Nonresistance - Revision history

AlfRedekopp at 19:18, 15 November 2019

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SamSteiner at 14:11, 31 December 2018

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RichardThiessen: Text replace - "Mennonite Quarterly Review" to "''Mennonite Quarterly Review''"

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RichardThiessen: Text replace - "The Mennonite" to "''The Mennonite''"

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SamSteiner at 17:06, 12 August 2016

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RichardThiessen: Text replace - "Ohio (State)" to "Ohio (USA)"

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 In early 19th century America, "nonresistance" became for a time the label used by pacifist abolitionists such as Adin Ballou and W. L. Garrison (of the New England Non-Resistance Society), but their politically aggressive movement had little in common with the quietist rural Mennonites.
-American Mennonites first faced military conscription during the Civil War. The church was poorly prepared to deal with this challenge and many young men accepted military service. This experience evoked a revival of nonresistance teaching. Booklets by John F. Funk and [[Brenneman, John M. (1816-1895)|John M. Brenneman]] appeared in 1863. The 1864 tract by Reformed Mennonite Daniel Musser, "Non-resistance asserted," later came to the attention of Leo Tolstoy.
+American Mennonites first faced military conscription during the Civil War. The church was poorly prepared to deal with this challenge and many young men accepted military service. This experience evoked a revival of nonresistance teaching. Booklets by John F. Funk and [[Brenneman, John M. (1816-1895)|John M. Brenneman]] appeared in 1863. The 1864 tract by Reformed Mennonite Daniel Musser, "Non-resistance asserted," later came to the attention of [[Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910)|Leo Tolstoy]].
 World War I again tested the nonresistant convictions of American Mennonites and became the occasion for renewed emphasis on the doctrine. Significant exponents of nonresistant teaching from the first part of the 20th century include [[Horsch, John (1867-1941)|John Horsch]], [[Kauffman, Daniel (1865-1944)|Daniel Kauffman]], [[Krehbiel, Henry Peter (1862-1940)|H. P. Krehbiel]], C. Henry Smith, and [[Yoder, Edward (1893-1945)|Edward Yoder]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:11, 31 December 2018
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	[http://www.anabaptistwiki.org/mediawiki/index.php/Schleitheim_Confession_(source) Schleitheim Confession of Faith] (1527)		[http://www.anabaptistwiki.org/mediawiki/index.php/Schleitheim_Confession_(source) Schleitheim Confession of Faith] (1527)
	{{GAMEO_footer-3\|hp=Vol. 3, pp. 897-907; v. 4, p. 1147; v. 5, pp. 637-638\|date=1989\|a1_last=Hershberger\|a1_first=Guy F.\|a2_last=Crous\|a2_first=Ernst\|a3_last=Burkholder\|a3_first=John R.}}		{{GAMEO_footer-3\|hp=Vol. 3, pp. 897-907; v. 4, p. 1147; v. 5, pp. 637-638\|date=1989\|a1_last=Hershberger\|a1_first=Guy F.\|a2_last=Crous\|a2_first=Ernst\|a3_last=Burkholder\|a3_first=John R.}}
		+	[[Category:Theology]]

