The decision to ban Meijers forces Cleveringa to decide who
he wishes to be, in his own eyes and in the eyes of a watching
audience. The person whose opinion matters most to him is
his wife. He consults with her constantly. A close relationship
like this is a moral theater in which our deepest sense of selfworth
is tied to their sense of who we truly are. We know
from Cleveringa’s memoirs that he was only at peace with his
decision when he knew that he could count on his wife’s full
support.
We also know that she came from a liberal Mennonite family.
This does not mean that specific religious doctrine determined
their choice. While Cleveringa makes reference to God, he does
not convey any sense that he secures any guidance from above.
Yet there seems little doubt that Mennonite Protestantism plays
a role in framing how he sees himself as a moral actor. He takes
it as a fact of his situation that he must choose. The religious
milieu of his house also tells him that the choice he makes will
be with him for the rest of his life. Faith defines the ultimate
temporal frame of his moral life as eternity.