Paper Details

This article tackles themes of peace and violence in Mennonite community as depicted in the novel Peace Shall Destroy Many by Rudy Wiebe. The Mennonites have been known for their strict attitudes towards violent activities. For this Canadian Christian minority, all aspects of war are unacceptable, logically and religiously. In this novel, Wiebe illustrates many moral, cultural, religious and inner social practices of the Mennonites. He presents to his readers a clear picture about this special community. The novel sheds light on a conflict between two dominant speeches within the Mennonite society. One of the speeches stands for the old traditions and customs of the Mennonites, and the symbol of this argument is the character Deacon Block. The other speech indicates the new revolution among Mennonite youth against some of their society's habits and traditions, and this is represented by the character Thom Wiens. So, Deacon Block is the antagonist in the novel, while its protagonist is Thom Wiens. The paper concludes that pacifism takes many forms such as non-resistance, conscientious objection, alternative service, and reconciliation. However, pacifism, within Mennonite context, does not always express good ideas, but rather can reflect a kind of selfishness, where non-believers die to protect believers. Even though the Mennonites talk about pacifism on a national level, in terms of not going to war, not serving in the military fields, and refusing to pay taxes to the government, and because human nature is basically evil, it is impossible for a community to have no evil or violence in it, the Mennonites are no exception.

Mennonites, Non-Resistance, Peace, Reconciliation, Violence.