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 Crous, E. "Germany," <em>Mennonite Encyclopedia</em> II, 495-97.
-Crous, Ernst. "The Mennonites in Germany Since the Thirty Years' War." (section on nonresistance) <em>Mennonite Quarterly Review</em> 25 (1951): 241-244.
+Crous, Ernst. "The Mennonites in Germany Since the Thirty Years' War." (section on nonresistance) ''Mennonite Quarterly Review'' 25 (1951): 241-244.
 de Hoop Scheffer, J. G. <em>Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam</em>, 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1883-1884: v. 1, Nos. 428 f., 431, 433, 436 f., 441, 453 f., 570-84, 887, 1471, 1559, 1638, 1736, 2359, 2471; v. ll, Nos. 2994, 3290 f., 3293-3319; v. II, 2, Nos. 37, 211-15, 309-12, 330.
@@ Line 252: / Line 252: @@
 Smith, C. Henry. <em>The Story of the Mennonites.</em> Newton, KS 1950.
-Smucker, Don. E. "The Theological Basis of Christian Pacifism." <em>Mennonite Quarterly Review</em> 27 (1953): 63-86.
+Smucker, Don. E. "The Theological Basis of Christian Pacifism." ''Mennonite Quarterly Review'' 27 (1953): 63-86.
-Sudermann, Jacob. "The Origin of Mennonite State Service in Russia 1870-1880." <em>Mennonite Quarterly Review</em> 17 (1943): 23-46.
+Sudermann, Jacob. "The Origin of Mennonite State Service in Russia 1870-1880." ''Mennonite Quarterly Review'' 17 (1943): 23-46.
 Swalm, E. J. <em>Nonresistance Under Test.</em> Nappanee, IN 1938.
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 Toews, John A. <em>True Nonresistance Through Christ.</em> Winnipeg, MB, 1955.
-Toews, Paul. "The Long Weekend or the Short Week: Mennonite Peace Theology, 1925-1944." <em>Mennonite Quarterly Review</em> 60 (1986): 38-57.
+Toews, Paul. "The Long Weekend or the Short Week: Mennonite Peace Theology, 1925-1944." ''Mennonite Quarterly Review'' 60 (1986): 38-57.
 Unruh, John D. <em> In the Name of Christ: a History of the Mennonite Central Committee and Its Services, 1920-1951.</em> Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1952.

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 Krahn, Cornelius, J. Winfield Fretz, and Robert Kreider. "Altruism in Mennonite Life" in Pitirim A. Sorokin's <em>Forms and Techniques of Altruistic and Spiritual Growth.</em> Boston, 1954.
-Krahn, Cornelius. "Public Service in Russia." <em>The Mennonite</em> 58 (8 June, 22 June, 31 August, and 21 September 1943.
+Krahn, Cornelius. "Public Service in Russia." ''The Mennonite'' 58 (8 June, 22 June, 31 August, and 21 September 1943.
 Krehbiel, Edward. <em>Nationalism, War and Society.</em> New York, 1916.

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 === Nonresistance in Germany ===
-The 19th century witnessed a general decline in nonresistance among the German Mennonites. In South [[Germany|Germany]] for some time payment instead of personal service was allowed. Those with strong nonresistant convictions emigrated to America (1830-60). After 1871 payment was no more possible. In West and [[East Prussia|East Prussia]] in the last quarter of the 18th century the Mennonites were required to give financial support to the [[Culm Military Academy (Culm, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) |military academy at Culm]] and had to face restrictions in gaining more land. Consequently large numbers emigrated to [[Russia|Russia]]. When the Prussian universal military training law was passed in 1814 the Mennonites were granted exemption, but still had to pay a fee in place of personal service. After the revolution of 1848 (equal rights, equal obligations!), when a new universal military law with no exemptions for the Mennonites became imminent and in 1867 became reality, the Mennonites again and again appealed to Berlin. Their appeals to the parliament, which now had to decide the question, were futile; but the king as commander-in-chief of the army succeeded at least (1868) in granting them a cabinet order permitting noncombatant military services for those who had scruples against full service. As a result of this legislation Mennonites with strong nonresistant convictions again emigrated to Russia (from 1853) and later to America (from 1874). Among those who remained the question of following the cabinet order or accepting full service remained in dispute, but more and more the full service was accepted, especially in World War I (about one third to one half of all males of the Mennonite congregations had to enter the army; about 10 per cent of them killed in action). So in 1933, when again universal military conscription was at hand, the Vereinigung (Union of Mennonite Churches in Germany) resolved not to ask for more exemption from the law; its constitution of 11 June 1934, published in 1936, explained this development; and indeed there were no Mennonite conscientious objectors in [[World War (1939-1945) - Germany|World War II]]. -- ''Ernst Crous''
+The 19th century witnessed a general decline in nonresistance among the German Mennonites. In South [[Germany|Germany]] for some time payment instead of personal service was allowed. Those with strong nonresistant convictions immigrated to America (1830-60). After 1871 payment was no more possible. In West and [[East Prussia|East Prussia]] in the last quarter of the 18th century the Mennonites were required to give financial support to the [[Culm Military Academy (Culm, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) |military academy at Culm]] and had to face restrictions in gaining more land. Consequently large numbers immigrated to [[Russia|Russia]]. When the Prussian universal military training law was passed in 1814 the Mennonites were granted exemption, but still had to pay a fee in place of personal service. After the revolution of 1848 (equal rights, equal obligations!), when a new universal military law with no exemptions for the Mennonites became imminent and in 1867 became reality, the Mennonites again and again appealed to Berlin. Their appeals to the parliament, which now had to decide the question, were futile; but the king as commander-in-chief of the army succeeded at least (1868) in granting them a cabinet order permitting noncombatant military services for those who had scruples against full service. As a result of this legislation Mennonites with strong nonresistant convictions again immigrated to Russia (from 1853) and later to America (from 1874). Among those who remained the question of following the cabinet order or accepting full service remained in dispute, but more and more the full service was accepted, especially in World War I (about one third to one half of all males of the Mennonite congregations had to enter the army; about 10 per cent of them killed in action). So in 1933, when again universal military conscription was at hand, the Vereinigung (Union of Mennonite Churches in Germany) resolved not to ask for more exemption from the law; its constitution of 11 June 1934, published in 1936, explained this development; and indeed there were no Mennonite conscientious objectors in [[World War (1939-1945) - Germany|World War II]]. -- ''Ernst Crous''
 = 1990 Article =

