The enthrallment of violence in Mennonite church discipline: An analysis of convictions in terms of peace and ecclesial practice

This thesis is an investigation into the relation between American Mennonite conceptions of the practice of church discipline and conceptions of an ethic of peace/non-violence. Both church discipline and peace have historic and ongoing importance for Mennonites, but they appear to stand in some tension. Despite an historic pacifist stance and ongoing commitments to peacemaking, Mennonites in the United States remain subject to forms of violence when it comes to the practice and theology of church discipline, thus undermining a central ecclesial conviction. While early Anabaptists made an important move to dissociate church discipline from 'the sword' (civil governing structures), there has not been sustained, systematic consideration into how the peaceable career of Jesus informs the practice of discipline in Mennonite churches. This study analyzes the practice of Mennonite church discipline in the U.S. context and shows when and how violence characterizes it's outworking, with an eye toward recovering a more faithful, peaceable practice. Thus, the study analyzes a latent tension in Mennonite theology and practice and then offers suggestions toward a more coherent theology and practice of church discipline. The thesis is oriented as a convictional study, drawing on the theological 'method' of James Wm. McClendon. Mennonite convictions regarding church discipline and peace are examined. Into this framework, the mimetic theory of Rene Girard is introduced as a way to consider alternative, competing convictions with respect to patterns of ordering social life and understanding violence. Competing allegiances, and the convictions that underlie them, issue in the study's claim that American Mennonites suffer from 'the enthrallment of violence' when it comes to the practice of church discipline. This 'enthrallment' is traced back in Anabaptist-Mennonite history, demonstrating that it is no contemporary deviation so much as an endemic struggle to adequately understand and embody discipleship to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Noting a general decline in contemporary church discipline for American Mennonites, the thesis argues that the neglect of the practice becomes another manifestation of 'the enthrallment of violence'. Finally, the study concludes with theological reflection on how Mennonite church discipline can be conceived and embodied in ways that cohere with convictions regarding its importance for Mennonites, as well as with convictions regarding God's people as a people of peace.