Power, Authority, and the Anabaptist Tradition

by Benjamin W. Redekop (Editor), Calvin Redekop (Editor)

Overview

Founded in part on a rejection of "worldly" power and the use of force, Anabaptism carried with it the promise of redemptive power. Yet the attempt to banish worldly power to the margins of the Christian community has been fraught with dilemmas, contradictions, and, at times, blatant abuses of authority. In this groundbreaking book, Benjamin W. Redekop, Calvin W. Redekop, and their coauthors draw on classic and contemporary thinking to confront the issue of power and authority in the Anabaptist-Mennonite community. From the power relationships of the sixteenth-century Peasants' War to issues of contemporary sexuality, the topics of Power, Authority, and the Anabaptist Tradition are sure to interest a wide audience.

Contributors: Stephen C. Ainlay, College of the Holy Cross • J. Lawrence Burkholder, President Emeritus, Goshen College • Lydia Neufeld Harder, Toronto School of Theology • Joel Hartman, University of Missouri • Jacob A. Loewen, missionary, retired • Dorothy Yoder Nyce, Writer and former Assistant Professor, Goshen College • Lynda Nyce, Bluffton College • Wesley Prieb (deceased), former dean, Tabor College • Benjamin W. Redekop, Kettering University • Calvin W. Redekop, Conrad Grebel College, emeritus • James M. Stayer, Queen's University, Ontario

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801866050
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2001
Series:	Center Books in Anabaptist Studies
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.86(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Benjamin W. Redekop is an assistant professor of social science at Kettering University.

Calvin W. Redekop is a professor of sociology emeritus at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo, Ontario. His many books include The Old Colony Mennonites, Mennonite Society, Anabaptist-Mennonite Faith and Economics, and Mennonite Entrepreneurs, the last available from Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1. Power
Chapter 2. Power and Religion in the Western Intellectual Tradition
Chapter 3. The Anabaptist Revolt and Political and Religious Power
Chapter 4. Power and Authority in Mennonite Theological Development
Chapter 5. The Abuse of Power Among Mennonites in South Russia, 1789–1919
Chapter 6. Power Under the Cover of Tradition: A Case Study of a "Plain Community"
Chapter 7. Mennonite Culture Wars: Power, Authority, and Domination
Chapter 8. Power and Authority in Mennonite Ecclesiology: A Feminist Perspective
Chapter 9. Power in the Anabaptist Community
Notes
Bibliography
Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This is an important and timely work, since discussions of power are central to contemporary social and theological theorizing. But it is also an important contribution to Anabaptist studies, because it makes power an explicit and central theme. Offering a variety of essays from several disciplinary perspectives, the breadth of approach is one of the book's strengths.
—Fred Kniss, Loyola University Chicago

Fred Kniss

This is an important and timely work, since discussions of power are central to contemporary social and theological theorizing. But it is also an important contribution to Anabaptist studies, because it makes power an explicit and central theme. Offering a variety of essays from several disciplinary perspectives, the breadth of approach is one of the book's strengths.
—(Fred Kniss, Loyola University Chicago)

Editorial Reviews

This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition and likely required reading for Anabaptist scholars, pastors, and students in the coming years.
—Journal of Religion

An impressive piece of scholarship.
—William H. Brackney, Journal of Church and State

A strong contribution to a little-studied aspect of Anabaptist/Mennonite life.
—Donald Durnbaugh, Utopian Studies

An important book [that] lays out the critical issues and highlights thought-provoking stories of misused power.
—John A. Lapp, Provident Book Finder

The editors are to be commended for presenting a well-integrated and thought-provoking book.
—Bruno Dyck, Journal of Mennonite Studies

It will . . . intrigue readers who enjoy delving into the ambiguities and controversies of contentious Anabaptist communities.
—Scott Sernau, Mennonite Quarterly Review

This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition.
—Keith Graber Miller, Catholic Historical Review

From the Publisher

The editors are to be commended for presenting a well-integrated and thought-provoking book.

Journal of Mennonite Studies - Bruno Dyck

An impressive piece of scholarship.

Journal of Church and State - William H. Brackney

It will . . . intrigue readers who enjoy delving into the ambiguities and controversies of contentious Anabaptist communities.

Mennonite Quarterly Review - Scott Sernau

This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition.

Catholic Historical Review - Keith Graber Miller

This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition and likely required reading for Anabaptist scholars, pastors, and students in the coming years.

Journal of Religion

A strong contribution to a little-studied aspect of Anabaptist/Mennonite life.

Utopian Studies - Donald Durnbaugh

An important book [that] lays out the critical issues and highlights thought-provoking stories of misused power.

Provident Book Finder - John A. Lapp

"This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition and likely required reading for Anabaptist scholars, pastors, and students in the coming years."

Journal of Religion

This is a text whose time has come, and one that will be valuable for those from any faith tradition.

— Keith Graber Miller

Catholic Historical Review

It will... intrigue readers who enjoy delving into the ambiguities and controversies of contentious Anabaptist communities.

— Scott Sernau

Mennonite Quarterly Review

The editors are to be commended for presenting a well-integrated and thought-provoking book.

— Bruno Dyck

Journal of Mennonite Studies

An important book [that] lays out the critical issues and highlights thought-provoking stories of misused power.

— John A. Lapp

Provident Book Finder

A strong contribution to a little-studied aspect of Anabaptist/Mennonite life.

— Donald Durnbaugh

Utopian Studies

An impressive piece of scholarship.

— William H. Brackney

Journal of Church and State