The Reformed Mennonite Church

Excerpt from The Reformed Mennonite Church: Its Rise and Progress, With Its Principles and Doctrines It is necessary to say much, by way of preface, to the following work, further than to give a short explanation of the motives which led to its undertaking. Knowing that but few readers would agree with me in sentiment, and that I have not the ability to produce a work which would bear criticism, as a literary production, together with the disadvantage of being much interrupted by other duties, has made the labor one of much anxiety, and caused it to be attended with many discouragements. The idea of such an undertaking never occurred to me, until it was suggested to me by others, to whose solicitations I was induced to accede. Much advantage would have accrued, if the work had been engaged in only a few years earlier. Those who organized the Church, with all their associates, have been gathered to their fathers, and of those who were intimate with them in life, few are remaining, and they fast passing away. The younger members of the Church, who have not had acquaintance with the circumstances which brought about the forming of themselves into church order by these reformers, naturally felt a desire to have-some reliable history of these events, so that after the departure of the few yet remaining who have knowledge of it, they would be able to refute any unfounded assertions or reports which might be originated. This desire seemed so reasonable, and I may say commendable, that I felt myself constrained to endeavor to gratify it to the extent of my ability. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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The wide-ranging story of Mennonite migration, theological diversity, and interaction with other Christian streams is distilled in this engaging volume, which tracks the history of Ontario Mennonites. Author Samuel J. Steiner writes that Ontario Mennonites and Amish are among the most diverse in the world—in their historical migrations and cultural roots, in their theological responses to the world around them, and in the various ways they have pursued their personal and communal salvation. In Search of Promised Lands describes the emergence and evolution of today’s 30-plus streams of Ontarians who have identified themselves as Mennonite or Amish from their arrival in Canada to the last decade. In Search of Promised Lands also considers how various Mennonite groups have adapted to or resisted evangelical fundamentalism and mainline Protestantism, and it identifies the nineteenth- and twentieth-century shifts toward personal salvation and away from submission to the church community. Volume 48 in the Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History series. Find out more about Ontario Mennonite and Amish history at the author’s blog.

This book is a brief look into the life of the Mennonite people. Located all around the world, it provides you with their history, way of life, customs, and community life.

What are the most significant points at issue between the Reformed and Mennonite communions–Baptism, peace and church-state relations? Is there a way forward? In the hope that there may be, the contributors to this book attempt to clear the way to closer relations between Reformed and Mennonites by careful scholarly discussion of the traditionally disputed questions. The papers gathered here were presented at the second phase of the international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational) and the Mennonite World Conference. There are Reformed and Mennonite studies of the topics, together with the responses of a philosopher of religions, a sociologist, a systematic theologian and a church historian. In the Introduction the dialogue is set in its historical and contemporary ecumenical context, and the Conclusion, drafted by the dialogue participants, has been forwarded to the two world bodies for their consideration and action. This important work will be relevant to all future scholarly research into the growing debate between Reformed and Mennonite communions.