A Time of War...A Time of Peace
A cool wind blew across the valley as a friend and I stood at the crossroads last week Saturday morning and watched vehicles bearing black flags with the words “Free Belize” line up for the motorcade on Center Road, Spanish Lookout. A huge rally was planned for that day in Belize City. People from across the country would unite and drive around the city to show the government that they are against mandatory vaccines, scheduled to begin the 1st of October. Although a small group of modern/liberal Mennonites who have left the traditional and conservative churches initially started the "Free Belize" movement, it has now grown to include other cultures and religious groups as well.
The motorcade left Spanish lookout at 8:00AM, was joined by other vehicles on the way, and travelled to Belize City where they were joined by another motorcade from Blue Creek, Orange Walk. They then drove around the city after which they peacefully returned to their respective communities. At least that was the intention. Reality was otherwise. Halfway to Belize City, they encountered a barricade of military police, waiting for the protesters. Moments of tension and heated discussions followed. Vehicles with black flags were not allowed to pass the checkpoint. Up north in Orange Walk, another barricade of police met those coming from Blue Creek. A separate protest was being held on that same morning in Belize City by another group of people; this protest did lead to direct physical confrontations with police, which is probably why the military was unwilling to let the motorcade arrive in Belize City. No doubt they feared a huge crowd of uncontrolled individuals.
While above the water we see the different branches of the Mennonites are united in resisting the vaccine mandate, just under the surface is an undercurrent of strife resulting from various Biblical interpretations of what "standing up for the right means". Like cracks which show up in the ground during the dry season, this "Free Belize" movement originally composed of modern Mennonites, has done to the community of Spanish Lookout what the government and Covid regulations could not do: division. The more conservative Kleine Gemeinde who still cling to the Anabaptist principles of separation of church and state are quite upset about these parades and flag-waving that is going on in their community. In a way, it would seem as if this group of “rebels” with their black flags and motorcades are violating their rights. After all, the communities of Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek belong to the Kleine Gemeinde church just as much as to those who have left it. The New Testament principles laid down by Jesus and the apostles somehow do not fit in with this flag waving protests. Certain Kleine Gemeinde would support other methods of resisting: writing letters to government, court action against the mandate, boycotting, but when it comes to public demonstrations, they draw the line. The Bible tells us to "follow peace with all men"; to protest against the government in this way is to lower oneself to the ways of the world, thus admitting that prayer and a simple faith in God are not sufficient. Jesus, Peter and Paul taught that we are "strangers and pilgrims" on this earth; therefore we should be like them and endure oppression. But some of those who have left the conservative Kleine Gemeinde church and passionately support the civil right movement portray the Kleine Gemeinde as cowardly and old-fashioned. On a side note, not all the Kleine Gemeinde are against the public parade/march, and not all those who left the Kleine Gemeinde are in favor of it either.
The Old Colony Mennonite villages of Shipyard and Little Belize have small groups of individuals who still live in and around the colony but have left the home church to join the modern churches. Again, like in Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek, some of those from the EMMC support the motorcade protest, while many of those still in the traditional church look askance at the group who are “standing up for their rights”. Certainly everyone in Shipyard is against the vaccine mandate, but not everyone agrees with the public motorcades going on in other communities due to their non-resistance and pacifist beliefs. Those beliefs are based more on oral traditions handed down over generations than on personal Biblical commitment.
Most of the Old Order (Hoover) Mennonites of Springfield and Red Bank in southern Belize, often confused with Amish, believe there is a better way of resisting the mandatory vaccine:prayer. If all that passion and energy displayed in the motorcades and flag-waving would be channeled into fervent prayer, the country would have been healed of Covid-19 already. Besides, the Bible commands us to "take joyfully the spoiling of your goods" so if the government persecutes us for refusing the vaccine, we should "rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Look at Jesus and the apostles; they chose to suffer social injustice and horrific deaths rather than go on public marches and rail against the government.
Among the Beachy, Conservative and Holdeman Mennonites, whose congregations are composed of whites, Mestizos, Creoles, and Maya locals, there are those who find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Many of them are employees and daily customers of Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek companies. These culturally diverse Mennonites, also believe that prayer can and will resolve this mandatory vaccine issue. Yet the influence of those who are marching for “freedom” has affected them to a certain extent. Should they indirectly support these civil rights protest? Or should they cling to their New Testament doctrines of overcoming evil with good, turning the other cheek, "abstaining from all appearance of evil", and believing that our "God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus"? When is it ok to cross the dividing line between church and state? Should citizens of the kingdom of heaven support “Christian” peaceful protests as long as it does not violate or break any government and Biblical laws? Jesus did say the reason He and His disciples would not fight against Pilate and the Roman soldiers was because his kingdom was not of this earth; but He also said we would know the truth and it would make us free. "Free Belize" is all about standing up for truth, isn't it?
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” (a phrase falsely attributed to Edmund Burke) is the slogan of the liberal Mennonites who are bravely parading for human rights and waving their black and white flags that declare “Free Belize”. These modern Mennonites who have left the conservative churches of Spanish Lookout, Blue Creek and Shipyard, and believe in a union of church and state, would practice what is selective pacifism: avoiding conflict unless there is a reason when it becomes morally right and justifiable to use force. A government who intends to impose a mandatory vaccine would be one such reason, in their opinion. Apparently those Mennonites who meekly stay home and pray are “doing nothing”, which is the reason why the government is so corrupt. Too many Christians are afraid to stand up for their God-given rights. “Faith without works is dead”, and that faith is what motivates them to stand up for their rights. The Bible clearly commands us to "stand fast..in the liberty where God has made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage". Not only that, it also tells us to "take up the whole armor of God" which means the Lord requires each faithful Christian to do what needs to be done in order to remove corruption and tyranny from government offices. No doubt if Peter and Paul were alive today, they would be at the front of this motorcade waving their own flags in the fight for freedom because the Bible says there is a "time of war, and a time of peace". When the end justifies the means, believers involved in secular matters is an irrelevant issue; so reasoned Augustine of Hippo, one of the founders of the Catholic church in the 4th century, and so believe this group of modern Mennonites.
A. Mendoza
