DOCSLIB.ORG

Anabaptist History Unit.Qxd

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Anabaptist History Unit.Qxd The Anabaptist Family Tree BACKGROUND Theological differences sometimes caused new Anabaptist groups to emerge, such as the Amish, Brethren in Christ, and River Brethren. One example of this was in the 17th century, when the issue of church discipline was hotly debated. In the early 1690s, Jacob Ammann, a bishop from Markirch, had emerged as an important leader among the Anabaptists of Bern, Alsace, and the Palatinate. Ammann felt that the church needed to become less worldly. He called for firmer discipline and the practice of shunning, which severed all ties, both family and social, to any person in the group who sinned. Ammann insisted on holding communion twice a year instead of once a year, attempted to introduce footwashing, and did not allow the wearing of fashionable clothes, or cutting the beard for men. By 1698, two factions had appeared. The followers of Ammann became known as the Amish. Those who opposed Ammann were led by Senior Bishop Hans Reist. As the issues were debated, a chasm grew between the two groups. Eventually some conciliatory actions were taken. The Amish, however, would only return to the Mennonite Church on their own terms. The Amish wanted to keep their prac- tices of shunning and footwashing. These terms were unsatisfactory to the Mennonites. Today the Anabaptist subgroup known as the Amish consists of approximately 100,000 members. Another example of theological differences is the 1881-82 triple-branching of the German Baptist Brethren. There were several reasons for these differences. One difference was in whether or not the church should begin Sunday schools. At that time, Sunday schools were considered worldly and unscriptural. Another dif- ference was in whether or not to support separate educational institutions such as colleges or high schools. Still other differences included whether churches should support revival services, mission work, trained and salaried ministers, and the printing of church materials. Other reasons for branching in the Anabaptist family tree are included in the lesson called “So Many Branches.” Anabaptist History: The Anabaptist Family Tree 170 The Anabaptist Family Tree LESSON 10: SO MANY BRANCHES Objective To learn the origins of the many branches of the Anabaptist family tree. John 17:22-23—The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Key Concepts • Students will examine the branches of the Anabaptist family tree by identifying when each denominational group began. • Students will look closely at some of the issues that caused the groups to branch. • Students will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of branching into new groups. Estimated Lesson Time: 50 minutes Materials • Branch from a tree or bush • “Tiny Timeline” two-sided handouts (pp. 175-176) • “A Church Divided” handouts (pp. 178-179) • (Optional) Copy of The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss, for “What are the belly stars today?” Extend the Lesson exercise Teacher Preparation 1. Cut a small branch from a tree or bush, to demonstrate the idea of a common trunk with many branches. 2. Make enough copies of “Tiny Timeline” handout for each student to have one. Note that the handout has two sides—a fill-in-the-blank timeline on one side, and 13 clues on the other. 3. Make enough copies of “A Church Divided” handout for each student to have one copy. INTRODUCING THE LESSON Branch question. Place the branch from a tree or bush in front of the class. Ask, “What does this branch have to do with the Anabaptist community?” Invite wild to mild guesses. When students have exhausted their list, mention that you have brought the branch as a symbol of the many expressions of a common faith—the branches, and core principles—the main trunk or stem. Say, “The branch we will focus on today is just one limb of the larger tree of Christianity. It has strengths and weaknesses, and specific contributions to offer the larger church. Anabaptist History: So Many Branches 171 LESSON STEPS 1. Tiny Timeline. Divide the class into groups of three and pass out copies of the Tiny Timeline handout. Read the directions from Timester: “Your assignment is to figure out the thirteen Anabaptist branches contained in the Tiny Timeline. Use the clues below to figure out which groups go where. There is only one solution that will make all of the following clues work correctly. Use the dates to help you determine which group branched off from which other group. Remember, the trunk is Anabaptism.” Allow students five to ten minutes to work on the project, as needed. If a group finds this exercise particularly challenging, offer a couple of hints from the completed Answer Sheet (p. 177). When all of the groups are finished, place the Answer Sheet on an overhead projector and allow students to correct their answers. Congratulate all of the groups who filled in all answers correctly. 