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 By 1948 the editor of the French Mennonite periodical, <em>[[Christ Seul (Periodical)|Christ Seul]]</em>, was also committed to nonresistance, and his journal likewise promoted the cause. He was also an influential evangelist and youth leader whose sincere peace convictions showed signs of bearing fruit. He, along with several other French Mennonites, had notified the government that although they had previously served in the army they could not do so again. Youth meetings were discussing nonresistance, and even an all-day conference of the French Mennonite ministers in the summer of 1950 was devoted to a consideration of the ancient nonresistant testimony of the church, an event without precedent within the memory of those present. This meeting revealed in interest in testifying to the French government against its intolerant attitude toward the conscientious objector, which later was done. Present at the French ministerial conference were also representatives of the Swiss Mennonites, including the president of their conference, indicating a serious interest in nonresistance on their part. That in the mid-20th century a new interest in nonresistance had been aroused in the European Mennonite churches there could be no doubt.
-In all of this the European Mennonite peace leaders were working closely with the American Mennonites. In the summer of 1949 three representatives of the [[Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section|peace section of the MCC]], Harold S. Bender, [[Waltner, Erland (1914-2009)|Erland Waltner]], and [[Rempel, Cornelius J. (1913-1994)|Cornelius J. Rempel]], spent several months in Europe on a preaching mission, holding conferences and doing what they could to encourage their brethren in the recovery of their nonresistant witness. During the year 1949-50 [[Hershberger, Guy F. (1896-1989)|Guy F. Hershberger]] served in a similar way, his work including a study of the general pacifist movement in Europe. In the summer of 1951 Bender and Waltner engaged in a second preaching mission and, in addition to their labors among the Mennonites, participated in conferences with peace leaders in the German evangelical churches. Similar missions were sent to the Mennonite colonies in [[South America|South America]] about the same time.
+In all of this the European Mennonite peace leaders were working closely with the American Mennonites. In the summer of 1949 three representatives of the [[Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section|peace section of the MCC]], Harold S. Bender, [[Waltner, Erland (1914-2009)|Erland Waltner]], and [[Rempel, Cornelius J. (1912-1994)|Cornelius J. Rempel]], spent several months in Europe on a preaching mission, holding conferences and doing what they could to encourage their brethren in the recovery of their nonresistant witness. During the year 1949-50 [[Hershberger, Guy F. (1896-1989)|Guy F. Hershberger]] served in a similar way, his work including a study of the general pacifist movement in Europe. In the summer of 1951 Bender and Waltner engaged in a second preaching mission and, in addition to their labors among the Mennonites, participated in conferences with peace leaders in the German evangelical churches. Similar missions were sent to the Mennonite colonies in [[South America|South America]] about the same time.
 This outward reach of the Mennonite peace witness into the general Christian peace movement was manifesting itself in a number of ways. The Dutch Mennonite Peace Group was making its influence felt upon Dutch Christianity in general. Since 1949 the Dutch Peace Group and American Mennonites had been holding occasional conferences with representatives of the Friends and the [[Church of the Brethren|Church of the Brethren]] in Europe, and a European Historic Peace Church Continuation Committee was organized in that year, with the British Friends, the European representatives of the Brethren Service Committee, and MCC workers (plus later representatives of the Dutch Peace Group) participating. A conference of these groups in 1950 took steps toward the presentation of the concerns and convictions of the Historic Peace Churches to the World Council of Churches before the time of its world conference in 1953. This presentation was made in the form of a booklet <em>Peace is the Will of God</em> (Amsterdam, 1953). Since then the European Mennonite peace witness and work has continued under the leadership of the International Mennonite Peace Committee assisted by American MCC workers John H. Yoder, Albert Meyer, Ernst Harder, Milton Harder, Paul Bender, and others. In the summer of 1957 a number of peace conferences were held in meetings associated with the sixth Mennonite World Conference. At the same time the Mennonites of the Latin-American countries were also growing increasingly conscious of their responsibility to strengthen the witness of peace among themselves, and to make that witness felt beyond their own circles through the publication of peace literature and by other means. This was true both of the Mennonite colonists who had recently settled there as immigrants, and of the Mennonite missions in those parts. The same was also true of Mennonite missions in [[Africa|Africa]], [[India|India]], and in other parts of the world. During 1955-57 Melvin Gingerich gave a two-year term of service under the Peace Section of the MCC bringing the peace witness to the people of Japan, working with Japanese Christians and peace workers in that country. In September 1957 he was succeeded by [[Peachey, Paul (1918-2012)|Paul Peachey]] in this ministry. Thus at the middle of the 20th century there was a growing conviction among Mennonites that nonresistance was an integral part of the Gospel of Christ. And the Mennonite peace witness was growing ever more world-wide in its scope.

