Beware government propaganda
by Berry Friesen, Lancaster, Pa.
The delegates at San José asked the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA “to formulate a process that helps us explore our identity as Mennonites living in what many consider to be the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.”
This will take uncommon courage from the Executive Board. It will need to resist the temptation to avoid controversy by creating a process without resources or visibility. And it will need to resist the impulse to conclude that reiterations of our traditional teaching about peace are adequate to loosen the hold that government propaganda has claimed in our lives.
For example, it has become a part of our identity as Americans that we were victimized on 9/11 by radical Islamic militants who hate our way of life. While the church often asks us to trust God for our protection, prophetic voices challenging the truth of the 9/11 myth are rare.
The process called for by our delegates must challenge our acceptance of official lies and distortions. Then the Spirit of God will be unfettered and, as the delegates requested, we will discover “resources that help us live faithfully in Christlike ways.”
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