Today they still refrain from opposing evil, and believe in the separation of church and state, which to them means a refusal to hold office and, in many cases, to vote or to have recourse to the courts. They pay their taxes and do what the state demands, as long as it is not inconsistent with their duty to God. In case of a conflict in duty, service to God is placed first. Since they do not believe that it is possible for the world as a whole to become free of sin, they maintain that the Christian must separate himself from it. They make no attempt to bring about reform in society by means of political action or other movements of the sort which we have considered under non-violent direct action.[100] Since the term "pacifist" has come into general use to designate those opposed to war, the Mennonites have usually made a distinction between themselves as "non-resistants" and the pacifists, who, they claim, are more interested in creating a good society than they are in following completely the admonitions of the Bible. They also disclaim any relationship to such non-resistants as Garrison or Ballou, even though these men reached substantially the same conclusion about the nature of the state, or with Tolstoy who even refused to accept the support of the state for the institution of private property. The American non-resistants they regard primarily as reformers of human society, and Tolstoy as an anarchist who rejected the state altogether, rather than accepting it as a necessary evil.[101] In so far as the Mennonites have used social influence at all, it has been through the force of example, and in their missionary endeavors to win other individuals to the same high principles which they themselves follow. FOOTNOTES: [92] See the pamphlet by C. Henry Smith, _Christian Peace: Four Hundred Years of Mennonite Peace Principles and Practice_ (Newton, Kansas: Mennonite Publication Office, 1938). [93] C. Henry Smith, _The Story of the Mennonites_ (Berne, Ind.: Mennonite Book Concern, 1941), 9-30. [94] John Horsch, _Mennonites in Europe_, (Scottdale, Pa.: Mennonite Publishing House, 1942), 359. [95] Smith, _Story of the Mennonites_, 30-35. [96] Quoted by Horsch, 363. [97] _Ibid._, 365. [98] Smith, _Story of the Mennonites_, 536-539. [99] Smith, _Christian Peace_, 12-15. [100] Edward Yoder, _et al._, _Must Christians Fight: A Scriptural Inquiry_ (Akron, Pa.: Mennonite Central Committee, 1943), 31-32, 41-44, 59-61, 64-65. [101] _Ibid._, 62-63; and for a full discussion of the attitude see Guy F. Hershberger, "Biblical Non-resistance and Modern Pacifism" in _Mennonite Quarterly Rev._, XVII (July, 1943), 115-135. The New England Non-Resistants