Rachel Sarah and i, in all our hoping and praying for justice, and after much interrogation into historical and contemporary examples of injustice, have come to believe that there is no realistic political solution to the great and many problems of our day. For example, we have come to believe that the problems within the United States, and the problems that are caused abroad by US foreign policy, are beyond the reach of the Republicans or the Democrats, both of whom we have come to distrust and dislike.
We think that the bigger and more powerful a government or corporate body, the greater and more dangerous are the temptations to be lifted up beyond its proper place. A nation that lifts itself up over and above other nations is referred to by historians as an "empire," and in the biblical narrative as a "beast". The Christian scriptures culminate with an apocalyptic clash between heaven and Babylon - the empire that bought, sold, and destroyed the earth, and many human souls. In one oft-cited passage from this heavenly battle, a voice cries out from heaven, saying to the church, "come out, my people!" and so, in our lives, as we have searched for the meaning of these words, we have been led to explore what it means to be citizens of God's kingdom first and foremost.
The word "gospel" is the good news of our eternal salvation, but "gospel" is also a political term that the Cesar used to claim his authority and ability to bring "peace" and order to the known world. The term "gospel" in the New Testament is as much a statement of spirituality as it is of citizenship. Pax Americana is no more perfect than was Pax Romana. All governments and rulers will be humbled when the light of Christ's peaceable kingdom exposes the injustices of even the most sophisticated or idealistic human governments and political philosophies.
Christ is the king, the only one fit to rule, the only one with the wisdom necessary to rightly divide between justice and mercy; He is the king who reveals himself in the poor, the babe, the stranger, the marginalized; He makes His home with whomever He chooses, and will send His Holy Spirit to fill whomever should ask for it. His government is without borders, without blemish, and is established without bruising even so much as a reed.
This kingdom of God is among us already, but is not yet fully revealed. The followers of Christ are called His body, and His body is called to be the foretaste of God's kingdom; that is we are to live into a reality that is yet unseen.
The Anabaptist movement in church history has made kingdom citizenship and the separation of church and state issues of key importance. Christian theology from an Anabaptist perspective would call the term "Christian government", as used to describe a nation with human rulers, an oxymoron since Jesus was, as we should be, in the world, but not of the world.
On the third day of September 2011, at "the Muddy Bikes Garden" of 910 Collicello Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, before a crowd of witnesses, and with the counsel and guidance of our church, Early Church - a Mennonite congregation, Rachel Sarah and i were united in the Holy Covenant of Marriage before God. Based on Christian theological conviction, we decided to make our marriage recognized by the Church; that is, a binding covenant between God, ourselves, and those present at the time of the wedding, but not a marriage recognized by the state. This is a custom for which there is a precedent in our congregation and, (as we found out in our visit to Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities) in Anabaptist history and tradition.
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| The family bible of Laura Ingalls Wilder, where all the family's marriages, births, and deaths were recorded. |
Some Christians see our decision to have a church marriage, and not a state marriage, as incorrect since the New Testament encourages Christians to obey the governing authorities in anything that is not against morality or conscience. I think this would be a valid point if we lived under a theocratic or otherwise ideological government that required state-recognized marriage by law. However, in the context of this secular government, it is not against any law for a man and a woman to live together whether married, unmarried, or otherwise.
More importantly, from early on the United States have made themselves a home for religious minorities and those seeking freedom from religious persecution, among whom the radical Anabaptists have been a significant part. In many contemporary western nations, it would be illegal to require the degree of religious liberty that the Plain Anabaptists have achieved in the US and Canada. For example, many Anabaptist groups are opposed on theological grounds to: having any type of insurance; social security numbers; state marriage licenses; bank accounts; membership in police and armed forces; and electrical wiring in their homes, to name a few. Under the safeguard of current interpretations of the first amendment, it is entirely legal to hold and act on these commonly held Plain Anabaptist convictions as a historically recognized religious group. It is also entirely within the realm of probability that these liberties will erode under the pressures of a secular "liquid" modernity. It is almost certain that, when it becomes illegal to hold and/or act on these commonly held Plain Anabaptist convictions, Plain groups throughout North America will seek refuge in the global south en masse, and already are doing so preemptively.
For the Christian couple, marriage is a lifetime covenant with God, and is celebrated before a crowd of witnesses and a local congregation. In the New Testament, marriage is an ordered covenant of beautiful symmetry between husband and wife. Ideally, the betrothed have participated in challenging and honest pre-marital counseling, where each is prepared for a lifetime of serving their spouse in sacrificial love. After the wedding, marriage counseling by elders is encouraged, especially in the event of serious conflict. Jesus taught that divorce is only necessary because of our own hardness of heart, "but from the beginning it was not so". Thus, ideally, we are both equally prepared through counseling, discipleship, prayer, theological conviction, and the work of the Spirit within us to be joyfully wed for life without making recourse for divorce.
Although it is true that many people who get a state marriage license have a very high theological view of what the marriage covenant means, it is also true the very same document with the very same legal weight can be acquired flippantly by eloping at a casino in Las Vegas. Please don't hear us saying that either eloping in Las Vegas or obtaining a state marriage license as part of a sacred Christian covenant are bad things, in fact we are very thankful to be allowed to practice our convictions and it is only rational that in a secular society, the same privilege would be extended for others. It is simply that there are many different definitions of what marriage means in this society, many of which bear little resemblance to the challenging "calling to which [we] have been called", Ephesians 4:1.
We love you and hope to see you and hear from you soon.
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