2. “Because” branches. Working in the same small groups, assign students to write down five reasons that might have caused groups to branch off from anoth- er. If students are familiar with historical reasons, they may include them on their list, but also encourage them to simply imagine some of the reasons and include those on the their list as well. Make a cumulative list on a chalkboard, marker board, or flip chart by inviting small groups to read their lists. Ask the class to identify the top five reasons by nominating ten reasons from the cumulative list and then voting by a show of hands for the reasons they think are most plausible. Write down the following underlined words with the reasons for branching dur- ing the 1881-82 triple branch of the German Baptist Brethren: • whether or not to have Sunday school (Sunday school was considered to be worldly and not scriptural) • whether or not to support separate educational institutions like colleges or high schools (some thought their children should be involved in public schools and others that they should be kept separate) • whether churches should support “revival” services (this method of holding special meetings, often outside of church buildings, struck some people as excessive and unnecessary) • how active congregations should be in mission work (some wanted to focus close to home, others around the country and world, others only by practical witnesses) • how strict churches should be in controlling dress styles (some wanted a dis- tinctive dress style to set members apart from the world) • whether ministers should receive training and a salary or work another full- time job (some did not want ministers set apart from the congregation by being paid to preach, and wanted the money to go to pay for other expenses) • whether the church should be involved in printing church materials (some opposed this because of the associations with larger Christianity and suspicion of education) • how authority should be expressed in the church (some wanted clear lines of authority, while others wanted to have leadership shared throughout the church) As time allows, mention other reasons for branching among Anabaptist groups, such as how foot washing should be practiced; whether various technologies (like Anabaptist History: So Many Branches 172 cars or electrical appliances) should be used; how key Bible passages should be interpreted (such as those regarding women in ministry, baptism, the importance of evangelism, etc.). 3. Pondering the reasons. Discuss with your students: • What are the differences and similarities between the two lists? • What are reasons that church groups split and start new religious communities today? • How do you think the leaders of these groups felt about leaving their congre gations? • What are the results of these many branches in the history of the Anabaptist community? (Discuss the gifts of variety, the strains and discouragement of division, learning to leave rather than to find ways to work together, having multiple perspectives from a similar root, a witness to the world of division rather than unity.) • How might these splits have turned out differently? • How do these multiple branches relate to John 17:22-23? The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Is it possible to be “one” while having many branches? 4. Amish and the Mennonites. Distribute the “A Church Divided” handouts. When students have finished reading the story, each small group may choose between writing an alternate ending to the story that avoids a split, acting out an alternate ending to the story, or drawing pictures of a scene from the story. Direct students in their decision-making, as needed. Allow adequate time for their cre- ative work. Each group should have an opportunity to show their work to the class, either during this class period or at another time. 5. Talking to a tourist. Ask the students, “Based on the information you read in ‘A Church Divided,’ how would you respond if a tourist came up to you and asked, ‘How are Amish and Mennonites connected? Is it because they both wore beards?’ ” Be sure the students’ responses include: —the Amish have historically stressed confessing sin in public more than the Mennonites —the Amish practice shunning, whereas Mennonites do not —the Amish have stressed distinctive dress patterns, whereas Mennonites have a wide variety of practice in dress —both Mennonites and Amish do not practice communion on a regular basis —many Mennonite communities practice footwashing, as the Amish do —the Amish maintain strict regulations on types of technologies used, and do not drive cars or trucks, whereas most Mennonites use technologies freely (although some Mennonite groups do place restrictions on things like radio and television, or the kind of car a church member can drive) 6.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Theoretical Implications of the Beachy Amish-Mennonites DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Th
    Theoretical Implications of the Beachy Amish-Mennonites DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Cory Alexander Anderson Graduate Program in Rural Sociology The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Joseph Donnermeyer, Advisor Richard Moore Edward Crenshaw Copyrighted by Cory Alexander Anderson 2014 Abstract One of the hallmarks of social science is the interaction of theory and methods/data, the former guiding the latter and the latter refining the former, in a cyclical relationship. The goal of theory is to provide explanations for and even predict a range of human behaviors. One potential cause of theoretical stagnation is an over focus on a singular, usually easily accessible group. Given the persistence of plain Anabaptists like the Amish as a highly distinct subgroup in American society, their utility for refining sociological theories is persuasive, but has rarely been employed to this end because of their social inaccessibility, shyness towards social science research, and the popular interpretive frames placed on them that distract would-be investigators. Even with Amish-focused scholarship, the emphasis has been largely on describing the population or applying theory to understand the Amish case, but not returning findings back to theory in critique and revision. This dissertation introduces and contextualizes the plain Anabaptists, then describes the Beachy Amish-Mennonites, a group within the Amish religious tension, but dealing markedly with tensions between separatism and assimilation. Following this introduction are three independent studies that demonstrate the use of plain Anabaptists to refine theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Sketching the Stories of the Ausbund Carita B
