German Peasants War And Anabaptist Community Of Goods

"Contemporary misogyny and antisemitism have their roots in the demonization of women and Jews in medieval Christendom. In church art and mass preaching, the construct of the devil as an outcast from heaven and the source of all evil was linked both to the conception of women as sensual and malicious figures betraying man's soul on its arduous journey to salvation and to the notion of Jews as treacherous dissidents in the Christian landscape. These stereotypes, widely disseminated for over three hundred years, persist today. The exemplum, or cautionary story incorporated into preachers' manuals and popular homilies, was an important mode of religious teaching for clerical and lay folk alike. Sermon narratives drawn from Hindu mythology, Arab storytelling, and secular folktales entertained all classes of medieval society while dispensing theological and cultural instruction. In Devils, Women, and Jews, the vital genre of the medieval sermon story is, for the first time, made accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Rendered in modern English, the tales provide an invaluable primary resource for medievalists, anthropologists, psychologists, folklorists, and students of women's studies and Judaica. Critical introductions and explanatory headnotes contextualize the tales, and comprehensive endnotes and a bibliography allow readers to follow up analogue and subject studies in their own areas of interest."--from amazon.ca.

An introduction to theoretical and empirical research, with chapters written by experts from many disciplines. Stayer argues that Anabaptist community of goods continued the popular radicalism of the early Reformation and the Peasants' War of 1525. After the defeat of the commoners in the Peasants' War, some of the most ardent adherents of social and religious reform attempted to achieve these same aspirations by trying to implement the apostolic model of Acts 2 and 4 through the Anabaptists. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

At first sight, the subjects of piety and family life may appear to have little in common. Yet, as the essays in this volume make clear, there are in fact a number of shared features and points of contact that make the study of these issues a particularly fertile area for scholars of the Reformation period. Whether it be the concept of an individual's relationship with God - so often articulated in familial terms, the place of domestic devotions, or the difficulties that faced families split by rival confessional beliefs and mixed marriages, this book demonstrates how piety and family life were interwoven in the social and theological landscape of early modern Europe. Inspired by the works of Steven Ozment, the volume is divided into two sections, each of which deals with a particular concern of his writings. The first four chapters address issues of Reformation theology and the medieval heritage, whilst the remaining seven examine the spiritual life of families. Together they underline how modern scholarship by broadening its conceptual outlook and bringing together seemingly unrelated subjects, can provide a more sophisticated understanding of the past.

"Under Hitler, Germany's state-linked provincial churches functioned as seedbeds of nationalism. A smaller and independent church form - the "free church" or denomination - offered greater promise of nonconformity. Linked by pacifist traditions, German Mennonites, Seventh-day Adventists, and Quakers promoted a range of liberal principles: empowerment of the individual conscience, respect for confessional diversity, and separation of church and state. Nonetheless, two of these denominations used these same principles to defend and even embrace the Nazi regime. This book examines what makes Christian communities - when meeting the harsh challenges of modernity - viable entities of faith or hollow forms."--BOOK JACKET.

Applying fresh tools from economics to explain puzzling behaviors of religious radicals: Muslim, Christian, and Jewish; violent and benign. How do radical religious sects run such deadly terrorist organizations? Hezbollah, Hamas, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Taliban all began as religious groups dedicated to piety and charity. Yet once they turned to violence, they became horribly potent, executing campaigns of terrorism deadlier than those of their secular rivals. In Radical, Religious, and Violent, Eli Berman approaches the question using the economics of organizations. He first dispels some myths: radical religious terrorists are not generally motivated by the promise of rewards in the afterlife (including the infamous seventy-two virgins) or even by religious ideas in general. He argues that these terrorists (even suicide terrorists) are best understood as rational altruists seeking to help their own communities. Yet despite the vast pool of potential recruits—young altruists who feel their communities are repressed or endangered—there are less than a dozen highly lethal terrorist organizations in the world capable of sustained and coordinated violence that threatens governments and makes hundreds of millions of civilians hesitate before boarding an airplane. What's special about these organizations, and why are most of their followers religious radicals? Drawing on parallel research on radical religious Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Berman shows that the most lethal terrorist groups have a common characteristic: their leaders have found a way to control defection. Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Taliban, for example, built loyalty and cohesion by means of mutual aid, weeding out “free riders” and producing a cadre of members they could rely on. The secret of their deadly effectiveness lies in their resilience and cohesion when incentives to defect are strong.These insights suggest that provision of basic social services by competent governments adds a critical, nonviolent component to counterterrorism strategies. It undermines the violent potential of radical religious organizations without disturbing free religious practice, being drawn into theological debates with Jihadists, or endangering civilians.

Anabaptists and the Sword (1972; revised edn. 1976) is the first book to challenge the consensus, dating from the seventeenth century, that sixteenth-century Anabaptists were nonresistants, or Christian pacifists. While recognizing the importance of the nonresistance tradition among Anabaptists, the book gives equal attention to more militant elements in Anabaptism. It is also pioneering in giving attention to Anabaptist practice as well as Anabaptist teaching on this subject.

Walter Wink's widely acclaimed trilogy from Fortress Press - Naming the Powers 0-8006-1786-X (1984), Unmasking the Powers 0-8006-1902-1 (1993), and Engaging the Powers 0-8006-2646-X (1992) - has sold over 80,000 copies. The Powers are good; the Powers are fallen; the Powers must be redeemed, says Wink; and the illustrious theologians and ethicists in this volume apply this suggestive analysis to economics, politics and government, war and peace, personal ethics and ecological and social justice.Contributors include: Ray Gingerich, Eastern Mennonite University Ted Grimsrud, Eastern Mennonite University Nancey Murphy, Fuller Theological Seminary Daniel Liechty, Illinois State University Walter Wink, Auburn Theological Seminary Willard M. Swartley, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary Glen Stassen, Fuller Theological Seminary