Opinion with Michael Coren We’ve just celebrated the 500th anniversary of the anabaptist movement, a statement that will likely be met with overwhelming indifference. What are anabaptists and why should we care? Thing is, it’s extremely relevant in Canada in particular, where there are numerous Mennonite and Brethren communities – especially in Winnipeg and Kitchener – but also throughout the country. Anybody familiar with the University of Waterloo will know of Conrad Grebel College named after the man who, in 1525 in Zurich, effectively established this branch of the Protestant Reformation. They preached radical views on baptism, separation of church and state, simple living and pacifism. Belief in pacifism, Christian or otherwise, is in short supply right now and the seemingly endless and ever darker and deeper cycle of violence and hatred spins around, funded by international arms dealers and provoked by empty nationalism and the hideous perversion of religion. Jesus told us that if somebody struck us on the cheek, we should offer the other as well; that we should embrace those who wished to do us harm and, by personal example, transform the entire world. He also said that his ideas would bring division, even among families, and history has proved him right. I was reminded of this back in late September while watching the memorial to the conservative and Christian activist Charlie Kirk, during which his widow said that she forgave her husband’s murderer. Then President Trump told the crowd, and the millions watching, that he had a very different opinion and that he hated his enemies. The Christians still applauded and the brief moment of hope from a young woman in deepest agony was thrown into the dust. I may not agree with all of her ideas, I may come from an entirely different culture, but I admire her for walking the walk at its hardest and most painful. Not that forgiveness is the same as pacifism. I’ve interviewed many Second World War veterans over the years – most of them gone now, alas – and the vast majority said that yes, they’d do it again and the war had had to be fought but no, they didn’t hate their enemy, and they forgave the ordinary German soldier. Their heroism and sacrifice defeated Nazism but didn’t stop wars and oppression – the Soviet oppression of half of Europe, wars in Korea, Vietnam, India, the Middle East and so many other places. The United Nations sometimes tries to keep the peace, but more often keeps the status quo and postpones wars rather than stops them. We look at past ages and lament their barbarism, ignoring the fact that we can now slaughter with more effectiveness than at any time in human history and regularly do so. The early church was largely pacifist and only changed – and lost its way in many other areas as well – when it was co-opted by imperial power. Pacifism was a major factor in the growth of Christianity and the anabaptist ideal tried to recapture such moral radicalism. The world had to be turned upside down. They, too, walked the walk. In 1596, Dirk Willems was arrested and imprisoned for his anabaptist beliefs. He escaped and fled across a frozen lake, but was pursued. Willems was thin due to prison conditions but the man chasing him was fit and strong, and the ice broke beneath him. Willems was free. But seeing the man drowning in the freezing water, he turned and rescued him. Which led to Willems’ recapture, torture and execution. Some beliefs come at a great price. Today? I don’t see authentic pacifism and Christian ideals in taking raw, often extreme political positions, in loud public demonstrations, or in self-righteous gestures. Too often, these become mere fashion, an outward sign that you’re one of the good guys, that you’re on “the right side of history,” which achieves nothing and helps nobody. Some of the visceral hatred I see at these displays has nothing at all to do with peace and understanding. Real change, a change that will genuinely provide solutions and solve problems comes from within, by looking at where we are flawed, how we are broken and what we can do in often small and unknown ways to bring peace and open new doors. It’s much easier to point out other people’s failings than to admit, and then try to rectify, our own. I don’t pretend to have anything resembling all of the answers, but I do know that I have to ask the questions. CSANews | WINTER 2025 | 13
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