• Donwood West opens new retirement option • - Canadian ...

Why I am a Mennonite
Until I feel comfortable in church,
the question, "Am I a Mennonite?"
will never be far from my mind
one of a series
by Robert Matsuo
T he Random House Dictionary of the
English Language (1983) defines a Mennonite
as "a member of an evangelical
Protestant sect, originating in Europe in
the 16th century, that opposes infant baptism,
practices baptism of believers only,
restricts marriage to members of the
denomination and is noted for simplicity
ofliving and plain dress." If the definition
is accurate, then I would fail to qualify as a
Mennonite as I do not consider myself
evangelical, I do not subscribe to the simple
life and my dress is conservative, not
plain.
How did I come to be associated with a
Mennonite church? With a name like
Matsuo it's strange that I should choose to
be amongst the Penners, Neufelds, Dycks,
etc. The choice was not haphazard. After
completion of my graduate studies in
Alberta we returned to Winnipeg and as
we had no church affiliation, looked for a
church in which we might feel comfortable.
We chose a church where one of the
ministers was a recent graduate of a seminary
and a former classmate of my wife. I
was really impressed with his approach to
religion which was modern and relevant
and not of the fire and brimstone variety.
At this point I should give a brief
resume of my early life. I was raised in a
non-Christian home in a small Japanese
community on Vancouver Island. I had a
limited exposure to Christ and to Bible
stories when a kindly itinerant Japanese
United Church minister came to our village
once or twice a year. There was also
a pompous "captain" of the Salvation
Army who came around from time to
time. Unfortunately, he did little for the
Christian cause as he was regarded as a
buffoon, more so because he sported a
Hitler-like moustache.
The Japanese community where I
spent my first decade expressed loyalty
first and foremost to the Emperor of
Japan because he was believed to be a
descendant of the sun-goddess; he was
worshipped as if he were a god, and thus
there was little "room" for God. As a
consequence of the fierce loyalty to
Japan, the Japanese were forced to move
to interior British Columbia, the Prairies
or to Eastern Canada after the attack on
Pearl Harbor. The uprooting from one's
home in this dispassionate manner was a
trauma that will not be forgotten by those
who experienced it. To be herded like
cattle onto crowded coaches to distant
sugarbeet farms in Manitoba, to bejeered
by soldiers "You dirty Japs" is the kind of
humiliation I wish upon no one. Visible
minority groups have often suffered racial
discrimination· in the past and no doubt
will in the future. The idea of a "Christian
Society" seems a myth attainable only in
fairy tales, especially in times of national
crisis.
We survived the post-war years and
gradually began to integrate and assimilate.
During my undergraduate years I
was too engrossed in studies in the physical
sciences to think about religion. For-
tunately for me, I associated with a friend,
an arts graduate studying law at the time,
with whom I spent many a free evening
discussing among other topics religion
and the philosophy of religion. He introduced
me to Khalil Gibran and The
Prophet which to me was then and still is
the most inspiring book I've read. I often
thought about the meaning of life and
questioned the reason for our existence .
In terms of geological time our span of 3
score and 10 years is infinitesimal, so that
ifthere were a purpose, why is the span of
life so variable from less than a day to over
a 100 years? For a time I thought myself
an agnostic. There came a time, however,
when I realized that science cannot provide
answers to everything. Scientists can
only speculate as to the origin of life and
cannot define with formulae or equations
the "living spirit" or the "soul."
This progression leads naturally to the
acceptance of God. Yet there was a chasm
that seemed unbridgeable. How does one
reconcile the mythological aspects of the
Old Testament and the miracles attributed
to Christ with one's training in
science? If the Law of Conservation of
Mass and Energy is valid, how does one
accept some of the miracles other than by
blind faith? The interpretation of the gospels
by the progressive ministers has
helped to bridge this gap. It's not difficult
to listen to sermons on love, charity or
giving, but how often does or can one
bring these teachings into practice? For
example, Sri Lanka is one of the poorest
countries in Asia. During a recent business
visit our group was told not to go
mennonite mirror/april1988/ 5