Mennonite German Soldiers
Mennonite German Soldiers: Nation, Religion, and Family in the Prussian East, 1772–1880, by Mark Jantzen. University of Notre Dame Press, 2010, 384 pages. Mennonite German Soldiers traces the efforts of a small, pacifist, Christian religious minority in eastern Prussia—the Mennonite communities of the Vistula River basin—to preserve their exemption from military service, which was based on their…
Theological differences should be seen as a gift
The Gift of Difference: Radical Orthodoxy, Radical Reformation. Chris K. Huebner and Tripp York, eds. Canadian Mennonite University Press, 2010, 240 pages. The Gift of Difference makes two substantial attempts—first to frame a dialogue between two very different Christian traditions and secondly to explore how these traditions are “differently ethical and differently political.” The thread between…
Mennonites described with biting wit
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home. Rhoda Janzen. Henry Holt and Company, 2009, 241 pages. My sister lent me her copy of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress saying, “You’ll hate it, but you’ve got to read this book!” I sat down to read it that afternoon and was surprised…
