Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanos
Diligent: They are always welcome to join us in prayer and worship, but they will not be allowed to be a member of our church, which includes participating in communion and feet washing. Anabaptists have always held closed communions, and this will not change. I guess I could go into all the biblical reasons why we do this, but there are countless books on the Anabaptists and Mennonite that address this subject much more thoroughly than I could. I would be happy to recommend titles if you so desire, but I'm sure by the tone you've taken with me that you could care less why we stand where we do.
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I'm simply not interested in sectarian traditions. My question to you was one of Biblical authority. You say you won't allow military men to be members of your church (praise God the Lord is not so exclusive when it comes to his church!), and I asked you for a Biblical basis for that exclusion. You have elected not to provide it.
I don't know what you mean by my tone. I'm just giving you an opportunity to support your position with Scripture. I don't think that's unreasonable or confrontational. When people set up rules, they have to justify those rules with Scripture. If they don't, it's nothing more than legalism. Paul wrote in detail about what constitutes excommunicable behavior, and as far as I know, he did not list military or police service.