Historically when two Mennonites met for the first time there was a tradition so common that it has developed its own moniker: the Mennonite Game. The goal of the game is simply to make family connections. It might start out with something like “Oh, Harold Kauffman……from Lancaster. You’re not related to Jim Kauffman who runs the furniture shop there?” And all too often it might end with something like “Sam Yoder? That’s actually my grandfather’s cousin’s nephew. I guess we’re related!” (“All too often” because Mennonite genealogies are notoriously intertwined. My own genetic results from 23andme constantly predict relatives to be more closely related than they really are….because we share more DNA than is typical of that relationship.)
I say “historically”, though I am sure the Mennonite Game is still going strong. It’s fun to make connections to people and emphasizes your commonalities right from the start. Even in my youth, however, the game was more popular with the older generations than with mine. There is always the tension between making connections with people from “Mennonite families” and the obvious point that newer members of the Mennonite church cannot participate in this tradition. A common complaint from 1st generation Mennonites is that they don’t feel completely part of the “in group” even after years in the church. Mennonites inside the church are fully aware of these tensions (here’s a good blog post on the subject) but I want to highlight another point. Is it worrying that beliefs about what is true are so closely tied up with family history?
If people chose beliefs starting from a clean slate then it seems unlikely that the Mennonite Game could exist. There would be no Mennonite families…..but there undoubtedly are (see this post on The Daily Bonnet for a list of top Swiss Mennonite names. The list rings true for me…I know Mennonites with at least 8 out of the top 10 names). So family tradition has a big influence on many peoples’ beliefs. The question that haunted me for many years was this: “How likely is it that I was born into the correct beliefs?”. For Mennonites this question is particularly acute. Wikipedia states that there are about 2.1 million Anabaptists worldwide, citing a report from Mennonite World Conference. That might seem like a lot, but now think of a group that seems fairly small and insignificant to you. Now look up the numbers. For me it is gypsies (aka Roma)……drum roll…….12 million. Wow! To be fair, that choice probably says a lot more about me not knowing anything about the Roma than anything else. But still, you are 6 times more likely to be born a Roma and have Roma beliefs (apparently there isn’t such a thing?) than Anabaptist with Anabaptist beliefs.
At this point it seems more attractive to be one of those 1st generation Mennonites or someone who actively chose which church denomination or set of beliefs to join. At least there were alternatives and decisions were made. Still, the problem isn’t easily dismissed. How many people who choose their denomination still come from a Christian family tradition? Even those actively choosing Christianity from a non-Christian background have to ask themselves how much their physical location has influenced their choice of beliefs. A quick look at a map of world religions puts the question more starkly. If you were born in Saudi Arabia (93% Muslim) would you eventually find your way to your current beliefs? Clearly, EVERYONE should be carefully examining the evidence for their inherited beliefs if truth is the goal. Is the evidence for my beliefs stronger than the evidence for, say, Taoism? The number of Taoists in the world seems to be at least 12 million, though sources vary. Are there people in China playing the Taoist Game?
