Bonhoeffer biography examines a disciple’s life
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who spoke out against the Nazis, has been a controversial figure. Mennonites have valued him for his book, The Cost of Discipleship, but many people don’t know how to interpret his involvement in the plot to kill Hitler. In this new biography of Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas presents him as a…
Outsider explores self in Hutterite community
Nightwatch is a gentle and introspective book, written by an outsider who has chosen to live within a Hutterite community. This outsider perspective reveals different facets of the culture and community than books written from within (such as I am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby). Richard Rhodes, his wife Duannn, and their family spend six years sharing…
Is history repeating itself?
Just released in Canada Chanting Denied Shores by Tariq Malik is a book I have been waiting for. This is an historical novel based on the true story of the Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 Indian immigrants who were denied permission to land in Canada. This happened in 1914 at Vancouver’s harbour. Canada, like…
The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada
I am not exactly a fan of the Christian Right. I was therefore surprised at my growing negative reaction as I read McDonald’s engaging description of the rise of the Christian Right in Canada. McDonald seems to make a convincing case for a U.S.-like Christian Right emerging and flourishing in Canada. Chapter 1 begins with…
Faith now ‘a consumer commodity in America’
In a culture that places a high premium on the consumer marketplace, U.S. churches have become too willing to embrace a “market mentality” in trying to attract followers, says a new book by a journalist who is an ordained minister. “Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul”, by…
About those Reimers
About Those Reimers vividly demonstrates how much of one’s life is determined by factors outside one’s control. Elizabeth Reimer Bartel begins her memoir, not with her birth, but with the Mennonites, their movements, and a view of the city of Steinbach in the East Reserve of Manitoba, where a group of them settled in the 1870s.…
Guy Hershberger an under-appreciated church leader
Late in his life, Guy F. Hershberger reflected that 1944 had been a watershed year for the Mennonite Church. That year Hershberger’s book, War, Peace and Nonresistance, was published as was Harold Bender’s essay, “The Anabaptist Vision.” And during that year, too, Paul Erb took over as editor of Gospel Herald and the Mennonite Church…
Healing Memories: Lutherans/Mennonites
The document that helped lay the foundation for the historic reconciliation in July 2010 between Lutherans and Mennonites is now available as a downloadable document. The 120-page Healing Memories: Reconciling in Christ offers churches and individuals historical background on the early condemnations of Anabaptists by Lutherans, new perspectives on what that history means today, and next steps…
Dancing Through Thistles in Bare Feet
This is a jewel of a book: its structure, seamless use of metaphor, the powerful quest motif and the humour make it a captivating and stimulating read. Although the title’s byline adds A Pastoral Journey, it actually is, and reads like, a Pilgrim’s Progress; it depicts the sojourn of a man –who happens to be…
‘Must reads’ for thoughtful Mennonites
The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith. Stuart Murray. Herald Press, 2010, 191 pages. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. James Davison Hunter. Oxford University Press, 2010, 358 pages. It is a powerful gift, as Robert Burns reminds us, to “see ourselves as others…