    The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors Honors Research Projects College Fall 2015 Sketching the Stories of the Ausbund Carita B. Keim Ms. University of Akron Main Campus, [email protected] Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Follow this and additional works at: http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects Part of the Nonfiction Commons Recommended Citation Keim, Carita B. Ms., "Sketching the Stories of the Ausbund" (2015). Honors Research Projects. 215. http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/215 This Honors Research Project is brought to you for free and open access by The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors College at IdeaExchange@UAkron, the institutional repository of The nivU ersity of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Research Projects by an authorized administrator of IdeaExchange@UAkron. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. “To the praise of God . though very coarse”: Sketching the Stories of the Ausbund Critical Essay The Ausbund, a hymnbook, is a historical anomaly for its tenacious usage. The Amish, one of the few surviving folk cultures in the United States, still sing the hymns in the original German. Their ancestors penned the words to these hymns nearly five hundred years ago on another continent. Ironically, the Amish arose in opposition to the Latin Christian Church (later known as the Roman Catholic Church), yet could be considered to be nearly their equal in their tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • Five Views on the Church and Politics
    Five Views on the Church and Politics By Amy E. Black, J. Brian Benestad, Robert Benne, Bruce Fields, Thomas W. Heilke, James K.A. Smith ZONDERVAN Copyright © 2015 Amy E. Black, J. Brian Benestad, Robert Benne, Bruce Fields, Thomas W. Heilke, and James K.A. Smith All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-51792-4 Contents INTRODUCTION CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT AMY 1. THE ANABAPTIST (SEPARATIONIST) VIEW THOMAS W. HEILKE, 19, 2. THE LUTHERAN (PARADOXICAL) VIEW ROBERT BENNE, 59, 3. THE BLACK CHURCH (PROPHETIC) VIEW BRUCE L. FIELDS, 97, 4. THE REFORMED (TRANSFORMATIONIST) VIEW JAMES K.A. SMITH, 139, 5. THE CATHOLIC (SYNTHETIC) VIEW J. BRIAN BENESTAD, 177, CONCLUSION CHRISTIAN WITNESS IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE AMY E. BLACK, About the Contributors, 231, Author Index, 234, Subject Index, 237, Scripture Index, 240, CHAPTER 1 THE ANABAPTIST (SEPARATIONIST) VIEW THOMAS W. HEILKE Introduction In 1994, Richard J. Mouw, then-President of Fuller Theological Seminary, wrote a foreword to a collection of essays by Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder. He suggested that — thanks in good part to Yoder's work — adherents of the Reformed, Lutheran, or Roman Catholic traditions could no longer either ignore or politely condescend to the claims, arguments, and practices of the Anabaptist tradition. Professor Mouw's observation was a remarkable and generous nod to Yoder's theological project, and perhaps a confirmation of a growing assertion among Mennonite theologians and historians that Anabaptists do have "modern relevance." But the descendants of the early Anabaptists make up today, as they did five centuries ago, an exceedingly small portion of global Christianity: "Anabaptism forms but a rivulet in the stream of Christian tradition." Nevertheless, Mouw argued that Christians who are not of this tiny minority should pay attention to what it has to say.
    [Show full text]
  • “State of the Church” Frequently Asked Questions
    “State of the Church” Frequently Asked Questions From October 2020 to February 2021, the Annual Conference Moderator hosted the “Moderator’s District Q+A” sessions in partnership with the Annual Conference Moderator-Elect and Secretary; Twenty-four ZOOM sessions were held in 14 districts across the denomination. The focus of the sessions was the “state of the church.” The Q+As were open to all, both clergy and laity; districts were encouraged to publicize them widely. The questions that follow arose from those sessions; they are not exhaustive of every question on the hearts and minds of our constituency. Rather, they are representative of inquiries posed by both clergy and laity in a variety of districts. The responses to each question, also are not exhaustive; additional detail, however, is found in the endnotes. Additional questions are welcome. Abortion • What is the Church of the Brethren position on abortion? In sum: “The Church of the Brethren opposes abortion because the rejection of unborn children violates the love by which God creates and nurtures human life. “We recognize that our society contributes to unwanted pregnancies in many ways and gives too little care to those who must bear the consequences. “We recognize also our responsibility to work for a caring society that undergirds women who choose to carry pregnancies to full term, a caring society that [also] protects integrity of conscience in decision-making in relation to pregnancy and childbearing while also acting to protect the unborn. “We hold ourselves accountable to develop constructive, creative alternatives to abortion in the communities of which we are a part.
