Sikander Hashmi
“Do not kill yourselves: for verily God is to you most merciful” (Qur’an 4:29).
It is commonly understood that when we were born, we had no choice but to become a citizen of this world. We didn’t get a chance to choose our parents or birthplace either. But if entering this world was not of our choosing, do we have the choice to decide when we leave it?
Atish Maniar
Hinduism is based on nonviolence. Suicide—killing oneself—is an act of violence. Killing another person is also wrong. In Hindu scriptures, nowhere is it mentioned that one can assist someone who wishes to commit suicide. To do so would be to commit a violent act, which is against Hinduism. Life is created or given by God.
Alan Green
To begin with, Judaism teaches that our lives belong to God. We are mere stewards of the body which the Creator has given us. As Jews, we also believe that we are commanded to preserve our lives. Deuteronomy 4:9 teaches that Jews should “carefully preserve yourselves.”
Fredrich Ulrich
Buddhism as an organized religion began some 2,600 years ago. The advanced technology we have today was unimaginable in those distant eras. We are thus faced with the problem of applying ancient wisdom to our actual lives as they are lived here and now.
1. John Longhurst refers to a recent poll indicating that 70 percent of Canadians support physician-assisted suicide and 68 percent believe that those who help a seriously ill person commit suicide should not face legal charges. How would you respond to these questions? Why do you think these numbers are so high? What concerns do you have about assisted suicide?
Lawyers with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), of which Mennonite Church Canada is a member, have joined lawyers from across the country in signing a declaration that condemns the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Carol Penner
Dan Epp-Tiessen
Dave Bergen
Don Penner
Marlene Bogard
Royden Loewen
A mayor in Texas made headlines this past December when he proclaimed 2014 as “the Year of the Bible.”
1. What biblical movies have you seen? Will you watch the upcoming releases mentioned by Aaron Epp? Do you think Hollywood movies are an effective way to learn stories from the Bible? How do these movies influence our understanding of the Bible?
Anita Fast
When I first read this passage in Luke’s gospel, in preparation for preaching on it, I thought, “Oh, this is just too easy.” Unlike some stories which leave you scratching your head, this one seems all too straightforward. If even an unjust judge listens to a persistent widow, how much more will God—a just judge—listen to our cries?
1. In what situations have you prayed for justice or deliverance? Have you ever begun to doubt that you were praying hard enough, or even to doubt the existence of God? How do you keep your faith when there is so much injustice and suffering in the world? Do you find the story of the persistent widow encouraging? Do you find Anita Fast’s interpretation of Luke 18:1-8 convincing?
Table fellowship is seen by some as a primal expression of hospitality, with the offer of food an opening of hand and heart to another. Table fellowship is seen by others as a primal expression of covenant, with the offer of food sealing an alliance of common purpose.
The good news is that God came to us in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to himself and to invite us into his kingdom. The news of what God has done—and is doing—for us in Christ is so great that no single way, of explaining it is adequate.
1. In what setting have you heard someone “sound the Scripture,” telling a Bible story without reading it? How is re-telling a story different from reading it or repeating it from memory? What makes an effective biblical children’s story?
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Interviewer Ross Muir
Managing editor Ross W. Muir was introduced to biblical storytelling when John Epp, a member of the Network of Biblical Storytellers Canada and Toronto United Mennonite Church, visited First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., last spring. Following that encounter, the two chatted in person and online over the summer and into the fall.
1. Do your Christian values make you feel like a resident alien in Canada? How strong are your ties of loyalty to Canada? How strong is your allegiance to your local community or municipality? How do these ties of loyalty compare with your allegiance to your church community? 2. Do you find it helpful to think of your allegiance to Christ as heavenly citizenship?
In Philippians 2:25-30, the Apostle Paul advises the violently besieged Christian community in Philippi to grant special “honours” to a “fellow-soldier” who has “risked his life” in service of Christ.
In the first 300 years of the Christian church, before church and state became fused, preachers and leaders regularly used the language of “citizenship” to describe the Christian community and its way of life. Where did this come from, and why was this linguistic practice forgotten?
Ray Friesen suggests, ‘If we can imagine a nativity scene in first-century Palestine (pictured), we can possibly imagine it in our 21st-century world.’
Ray Friesen
In Charles Dickens' well-known story, A Christmas Carol, anyone who dares enter the inner sanctum of Ebenezer Scrooge's office with so much as a suggestion of Christmas is greeted with the now famous words: "Bah! Humbug!
1. Do you know anyone with a “Bah! Humbug! ” attitude towards Christmas? What makes you want to say “Bah! Humbug! ”? Where do you draw the line on sentimentalism? What does it mean to have a heart for Christmas?
1. Dave Rogalsky says that “blood songs” are about atonement. What “blood songs” can you think of? What do these songs say about the death or blood of Christ? What questions do you have about these ideas of atonement?
Christus Victor/Ransom
A statue of the Good Shepherd at the St. Callisto Catacombs, Rome. In the early centuries, Jesus was much more likely to be portrayed as the Good Shepherd than as a crucified Messiah.
The Gero Crucifix in the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral, Germany). In the Middle Ages, Jesus’ suffering on the cross came to the fore, shadowing other images of Jesus as Saviour.
Jesus is pictured on the side of this early Christian sarcophagus in the Vatican Museum turning his back on Moses and the old law, and giving the new law of love to Peter.
How Christ actually provides for our salvation is the theme of many Mennonite books.
Dave Rogalsky is the Eastern Canada correspondent for Canadian Mennonite and pastor of Wilmot Mennonite Church, New Hamburg, Ont.
In the 1990s, when the Mennonite church in Ontario was deciding whether to add Hymnal: A Worship Book to its pews, a dear (now departed) saint approached me, saying, “I hear that they’ve taken out all the blood songs.” The person wondered if this important part of church heritage and theology was going to be left behind.
1. During the Second World War, what happened when young men in your family or community were called up for military service? What are the stories of your congregation dealing with conscientious objectors? Has the Mennonite church been disrespectful to those who participated in military service?
Sam and Beulah Martin on their wedding day.
Of memories I have of family members, the one about my Uncle Sam’s arrest on April 19, 1944, and his imprisonment, which became legendary in our community, left an indelible mark. Uncle Sam was born in the U.S. and was 18 months old when the family moved to Duchess [Alta.]. He had been baptized into the Mennonite Church and attended regularly.
