Statement of Doctrine (General Conference Mennonite Church, 1941)

The Statement of Doctrine was adopted by the General Conference Mennonite Church at its delegate session held at Souderton, Pennsylvania, August 17-22, 1941. According to Howard John Loewen the statement was written as a defense of the faith in the context of theological fundamentalism. It was written with seminary education in mind, as part of an effort to have local congregations more closely identify with seminary trained pastors. The board for the new Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Chicago approved this statement in July 1945.

Statement of Doctrine

Adopted by the General Conference at Its Twenty-ninth Session Hold in Souderton, Pennsylvania, August 17-22, 1941.

Accepting the full Bible and the Apostolic Creed:

1. We believe in one God, eternally existing and manifest as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, born of the Virgin Mary, in His perfect humanity, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection from the dead, and His personal triumphant return.

3. We believe in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and a future state determined by divine judgment.

4. We believe in the divine inspiration and the infallibility of the Bible as the Word of God and the only trustworthy guide of faith and life.

5. We believe a Christian is one saved by grace, whose life is transformed into the likeness of Christ by His atoning death and the power of His resurrection.

6. We believe that Christ lived and taught the way of life as recorded in the Scriptures, which is God's plan for individuals and the race; and that it becomes disciples of Christ to live in this way, thus manifesting in their personal and social life and relationship the love and holiness of God. And we believe that this way of life also implies nonresistance to evil by carnal means, the fullest exercise of love, and the resolute abandonment of the use of violence, including warfare. We believe further that the Christian life will of necessity. express itself in nonconformity to the world in life and conduct.

7. We believe in prayer as fellowship with God, a desire to be in His will and in its divine power.

8. We believe that the Christian Church consists. of believers who have repented from their sins, have accepted Christ by faith and are born again, and sincerely endeavor by the grace of God to live the Christian life.

9. We believe in the brotherhood of the redeemed under the fatherhood of God in Christ.

Bibliography

• The Minister's Manual. Newton, KS : General Conference of the Mennonite Church of North America, 1950: [xi-xii].

• Loewen, Howard John, ed. One Lord, One Church, One Hope, One God: Mennonite Confessions of Faith, Text-Reader series. Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 1985: 29, 112.