Participation in politics a hot issue among Paraguayan MBs

A major block of time (90 minutes) was devoted to the issue of involvement in politics when the Paraguayan German-speaking Mennonite Brethren Conference met in annual convention Feb. 1–3 in Neuland, Chaco, Paraguay. A three-page document, “Guidelines for Participation in Politics”, more than five years in preparation, was presented by the Board of Reference and Counsel and formed the basis for the forum.

The document is highly relevant. The front-running candidate for the position of President of the country in the spring elections is Nicanor Duarte Frutos, whose wife is a baptized member of Raices Mennonite Brethren Church in Asuncion. He himself attends occasionally. He has answered the question about his religious attachment by saying that he is a Christian, the most Protestant of Catholics, and that his wife is the most Catholic of Protestants.

As one speaker at the Mennonite Brethren forum noted, such a document would have been quite unthinkable 10 years ago when the Mennonites, the “quiet in the land”, shunned political involvement. During Paraguay’s long military regime, the Mennonites did not usually vote, though attitudes changed when Paraguay became a democracy in 1989.

The document stressed that God’s work in the world is accomplished through the agency of the church. Politics was defined as concern for societal well-being, to which the church, rather than politicians, makes the most significant contribution.

The guidelines can be summarized as follows: A church member who is considering an elected office is advised to check with the local church for discernment. The church’s orientation derives from Romans 13 and Revelation 13. Stages of political involvement are recognized:

1. administrative oversight in the Mennonite colonies,
2. influencing the political process through the church and Christian organizations,
3. taking on a government position,
4. participation in party politics, and
5. fanatical patriotism and militant nationalism.

The first two stages are endorsed; the last not at all. Caution is advised regarding accepting a position in government. The document also warns against, though does not prohibit, participation in party politics, for such participation is fraught with dangers.

A key issue is the participation of ordained clergy in politics. The Paraguayan constitution does not allow an ordained member of the clergy to participate politically unless the person formally leaves the clerical office. The document urges that power politics and spiritual authority should not be intermixed, that the pastoral office is not to be used for political purposes. To enter a political career is to shift priorities away from Christian ministry and church building activities.

Heinz Ratzlaff

The latter point was challenged quite vigorously on the convention floor by Heinz Ratzlaff, the first evangelical and the first Mennonite to be elected to the national House of Representatives (1993–1998). Ratzlaff has studied psychology and has been the director of the Mental Health Centre in Filadelfia, one of the best in Paraguay. He studied at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno Calif. 1978–1980, earning an M.Div. In an interview later, Ratzlaff indicated that his theological and psychological training had been of inestimable value as he worked in the House of Representatives. As a congressman, he had served on various commissions: Education, Environment and Ecology, and Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs.

Ratzlaff came into politics as a result of people’s dissatisfaction with the major parties. A political movement emerged, and he was urged to let his name be registered. He stressed that he had tried to contact Mennonite Brethren ministers, but that he had had only a day’s time for the decision. The process by which he made his decision and his presumed status as a Christian minister are still seen by some as problematic.

At the convention forum, Ratzlaff argued that to enter politics did not mean that Christian priorities were being replaced, but on that point there seemed not to be consensus. The document, relatively unchanged, was later approved by the delegates. In a private interview, Ratzlaff nevertheless voiced satisfaction with the vote. The delegates, to his relief, had not closed the door on political engagement.

Elmer Martens (left), professor emeritus of Old Testament at MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif., gave a two-week series of lectures at the annual theological summer course sponsored by Instituto Biblico Asuncion and Centro Evangelico Mennonita de Teologia Asuncion in Asuncion, Paraguay Jan. 20–31. He and his wife Phyllis are pictured with their hosts Gudrun and Albert Isaak.

Ratzlaff notes that as a congressman he won the trust of colleagues and the media as one who had the welfare of the people at heart. In a country listed the third worst in corruption, that is not unimportant. He thinks he helped alter the public’s perception of evangelicals: they are not strange creatures out of touch with reality. This is also not a minor point in a country where until recently only Catholics could hold government office.

The document, although it was triggered by Razlaff’s participation in politics, was aimed at giving guidance more generally. A number of Mennonites have been or are currently involved in political action. For example, Victor Wall, the Conference moderator, has served as consultant to the government’s Education Commission and has been written up in one of the major Asuncion newspapers. Not all stories of Mennonite politicians have been positive; marriage breakups have been reported. The issue is also propelling research. Historian Gerhard Ratzlaff is preparing a book tracing the views of Mennonites on this subject from the Reformation to the present. Alfred Neufeld, president of Instituto Biblico Asuncio, has prepared a paper on Menno Simons and his engagement with governmental authorities.

—Elmer A. Martens