American Mennonites And Protestant Movements

American Mennonites and Protestant Movements describes the key religious values in a major Mennonite settlement over a period of three centuries in its encounter with other religious movements: Pietism, revivalism, Fundamentalism, and institutionalization. The author analyzes how Mennonites both resisted these influences and were changed by them. The book also documents the codification of practice in the twentieth century and how restrictions waned as a growing emphasis on peace and service emerged. The author demonstrates that the key values shaping the Mennonite community are religious, not simply ethnic, and are consistent with their sixteenth-century character. These conclusions are based on a careful study of their value patterns, nonverbal behavior, issues and personalities in confrontation, and in the conduct of their community behavior. This book will help a new generation of Mennonites who wish to discover their heritage and spiritual identity. For Christian believers outside the Anabaptist tradition it will clarify long-standing ambiguities about the Mennonites.

The Mennonite Experience in America Series weaves together the histories of all Mennonite and Amish groups in the United States. It offers something new in Mennonite and Amish history: an attempt to tell not only the inside story but also how one religious people, or set of peoples, has lived and developed along with the pluralism of the nation. This volume provides a rich interpretive story of how Mennonites have preserved their identity through the 20th century. Paul Toews examines ways progressive Mennonites have slowed their absorption into American culture through creating institutional systems, refining and rearticulating ideologies, building ecumenical alliances, and developing a service and missional activism. Meanwhile, the Amish have formed a creative set of adaptive strategies that permit economic integration and social isolation. An in-depth look at how Mennonites and Amish were able to become a more visible and respected people than ever before during their more than 300 years in America.,Volume 4.

'Peace, Faith, Nation' tells the story of Mennonite and Amish life in nineteenth-century America -- stories of families, of churches, of communities. It tells of work and play, of moving and settling, of struggling with citizenship, of various means (including the Old Order ways) of church renewal. It is a Mennonite history but also an American history. At its heart it tells of response to the nationalist, individualistic, aggressive, and progressive spirit of America. Most Mennonites were quiet, peace-oriented, communal, and humility-minded. Yet the American spirit beckoned -- especially as it often came through Protestant revivalism and promised religious renewal.

"In July 1968, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) opened an office in Washington, D.C., for monitoring the actions of the federal government's various branches. Given American Mennonites' long history of noninvolvement in political affairs, this shift toward engagement was dramatic indeed. In this in-depth study, Keith Graber Miller shows how the church's distinctive traditions of pacifism, humility, and service have informed and shaped the nature of its activities in Washington." "Graber Miller argues that Mennonites have both influenced the national policymaking debate and have themselves been influenced by their increasing exposure to it." "Wise As Serpents, Innocent as Doves not only explores the twentieth-century transformations among American Mennonites but illuminates the larger issues of religious lobbying in the nation's capital. Graber Miller suggests that the Mennonites have helped redefine what it means to be a lobbyist. Because the Mennonites' numbers are too few to make them a politically significant force, he argues, their only credibility in Washington lies in an astute and accurate analysis of how the world is and in the integrity of their witness to the truth as they see it."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A history of Anabaptist-Mennonite thought from the sixteenth century to the present, with a description of Mennonite life and thought around the world today.

A comprehensive guide-from both chronological and a topical perspective-to a broad, diverse, deeply rooted, and influential religious tradition.

Through Fire and Water presents the Mennonite faith story within the sweep of church history. This engaging text uses stories of men and women, peasants and pastors, heroes and rascals, to trace the radical Reformation from sixteenth-century Europe to today's global Anabaptist family. Written in an accessible and nonacademic style, this revised edition updates the story and incorporates new historical research and discoveries. "A superbly written introduction to Anabaptist-Mennonite history in contexts ranging from Kansas to Congo." —Perry Bush, Bluffton University "An accessible and engaging read for those who know little about Mennonites, and also for those who think they are familiar with this complex story of faith, culture, and action." —Marlene Epp, Conrad Grebel University College "Captivating personal stories, set alongside an honest portrayal of the Mennonite journey." —Doug Heidebrecht, Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies

Mennonites have long referred to themselves as "The Quiet in the Land," but their actual historical experience has been marked by internal disquiet and contention over religious values and cultural practice. As Fred Kniss argues in his impressive study of Mennonite history, the story of this sectarian pacifist group is a story of conflict. How can we understand the ironic phenomenon of Mennonite conflict? How do ideas and symbols-both those of the American mainstream and those that are specifically Mennonite-influence the emergence and course of this conflict? What is the relationship betweenintra-Mennonite conflict and the changing historical context in which Mennonites are situated? Through a rigorous analysis of a century of disputes over dress codes, congregational authority, and religious practice, Kniss offers the tools both to understand conflict within a specific religious group and to answer larger questions about culture, ideology, and social and historical change.