Statement of Faith
We believe that God’s will for us is the restoration of the Garden of Eden, the Kingdom of God, a New Jerusalem.
We believe that for this to happen, we must recognize and eliminate our own selfish desires and surrender to the will of God. Love God.
We believe our purpose in life is to be a blessing for everyone else. Love one another.
What does that mean - to believe? The answers are many, but only one is right. It means that if we do as Jesus has instructed, the Kingdom of God will become reality here on Earth. No one has ever done it yet, so there is no proof this will happen. Faith is believing it will happen without proof.
Religion
Every culture on the planet has some sort of religion. It is different from place to place and from time to time because it is shaped by the different cultures and circumstances in which it exists.
Archeologists have found evidence of religious practices among prehistoric humans. Early burial practices seem to show that people tend to live on in the memories of other people for a while after they die. What, if anything, happens to them? Things seem to be happening without anyone causing them. How can this be? Is there some kind of causal force?
At some point a powerful priesthood began to emerge pretending to have developed practices to somehow control or influence these forces. Someone began to assign human attributes to these invisible forces now called gods as in the Enuma Elish and Gilgamesh epics.
Bible
The Bible is a collection of writings assembled over several thousand years and first recognized as the record of the religion practiced by a people originating in the Middle East. Its purpose is to describe the nature of God and our relationship with God. Sometimes this is done with historic accounts of events. Much of it, however, is myth, poetry and liturgy easily confused with history or facts.
God
God did not create the universe. Humans created God. In a sense God lives within each and every one of us. God is us collectively united as one. The Holy Spirit helps us discern God’s will for us as community, the church.
Jesus
Jesus was a man probably born in the region of Galilee in the northern part of modern day Israel. It was not until several decades after his death that the Gospel writers realized that something extraordinary had happened and they began to piece together and seriously embellish a new narrative. It is understandable that they did not always get the historical facts right, but the message he came to deliver is quite clear. He had a dramatically different interpretation of who God is than the religious elite of his time. He lived and practiced in a time and place of tremendous economic and political violence. His message is to surrender to the will of God and to be a blessing to all other people for a more just world.
Community
We know prehistoric hunter gatherers lived in close knit communities. The emergence of agriculture introduced competition and individual property ownership. Inequalities became the order of the day. The early Christians attempted to return to living in community with everything in common. The community of goods is a direct consequence of surrender to the will of God and to each other.
Creed (Schleitheim Confession)
The Roman Empire collapsed and by the late middle ages to early Renaissance, the power struggle between the church and the state was ruining people’s lives everywhere. Thinkers like Peter Chelcicky, Jan Hus, Jakob Hutter and many others began to speak up preaching a return to the life and practices of the early church, but their impact was limited by vigorous persecution. The only one with some lasting and widespread success was Martin Luther, but even he did not change very much.
These radical, new (old, really) ideas were recorded in the Schleitheim Confession often recognized as the beginning of Anabaptism. The Schleitheim Confession does not save us. It only helps us while we wait for the Garden to be restored. Here is how that might look like in our modern day:
Baptism (membership)
Baptism is a choice to renounce old habits of yielding to personal desires. It is a promise to surrender to the will of God for the restoration of the Garden.
Excommunication
The promise made voluntarily as an adult is a lifetime commitment to the will of God. Insisting on breaking that promise, even after counseling, will mean a return to the broken world. Return to community can only be made by renewing the promise made to God.
Communion
Having meals together daily is one of the most important ways we worship God.
Separation from Evil
We do not generally participate in gatherings of non-believers. When we do, it is for the purpose of representing the Kingdom of God. We are to be an example for them to follow. We must treat them with the utmost respect, yet at a distance. We do not participate in elections or accept any kind of political or civil office.
Priesthood of Believers
Historically, hierarchy has been one of the greatest sources of conflict in the church as well as the world. Every person finds his own way to God with guidance from mentors and elders in the church.
Non-resistance
We follow Jesus' radically nonviolent response to persecution. In matters that do not prevent us from loving God and each other, we can overlook and forgive the misguided ways of the world. In matters that would violate the laws of God, such as military service, law enforcement or serving in the judiciary, we must decline to participate and accept whatever punishment we are given.
Oaths
We do not swear allegiance to any government authority. An individual may determine for him or herself if the sin of requiring us to swear an oath and testify in court proceedings can be overlooked and forgiven or not. We always tell the truth even when it is unpleasant, no oath or affirmation needed. Pointing that out serves as the example of Christian living to the world.
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