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 Critics have labeled classic Mennonite nonresistance as psychological asceticism, resulting in an unhealthy stance of withdrawal and self-denial. Moreover, it is an inadequate social ethic, unable to respond to competing neighbor claims or to the need for the protection of third parties. The larger questions of justice and social responsibility are bypassed in order to preserve personal purity, it is alleged.
-In the generations since 1955, these challenges have been addressed by Mennonite scholars. J. Lawrence Burkholder and Gordon Kaufman led the way in questioning the adequacy of the traditional ethic for responding to the changing social context of Mennonite communities, no longer isolated from modern society, and to the urgent needs of the postwar world. They along with others argued that the traditional stance was too narrow and simplistic to cope with such problems as the threat of [[Nuclear Weapons (United States)|nuclear weapons]] and third-world revolutions.
+In the generations since 1955, these challenges have been addressed by Mennonite scholars. [[Burkholder, John Lawrence (1917-2010)|J. Lawrence Burkholder]] and Gordon Kaufman led the way in questioning the adequacy of the traditional ethic for responding to the changing social context of Mennonite communities, no longer isolated from modern society, and to the urgent needs of the postwar world. They along with others argued that the traditional stance was too narrow and simplistic to cope with such problems as the threat of [[Nuclear Weapons (United States)|nuclear weapons]] and third-world revolutions.
 [[File:John Howard Yoder 1.jpg|200px|thumbnail|''John Howard Yoder'']]