    [Show full text]
  • Myron S. Principies 01 Biblical Interpretation in Mennonite Theology
    Augsburger, Myron S. PrincipIes 01 Biblical Interpretation in Mennonite Theology. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1967. Bauman, Clarence. The Spiritual Legacy 01 Hans Denck: Interpretation and Translation 01Key Texts. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1991. Beachy, Alvin J. The Concept 01 Grace in the Radical Relormation. Nieuw- koop: DeGraaf, 1977. Beahm, William M. Studies in Christian Belief Elgin, IlI.: Brethren Press, 1958. Bender, Harold S. Two Centuries 01 American Mennonite Literature, 1727-1928. Goshen, Ind.: Mennonite Historical Society, 1929. Bender, Harold S., ed. Hutterite Studies: Essays by Robert Friedmann. Goshen, Ind.: Mennonite Historical Society, 1961. Bender, Harold S., et al. The Mennonite Encyclopedia. 5 vols. 1955, 1959, 1990. Bittinger, Emmert F. Heritage and Promise: Perspectives on the Church olthe Brethren. Elgin, IlI.: Brethren Press, 1970. Bittinger, Emmert F., ed. Brethren in Transition: 20th Century Directions & Dilemmas. Camden, Maine: Penobseot Press, 1992. Bowman, Carl F. A Profile 01the Church 01the Brethren. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1987. Bowman, Carl F. "Beyond Plainness: Cultural Transformation in the Chureh of the Brethren from 1850 to the Present." Ph.D. Dissertation: University of Virginia, 1989. Bowman, Carl F. Brethren Society: The Cultural Translormation ola "Peculiar People". Baltirnore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995. Bowman, Rufus D. The Church olthe Brethren and War: 1708-1941. Elgin, IlI.: Brethren Publishing House, 1944. Brethren Encyclopedia. The Brethren Encyclopedia. Three Vols. Philadelphia and Oak Brook, IlI.: The Brethren Eneyclopedia, Ine., 1983. Brethren Publishing. The Brethren 's Tracts and Pamphlets, Setting Forth the Claims 01Primitive Christianity. Vol. I. Gish Fund Edition. Elgin, IlI.: Brethren Publishing House. Brethren Publishing. Full Report 01 Proceedings 01 the Brethren 's Annual Meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • Center Plans Conference on Alexander Mack Jr
    The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College Spring 2012 Center plans conference on Alexander Mack Jr. To commemorate 300th birthday of important Brethren leader he Young Center will host “Pietist and Anabaptist election to ministry, Sander Mack gave pastoral lead- TIntersections in Pennsylvania: The Life and Influ- ership from 1749 until his death in 1803. He wrote ence of Alexander Mack Jr.” on June 6, 7, and 8, several doctrinal and devotional works, and his 2012. The conference will focus on the life of poetry expanded the body of Brethren hymn texts. Alexander Mack Jr., the most significant Brethren One goal of the conference is to expand the minister in the eighteenth century. understanding of Sander Mack’s influence on the Born in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1712, Sander Brethren. Although he was an important minister in Mack, as he preferred to be called, lived with the the eighteenth century, little has been written about group from Schwarzenau during their temporary stay him in comparison to his father, the first minister of in the Netherlands and moved with them to Pennsyl- the Brethren. In 1912 Samuel Heckman published a vania in 1729, settling in Germantown. He became a book of many of Mack’s German poetic texts and member of the Ephrata Cloister, and then returned to prose translations, but he provided little commen- Germantown in 1748. He settled in Chestnut Hill, tary on the texts. Donald F. Durnbaugh and Edward married Elisabeth Neis and had a family of eight Quinter translated Mack’s daybook, which was pub- children, making his living as a weaver.
