Ecumenical Dialogue Between Mennonites and Other Christian Faith Traditions
This site, currently under construction, offers a window into the relatively recent involvement of Mennonite (and Anabaptist-related groups) in ecumenical involvements of various sorts. Some expressions of Mennonite ecumenicity have emerged in response to formal invitations from other Christian groups seeking a "healing of memory" in light of the conflict that surrounded our origins in the 16th century. Other ecumenical engagements have been more informal--lay initiatives seeking deeper understanding and reconciliation at a local level. This site provides access to bibliographic information on Anabaptist-Mennonite ecumenical involvements, texts of working papers and formal statements, an overview of the emerging reception history and links to other resources. Please add additional relevant information based on your own interest and expertise!
 Mennonite World Conference President Danisa Ndlovu of Zimbabwe presents Lutheran World Fellowship President Bishop Mark S. Hanson with a wooden foot-washing tub to represent Mennonites' commitment to a future “when the distinguishing mark of Lutheran and Anabaptist-Mennonite relationships is boundless love and unfailing service” in Stuttgart, Germany.[1] Interchurch and Interfaith Dialogue
Over the years, Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada and other Mennonite organizations like Mennonite World Conference have engaged in conversation between other Christian churches and denominations.
Stuttgart 2010 (Documents, News Releases, International Reception)
"STUTTGART, Germany (RNS/ENInews) A global Lutheran assembly in Germany has asked for forgiveness for the 16th-century persecution of Anabaptists, the religious reformers whose modern-day descendants include Mennonites.
“We remember how Anabaptist Christians knew suffering and persecution, and we remember how some of our most honored Reformation leaders defended this persecution in the name of faithfulness,” said Bishop Mark Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation, at a joint service of repentance with Mennonites on July 22." Excerpt taken from The Christian Index, accessed here.
Representatives of the Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met in Goshen, Indiana February 21-24, 2002, beginning the first in a series of dialogues between the two denominations. Included in this round of conversation were reflections upon the Protestant Reformation, the experience of each church in the North American context, and the role and authority of confessional writings. A key element in the dialogue was an examination of the persecution of Anabaptists by Lutherans and others, and the healing of those painful memories. In the course of this first round, the dialogue explored each church’s hermeneutic for interpreting Scripture, the role and authority of Church structures, and the relationship between Church and state.
From February of 2002 until March of 2004, topics included baptism, the Lord’s Supper, nonresistance and non-violence, pacifism and the Gospel of peace, anthropology and free will, and others. Throughout the dialogue, members of congregations were given opportunities to meet with and discuss these issues as the group sought to deepen levels of trust and cooperation between our two church bodies. Their continued hope is that our deepening fellowship will strengthen both faith communities for mission in the world.[3]
Seventh-Day Adventists
Representatives from Mennonite World Conference met with leaders of the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists on June 28-July 1, 2011, at the Adventists' world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The four day conference was the first formal dialogue between the two church bodies, and focused on the theme of "Living a Christian Life in Today's World." Presentations on the history of each group preceded a series of dialogues on peace and military service; discipleship and non-conformity; health and ecology; and the nature and mission of the church.[4]
A second round of dialogues took place at the Bienenberg Study and Conference Centre in Liestal, Switzerland on May 28-30, 2012. Representatives from MWC and SDA discussed the meaning and practices of Sabbath, Worship, Eschatology, and Biblical Interpretation.[5]
Press releases with additional information about the MWC-SDA dialogues are available from Mennonite World Review, Mennonite World Conference, Bridgefolk, Mennonews.de, and the Adventist News Network.
"A dialogue between Catholics and Mennonites took place over a five-year period, from 1998-2003. The general purpose of the dialogue was to get better acquainted, to better understand Catholic and Mennonite positions on Christian faith and to contribute to overcoming long-held prejudices.
Under discussion were the intersection of the history of the two denominations; theology around the nature of the church, sacraments and ordinances and the commitment to peace; and addressing the healing of memories."[6]
Tri-Lateral Dialogue on Baptism
Local and Grassroots Initiatives
Bridgefolk
"Bridgefolk is a movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other's traditions, explore each other's practices, and honor each other's contribution to the mission of Christ's Church. Together we seek better ways to embody a commitment to both traditions. We seek to make Anabaptist-Mennonite practices of discipleship, peaceableness, and lay participation more accessible to Roman Catholics, and to bring the spiritual, liturgical, and sacramental practices of the Catholic tradition to Anabaptists." (Excerpt taken from the official Bridgefolk website.)