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 In all of this the European Mennonite peace leaders were working closely with the American Mennonites. In the summer of 1949 three representatives of the [[Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section|peace section of the MCC]], Harold S. Bender, Erland Waltner, and [[Rempel, Cornelius J. (1913-1994)|Cornelius J. Rempel]], spent several months in Europe on a preaching mission, holding conferences and doing what they could to encourage their brethren in the recovery of their nonresistant witness. During the year 1949-50 [[Hershberger, Guy F. (1896-1989)|Guy F. Hershberger]] served in a similar way, his work including a study of the general pacifist movement in Europe. In the summer of 1951 Bender and Waltner engaged in a second preaching mission and, in addition to their labors among the Mennonites, participated in conferences with peace leaders in the German evangelical churches. Similar missions were sent to the Mennonite colonies in [[South America|South America]] about the same time.
-This outward reach of the Mennonite peace witness into the general Christian peace movement was manifesting itself in a number of ways. The Dutch Mennonite Peace Group was making its influence felt upon Dutch Christianity in general. Since 1949 the Dutch Peace Group and American Mennonites had been holding occasional conferences with representatives of the Friends and the [[Church of the Brethren|Church of the Brethren]] in Europe, and a European Historic Peace Church Continuation Committee was organized in that year, with the British Friends, the European representatives of the Brethren Service Committee, and MCC workers (plus later representatives of the Dutch Peace Group) participating. A conference of these groups in 1950 took steps toward the presentation of the concerns and convictions of the Historic Peace Churches to the World Council of Churches before the time of its world conference in 1953. This presentation was made in the form of a booklet <em>Peace is the Will of God</em> (Amsterdam, 1953). Since then the European Mennonite peace witness and work has continued under the leadership of the International Mennonite Peace Committee assisted by American MCC workers John H. Yoder, Albert Meyer, Ernst Harder, Milton Harder, Paul Bender, and others. In the summer of 1957 a number of peace conferences were held in meetings associated with the sixth Mennonite World Conference. At the same time the Mennonites of the Latin-American countries were also growing increasingly conscious of their responsibility to strengthen the witness of peace among themselves, and to make that witness felt beyond their own circles through the publication of peace literature and by other means. This was true both of the Mennonite colonists who had recently settled there as immigrants, and of the Mennonite missions in those parts. The same was also true of Mennonite missions in [[Africa|Africa]], [[India|India]], and in other parts of the world. During 1955-57 Melvin Gingerich gave a two-year term of service under the Peace Section of the MCC bringing the peace witness to the people of Japan, working with Japanese Christians and peace workers in that country. In September 1957 he was succeeded by Paul Peachey in this ministry. Thus at the middle of the 20th century there was a growing conviction among Mennonites that nonresistance was an integral part of the Gospel of Christ. And the Mennonite peace witness was growing ever more world-wide in its scope.
+This outward reach of the Mennonite peace witness into the general Christian peace movement was manifesting itself in a number of ways. The Dutch Mennonite Peace Group was making its influence felt upon Dutch Christianity in general. Since 1949 the Dutch Peace Group and American Mennonites had been holding occasional conferences with representatives of the Friends and the [[Church of the Brethren|Church of the Brethren]] in Europe, and a European Historic Peace Church Continuation Committee was organized in that year, with the British Friends, the European representatives of the Brethren Service Committee, and MCC workers (plus later representatives of the Dutch Peace Group) participating. A conference of these groups in 1950 took steps toward the presentation of the concerns and convictions of the Historic Peace Churches to the World Council of Churches before the time of its world conference in 1953. This presentation was made in the form of a booklet <em>Peace is the Will of God</em> (Amsterdam, 1953). Since then the European Mennonite peace witness and work has continued under the leadership of the International Mennonite Peace Committee assisted by American MCC workers John H. Yoder, Albert Meyer, Ernst Harder, Milton Harder, Paul Bender, and others. In the summer of 1957 a number of peace conferences were held in meetings associated with the sixth Mennonite World Conference. At the same time the Mennonites of the Latin-American countries were also growing increasingly conscious of their responsibility to strengthen the witness of peace among themselves, and to make that witness felt beyond their own circles through the publication of peace literature and by other means. This was true both of the Mennonite colonists who had recently settled there as immigrants, and of the Mennonite missions in those parts. The same was also true of Mennonite missions in [[Africa|Africa]], [[India|India]], and in other parts of the world. During 1955-57 Melvin Gingerich gave a two-year term of service under the Peace Section of the MCC bringing the peace witness to the people of Japan, working with Japanese Christians and peace workers in that country. In September 1957 he was succeeded by [[Peachey, Paul (1918-2012)|Paul Peachey]] in this ministry. Thus at the middle of the 20th century there was a growing conviction among Mennonites that nonresistance was an integral part of the Gospel of Christ. And the Mennonite peace witness was growing ever more world-wide in its scope.
 Another effect of the growing interest in the Christian peace testimony was a deepened concern among Mennonites for the wider social implications of the Gospel and of the principle of nonresistance in particular. "A declaration of Christian faith and commitment," adopted by a study conference called by the Peace Section of the MCC at Winona Lake, Ind., in 1950, says: "We ... have the responsibility to bring to the total social order ... the utmost of which we are capable in Christian love and service. . . . For this reason the social order, including our own segment of it, must be constantly brought under the judgment of Christ. . . . We must practice an increasingly sharper Christian control of our economic, social, and cultural practices among ourselves and toward others, to make certain that love truly operates to work no ill to our neighbor, either short-range or long-range. Knowing how much the selfishness, pride, and greed of individuals, groups, and nations, which economic systems often encourage, help to cause carnal strife and warfare, we must see to it that we do not contribute thereto, whether for the goals of direct military operation or to anything which destroys property or causes hurt or loss of human life."