    [Show full text]
  • The German Identity Op Mennonite Brethren Immigrants in Canada, 1930-1960
    THE GERMAN IDENTITY OP MENNONITE BRETHREN IMMIGRANTS IN CANADA, 1930-1960 by BENJAMIN WALL REDEKOP B.A., Fresno Pacific College, 1985 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF HISTORY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1990 ©BENJAMIN WALL REDEKOP, 1990 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of l4i£4p/' The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) ii ABSTRACT Little scholarly research has been done on the function of Germanism among Mennonites who immigrated to Canada from Russia in the 1920's, and what has been done often relies on an oversimplified "desire for separation" to explain the phenomenon. At the same time, it has been argued that the enthusiasm for Nazi Germany among Mennonite immigrants in Canada is to be understood as part of a larger "Volks-German awakening". In fact, the Mennonite experience of brutal treatment during the Bolshevik Revolution, the economic conditions of the Great Depression, and assinflationist pressures from Canadian society put them in a naturally receptive position for the cultural, political and ethnic ideas associated with the "new Germany".
    [Show full text]
  • Century Historiography of the Radical Reformation
    Toward a Definition of Sixteenth - Century habaptism: Twentieth - Century Historiography of the Radical Reformation James R. Coggins Winnipeg "To define the essence is to shape it afresh." - Ernst Troeltsch Twentieth-century Anabaptist historiography has somewhat of the character of Hegelian philosophy, consisting of an already established Protestant-Marxist thesis, a Mennonite antithesis and a recent synthesis. The debate has centred on three major and related issues: geographic origin, intellectual sources, and essence. Complicating these issues has been confusion over the matter of categorization: Just who is to be included among the Anabaptists and who should be assigned to other groups? Indeed, what are the appropriate categories, or groups, in the sixteenth century? This paper will attempt to unravel some of the tangled debate that has gone on concerning these issues. The Protestant interpretation of Anabaptism has the longest aca- demic tradition, going back to the sixteenth century. Developed by such Protestant theologians and churchmen as Bullinger, Melanchthon, Men- ius, Rhegius and Luther who wrote works defining and attacking Ana- baptism, this interpretation arose out of the Protestant understanding of the church. Sixteenth-century Protestants believed in a single universal church corrupted by the Roman Catholic papacy but reformed by them- selves. Anyone claiming to be a Christian but not belonging to the church Joitnlal of Mennonite Stitdies Vol. 4,1986 184 Journal ofMennonite Studies (Catholic or Protestant) was classed as a heretic,' a member of the mis- cellaneous column of God's sixteenth-century army. For convenience all of these "others" were labelled "Anabaptists." Protestants saw the Anabaptists as originating in Saxony with Thomas Muntzer and the Zwickau prophets in 1521 and spreading in subsequent years to Switzerland and other parts of northern Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Anabaptist Influences on World Christianity
    Anabaptist Influences on World Christianity Howard F. Shipps* The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century had many sources. Some of these, like springs and streams leading toward a grand river, may be found several centuries before the time of Martin Luther. Such beginnings may be seen in the Cathari and the Walden- ses of the twelfth century. During the succeeding centuries of the late middle ages, similar movements of revolt and insistence upon purification of the established church continued to multiply and grow. More and more these new forces attracted the attention of all Europe. They arose in widely scattered geographical areas and represented various cultures and different levels of medieval society. There were the Christian mystics of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Eckhart, Tauler, Suso, Merswin and the "Friends of God," seeking earnestly for life's greatest reality�the knowledge of God's presence in the soul of man. Likewise there were the Brethren of the Common Life of the fourteenth century, Groot, Ruysbroeck, Radewyn and a' Kempis, who were seeking to find God amidst the common ways of secular pursuits and by a daily practice of His Presence. During the same century, but across the English Channel, John Wy- cliffe was delivering the Word of God from the enslavement of tradi tion and the prison house of the so-called sacred Latin language, preaching and printing it in the tongue of the common man. He also made this living Word incarnate by committing it to men who would declare it throughout the by-ways of England. Thus for more than a century the Lollards carried the torch of truth which would urge the masses throughout England toward one of their greatest awakenings.
