ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an ethnographically grounded discussion on the interface between political and religious practices of "the exception" and "sovereignty". The Mennonites are a religious group with roots in sixteenth-century Friesland. In this direction of analysis, the Old Colony Mennonites provide three further characteristics that make them into an interesting example in the examination of practices of sovereignty. The Mennonites owe their name to Menno Simons, a Dutch reformer whose main theological tenets were the baptism of adults, separation from the world, the separation of church and state, universal priesthood, and pacifism. An expression of Benjamin's changing perceptions of the definition of "Christianity" and "community" perceptions that differed increasingly from those held in the Old Colony. Indeed, both Bernard and Benjamin were eager to enter into a public discussion, Bible in hand, in order to defend their ideas and to carry out what they saw as their duty in paying witness to their faith.