"Heal Our Land" Conference
"From May 1-4, 2003, in a conference center at Winterthur, in the mountains of Switzerland, over 1000 Christians from all over the world met to joyfully worship, prayerfully seek and faithfully obey the God who heals our land by healing our broken relationships. This “Heal Our Land” conference was sponsored by the Stiftung Schleife, a Christian ministry devoted to serving the body of Christ and headed by Geri Keller, a Swiss Reformed minister." (Excerpt taken from "Come, Father, Heal Our Land.")
"A Swiss Reformed pastor for thirty years has carried a burden for reconciliation between these two groups. Geri Keller, founder of a parachurch ministry called Stiftung Schleife, organized the conference. There were many Anabaptists who attended from Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium and other parts of Europe, as well as Canada. The Swiss Reformed church was represented by approximately forty Reformed pastors and many lay people, who joined together for the four-day conference. Forty Amish from Montana and Idaho and seventeen Mennonites from the Lancaster and Franconia, PA areas were invited to participate in the conference. My wife Janet and I attended, representing Mennonites from the Franconia Mennonite Conference area. The total number of persons attending the conference exceeded 800." (Excerpt taken from "500-Year Old Swiss Wound Had to be Healed.")
Anabaptist Connections
"Anabaptist Connections" is comprised of two teams, both Amish and Mennonite. These two teams have committed to work together in a covenant relationship. For the first time in Anabaptist history have Amish and Mennonites come together in overcoming ancient animosities and divisions, to work as a corporate team in forging healing and forgiveness." (Excerpt taken from the Anabaptist Connection website.)
"Unlocking our Inheritance" Conference
Swiss Reformed Pastors and Leaders met together with Anabaptists from all denominations, April 7-9, 2005 in New Holland, Pa.
"Unification of all believers in Jesus Christ was a theme of the opening session of a three-day conference titled “Unlocking the Inheritance.’’ Despite differences, Hoover said, all in attendance are united in Christ.
Forgiveness and healing were related themes. The Swiss traveled here to ask for forgiveness from Mennonites, Amish, Brethren and other Anabaptists and to heal relationships with them." (Excerpt taken from "Going about the Business of Forgiveness.")
See also: "Anabaptists, Swiss Persecutors will make Amends - 500 years later."
Ecumenical Gatherings in Germany and Switzerland
Grassroots ecumenical activity between Mennonites and other Christian groups is ongoing in Germany and Switzerland, notably in the work of Mennonites in ecumenical organizations like Church and Peace, and also in the public programming of the Arbeitsstelle Theologie Der Friedenskirche (Center for Peace Church Theology) at the University of Hamburg, led by Fernando Enns, a scholar specializing in Mennonite ecumenical activity and theology. Mennonite World Conference also participates in ecumenical gatherings in Germany and Switzerland
Examples from 2012 include theological dialogue between Mennonites and Seventh Day Adventists in Basel on May 28-30 , and a joint meal and worship service between Mennonite World Conference and Lutheran World Federation on September 16 in Bad Oldesloe, which included a short sermon, titled Der Weg der Versöhnung (The Way of Reconciliation), delivered by Rainer W. Burkart.
To keep up-to-date and view archived press releases, visit http://www.mennonews.de
Mennonite Ecumenical Thought and Practice: A Working Bibliography
Clearly this a draft in progress! Please enter additional citations or send them to johndr@goshen.edu.