    [Show full text]
  • Anabaptism in Historical Perspective
    EDITORIAL Anabaptism in Historical Perspective Kenneth Cain Kinghorn* Perhaps one of the most glaring injustices in ecclesiastical historiography has been the frequent failure to see the responsible and worthwhile elements in the dissenting movements within Prot estantism. The prevalent attitude toward Anabaptists may be regard ed as a classic illustration of this phenomenon. For centuries the Anabaptists have been lumped together with the irresponsible "spiri tualists" of the Reformation, the radical Anti-Trinitarians, and other fringe movements. Many church historians have seen only evil in any movement which has not been consistent with Wittenberg, Zurich or Geneva. The Anabaptists have frequently been regarded as only a negation of the gains of the Reformation. This attitude has tended to persist in a widespread way because of the paucity of writing on the Anabaptists by sympathetic schol 1 ars. However, since the mid-nineteenth century, this traditionally negative view has been greatly modified. (This changing mood is often seen as beginning with Max Gobel in his Geschichte des christleichn Lebens in der rheinisch-westfalischen. Kirche.) This leads one to a basic question as to the meaning of the term "Anabaptist." The late Harold S. Bender, a distinguished Anabap tist scholar, points out the difference between the original,evangel ical and constructive Anabaptist movement and the various mysti cal, spiritualistic, revolutionary, or even antinomian groups which have been concurrent. 2 The former is represented by the Mennonite and the latter maybe represented by such as the Schw'drmer, Thomas * Associate Professor of Church History, Asbury Theological Seminary. 1. See John Christian Wenger, Even Unto Death (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1961), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anabaptist Movement and Its Church Structure
    The Anabaptist Movement and Its Church Structure I. INTRODUCTION During the twentieth century churches in many mission fields started to ask serious questions about the church itself. It was a question for the identity as churches wrestling with issues of secularization and religious pluralism. The churches had to answer for their existence in their environments. Furthermore, many problems of the world raised questions concerning the churches’ role. Many debates on the issue of the role of the Church have been brought to public attention. Nowadays, new concerns for ecclesiology are coming out of basic communities in Latin America, house churches in China, indigenous churches in Asia and Africa,1 and the small church movements in America and Europe, and Catholic Church.2 With this concern for the church, the concern for the renewal of the church has become one of the burning issues in ecclesiology today. Many books have been written on this topic, most of which focus on the early church in the Bible as a model to which to 1 See further. Michel Bavarel, New Communities, New Ministries: The Church Resurgent in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983); The Commission on Theological Concerns, Christian Conference of Asia, ed., Tradition and Innovation: A Search for Relevant Ecclesiology in Asia (Singapore:CTC-CCA, 1983); and H.S. Wilson and Nyambura J. Njoroge, New Wine: The Challenge of the Emerging Ecclesiologies to Church Renewal (Geneva: World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 1994). 2 Two exemplary books can be mentioned. Lode L. Wostyn, Doing Ecclesiology: Church and Mission Today (Quezon City, Philippines: Claretian Publications, 1990); and Walbert Buhlmann, The Church of the Future: A Model for the Year 2001 (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1986).
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of Early Anabaptism As Minority Religion in German Fiction
    Heresy or Ideal Society? A Study of Early Anabaptism as Minority Religion in German Fiction DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ursula Berit Jany Graduate Program in Germanic Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Professor Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Advisor Professor Katra A. Byram Professor Anna Grotans Copyright by Ursula Berit Jany 2013 Abstract Anabaptism, a radical reform movement originating during the sixteenth-century European Reformation, sought to attain discipleship to Christ by a separation from the religious and worldly powers of early modern society. In my critical reading of the movement’s representations in German fiction dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, I explore how authors have fictionalized the religious minority, its commitment to particular theological and ethical aspects, its separation from society, and its experience of persecution. As part of my analysis, I trace the early historical development of the group and take inventory of its chief characteristics to observe which of these aspects are selected for portrayal in fictional texts. Within this research framework, my study investigates which social and religious principles drawn from historical accounts and sources influence the minority’s image as an ideal society, on the one hand, and its stigmatization as a heretical and seditious sect, on the other. As a result of this analysis, my study reveals authors’ underlying programmatic aims and ideological convictions cloaked by their literary articulations of conflict-laden encounters between society and the religious minority.
    [Show full text]