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 Some form of alternative service was granted by the Soviet government upon individual application quite regularly down to 1927, on the basis of the Lenin decree of 1919 (which has never been repealed). Thereafter it became increasingly difficult, although cases are known to have been granted as late as 1935. In some cases also the CO's are reported to have been shot, and in other cases the alternative service amounted to forced labor in concentration camps. Many of the Mennonite men who were brought out of Russia in 1943 by the German army of occupation were drafted into the German army.
-From the time of the first Mennonite immigration to America in the late 17th century to the present time, concern for the principle of nonresistance has always been a major cause for the emigration of Mennonites from Europe. This was especially true after the introduction of universal military service in Europe by [[Napoleon I, Emperor of France (1769-1821)|Napoleon]] early in the 19th century. The coming of the Swiss Mennonites and the Alsatian [[Amish Mennonites|Amish]] to [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]], [[Indiana (USA)|Indiana]], [[Illinois (USA)|Illinois]], and [[Iowa (USA)|Iowa]] in the mid-19th century are cases in point. Further illustrations would be Mennonite groups coming from Prussia to [[Kansas (USA)|Kansas]] and [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]] as well as other Mennonites and Amish groups from [[Germany|Germany]] to [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]], [[Ohio (State)|Ohio]], Illinois, and Iowa. By far the largest migration before World War I was that from [[Russia|Russia]] in the 1870s, and this was brought about almost entirely by the Russian threat to the nonresistant way of life of the Mennonites. These successive waves of immigration accordingly strengthened the American Mennonite devotion to the principle of nonresistance.
+From the time of the first Mennonite immigration to America in the late 17th century to the present time, concern for the principle of nonresistance has always been a major cause for the emigration of Mennonites from Europe. This was especially true after the introduction of universal military service in Europe by [[Napoleon I, Emperor of France (1769-1821)|Napoleon]] early in the 19th century. The coming of the Swiss Mennonites and the Alsatian [[Amish Mennonites|Amish]] to [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]], [[Indiana (USA)|Indiana]], [[Illinois (USA)|Illinois]], and [[Iowa (USA)|Iowa]] in the mid-19th century are cases in point. Further illustrations would be Mennonite groups coming from Prussia to [[Kansas (USA)|Kansas]] and [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]] as well as other Mennonites and Amish groups from [[Germany|Germany]] to [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]], [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]], Illinois, and Iowa. By far the largest migration before World War I was that from [[Russia|Russia]] in the 1870s, and this was brought about almost entirely by the Russian threat to the nonresistant way of life of the Mennonites. These successive waves of immigration accordingly strengthened the American Mennonite devotion to the principle of nonresistance.
 Although there have always been individuals who did not follow the teachings of the church, the American Mennonites during the wars from the 18th to the 20th centuries have maintained a fairly consistent testimony against military service. The nonresistant faith of the Pennsylvania Mennonites was not only stated in their declaration to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1775; it was also demonstrated by the assistance and relief which they brought to the war sufferers of that time. There were also numerous cases of Mennonites on the American frontier in colonial times who suffered in various ways, some of them even being murdered at the hands of hostile Indians, such as in Page County, Va., and [[Berks County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Berks County]], Pennsylvania. In all of these trials there is no case on record of any Mennonite using force against the enemy. In 1789 Benjamin Rush said: "Perhaps those German sects of Christians among us who refuse to bear arms for the purpose of shedding human blood, may be preserved by divine providence as the center of a circle, which shall gradually embrace all nations of the earth in a perpetual treaty of friendship and peace."