/1/07|

[edit] Dancing?

I was trying to research specific rationale behind bans on such things as drinking and dancing, since both actions are supported biblically, but I don't know which sects ban dancing and why. Does anyone know why it's not allowed? --In Defense of the Artist 19:41, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I (a conservative Mennonite) could go on for quite a while on this! But I will just make a brief comment here. Dncing is looked down on for many reasons. modern Dancing is looked down on because of immodesty, showiness, and it is often inappropriate conduct between 2 people. It is also objectionable because it is a prideful act, not being done unto the glory of God. Also there are many things supported by the old testament that we do not believe are appropriate for the New Testament Church, many things done in temple worship are no longer done, because we no longer use temple worship but rather direct worship. I hope this answers your question to some extent. If not, I would suggest you search around at various conservative Mennonite (or ather cons. Anabaptist) sites online. Dbahler 01:09, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Original Sin?

According to the 1913 Webster dictionary, the Mennonites do not hold to the doctrine of original sin. Everything I've ever read about the core belief's of the denomination indicates that they do. If, however, Webster's is right, there should be some inclusion of the belief. 68.116.99.132 20:13, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

The doctrine of Original Sin is mostly incompatible with sects that believe in Believer's Baptism, as Mennonites do. Catholics in particular believe that infant baptism washes away original sin. Sxeptomaniac 00:00, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

That's a misunderstanding as most Baptists (including Anabaptist sects) believe and preach Original Sin and Believers baptism. Not all of them do, however. This is due to the influence of pre-destination doctrine on most Reformation theology.--207.68.249.150 (talk) 23:56, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Doopsgezinden are Mennonites

Being new to the Wikipedia platform, I feel not entitled to change/edit a page.

The point is that in the Netherlands, the country of origin of Menno Simonsz, Mennonites identify themselves as 'Doopsgezinden'.

Although the word 'Doopsgezind' and its derivatives turn up in the course of the opening page, would somebody please include in the very first paragraph something like .... in the Netherlands known as 'Doopsgezinden'. . . . And put the words Doopsgezind , Doopsgezinden in the list of keywords for search engines. The Netherlands is the only country in the world with this exception to the rule (to my knowledge at least).

The reason for asking is the experience that many Mennonites visiting the Netherlands (or planning to visit) are not aware of this different identifier and do not find anything/anyone when searching phone directories etc. for 'Mennonite'.

Thanks in advance for this activity!

86.86.44.226 19:12, 9 May 2007 (UTC)Helmich

Actually, a similar article already exists at Mennonite Church in the Netherlands. I just linked both Doopsgezind and Doopsgezinden such that they lead directly to that article. Thanks for the info! In the future, feel free to be bold and try out some edits of your own. Don't feel too bad if they get reverted or if you get a couple warnings -- it happens to all of us when we're new. Just try to learn from your mistakes: Wikipedia is not too terribly complicated once you get yourself situated a little bit. You may wish to consider creating your own user account, too. Sláinte! --Bossi (talk ;; contribs) 00:05, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
I changed your edit a bit to work it elsewhere in the article. Just to explain why: if we include a language translation up top, it could set a precedent for every other language's translation to likewise be added up top. Seeing as there is already a section regarding Mennonites in the Netherlands, that seemed to be a perfect fit to provide the translation. That way, it is a bit more defendable as not being a precedent should another user attempt to add another language's translation of Mennonite. Cheers! --Bossi (talk ;; contribs) 11:50, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
This last comment makes it worth noting that the mennonites in switzerland are not called mennonites either, but rather Taufgessinte, or Täufer (the old german names for the Anabaptists) -sorry if mispelled, just writing those off the top of my head Dbahler 01:10, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Progressive Churches

The issue of homosexually was the most visiable issue that led to exclusion of several progressive Mennonite churches in the US, but those churches' progressive "values" are much broader today than the sexual issue.

See [1] for a list of 8 points that most progressive Mennonites (and many modern Mennonite theologians would strongly agree with.)

209.108.197.62 15:25, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pilgrims

John Smythe was not a Pilgrim; the Pilgrims weren't Baptists. Can anybody figure out what kernel of historical truth this section is alluding to? It's fairly misleading as it stands. 65.213.77.129 (talk) 14:49, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Good catch. It appears Smythe was attracted to the Mennonite church later in life, but if this had a direct influence on the separationists/Pilgrims, it's a little unclear. That paragraph and the one after it are pretty muddled, historically speaking. The Anabaptist influence on the early Baptist and Quaker movements are not known for certain, as it's unclear if there was a direct connection, or if similar beliefs were developed independently. The connection should probably be explored, but I think those paragraphs were just too mixed up. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 22:32, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shenandoah Valley

There is no mention in this article of the Mennonite community in the Shenandoah Valley around Harrisonburg, Virginia. There are both traditional and progressive churches in the area, and Eastern Mennonite University is in the northeastern part of Harrisonburg. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.4.0.253 (talk) 00:48, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hospitals?

Perhaps there should be some mention of the hospitals founded by the Mennonites. Hospital Menonita (Mennonite General Hospital) in Puerto Rico comes to mind. 71.93.238.60 (talk) 18:41, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

The Mennonites found a lot of things. Community centres, thrift stores, fair trade stores, specific volunteer organizations etc. Perhaps a better idea would be a more broad paragraph on other endeavours/organizations founded by the Mennonites.CoupleKlonopin (talk) 17:50, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Schools

Recently the "Schools" section was tagged as POV without explanation. The section does need work. The whole topic of education is mentioned but not really covered in the article. The "Schools" section is a minor subtopic of the bigger picture, and in my opinion, doesn't even merit a footnote in a well-developed article. ✤ JonHarder talk 00:01, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

I agree with this. While some mention of schools is probably good, the Quebec dispute is too specific in time and place for this article. I'll remove it if nobody objects. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Whistler Mennonites

I live in an area rich in Mennonite history and would like to add more to the "Worship, doctrine and tradition" section, particularly regarding Whistler Mennonites. My only concern is that I have not heard much of this particular tradition outside of my area and I wonder if it is even worth mentioning them. If anyone has any particular insight into this tradition, feel free to contact me. Kehrbykid (talk) 21:58, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] North American bias

Once again we see that this article mostly shuns the history of Mennonites in other countries such as Australia where you will find: The Mennonite Church of Hope, The Australian Christian Brotherhood. Why on earth do we have to put up with anabaptist articles though are mostly American orientated. It is getting quite annoying getting an American history lesson when we read about anabaptism!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.239.73.11 (talk) 01:48, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

So fix it: Thank you for your suggestion. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). ✤ JonHarder talk 21:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Limited Technological use

It seems that the article is written implying that Mennonites are known to be ones who don't keep up with modern technology. I myself had no knowledge of Mennonites before reading the article and i'm still not clear on this issue. It seems there needs to be a section or more details on their limited technological use. Any one know much about their use of technology? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.246.32.205 (talk) 20:17, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure what part of the article you find confusing. The Worship, doctrine, and tradition section explains that modern Mennonite groups have no restrictions on technology, but that others, such as Old Order Mennonites, do. It could do with some cleaning up, I know, so let us know exactly where you found the article ambiguous. Sχeptomaniacχαιρετε 17:03, 12 June 2008 (UTC)