| Ecumenical Bibliography |
Notes
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| Alfert, Lucio. “The Mennonite Presence in the Chaco from a Catholic Perspective,” MQR 76 (July 2002), 337-352. |
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| Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland, “Stellungnahme der AMG,” in: Stimmen zum lutherischen-mennonitischen Dialog (Hamburg: s.l., s.a.). |
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| Bauman, Harold. The Price of Church Unity (Scottdale, Pa.: MPH, 1962). |
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| Bender, Ross T. and Alan P. F. Sell, eds. Baptism, Peace and the State in the Reformed and Mennonite Traditions (Waterloo, ON: Wilfried Laurier U. Press, 1991). |
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| Bericht vom Dialog VELKD/Mennoniten, 1989 bis 1992 (Hannover, 1993). |
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| Burkart, Rainer W. “Eucharistische Gastfreundschaft. Versöhnung zwischen Mennoniten und Lutheranern,” Ökumenische Rundschau 45 (July 1996), 324-330. |
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| Burkholder, J. R., Mennonites in Ecumenical Dialogue on Peace and Justice (MCC, Occasional Papers, Nr. 7, 1988). |
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| Burkholder, J.R. “Witness to the State: A Mennonite Perspective.” In Prophetic Peacemaking: Selected Writings of J.R. Burkholder, ed. Keith Graber Miller, 147-156. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2010. |
Burkholder presented this paper at a Goshen College symposium hosting radical Catholic peace activists and social thinkers. He argues that the Anabaptist pacifist tradition should be taken seriously alongside traditional (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist) or then popular (Christian realist) views. He highlights commonalities between his Mennonite perspective and the radical Catholic minority represented at the symposium.
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| “Burkholder Represents Mennonites in Ecumenical Peace Conversations.” Mennonite Reporter XVIII, no. 2 (Jan. 18, 1988), 8. |
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| “Church of the Brethren (USA).” In Churches Respond to BEM: Official Responses to the ‘Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry’ Text. Vol. VI. Faith and Order Paper No. 144. Geneva: WCC, 1988, 104-114. |
|
| “Church Peace Mission Records, 1950-1967.” Held at Swarthmore College Peace Collection, Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, Penn.). |
The bulk of the materials in the Church Peace Mission Records were generated while Mennonite Paul Peachey was Executive Secretary. Notable holdings from an ecumenical standpoint include Peachey’s correspondence, a presentation at the Lutheran Ethics Colloquy at Valparaiso University, and proceedings, preparation, and study papers from CPM conferences in ecumenical settings.
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| Dopers-Calvinistische Gesprek in Nederland [Mennonite-Reformed Dialogue in the Netherlands] (The Hague: Boekencentrum, 1982). |
Conversations extended from 1975-1978 (included 3 from Neth. Reformed Church; 3 Dutch Menn; 2 Reformed church in the Neth; 2 Baptists; 1 Christian Ref. Church); 6 main themes.
|
| Durnbaugh, Donald F., ed. On Earth Peace: Discussions on War/Peace Issues Between Friends, Mennonites, Brethren, and European Church, 1935-75. Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Press, 1978. |
This is an important collection including primary sources (conference papers, published statements, etc.) on Anabaptist involvement in ecumenical discussions on peace and justice in the early-mid 20th century.
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| Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Socialist Republic. Czech Ecumenical Fellowship. Translated by Leonord and Karel Stradal. Praha, 1981. |
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| Enns, Fernando. “Believers Church Ecclesiology: A Vital Alternative within the Ecumenical Family.” In New Perspectives in Believers Church Ecclesiology, ed. A.Dueck, H.Harder, K.Koop, 107-124. Winnipeg/Manitoba: CMU Press, 2010. |
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| Enns, Fernando. Friedenskirche in der ökumene: Mennonitische Wurzeln einer Ethik der Gewaltfreiheit (Göttingern: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003). |
This is by far the most sophisticated and informed survey of Mennonite ecumenical conversations – both historically and theologically.
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| Enns, Fernando. The Peace Church and the Ecumenical Community: Ecclesiology and the Ethics of Nonviolence. Translated by Helmut Harder. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2007. |
English translation of the German text cited above.
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| Enns, Fernando. “Die gegenseitige Anerkennung der Taufe als bleibende ökumenische Herausforderung: Konsens, Divergenzen und Differenzen. In Profilierte Ökumene, ed. Fernando Enns, Martin Hailer, and Ulrike Link-Wieczorek. Frankfurt am Main: Otto Lembeck, 2009. |
|
| Enns, Fernando; Hans-Jocken Jaschke; and Arbeietsgemeinschaft Mennonitscher Gemeinden in Deutschland. Gemeinsam berufen, Friedensstifter zu sein: zum Dialog Zwischen Katholiken und Mennoniten. Schwarzenfeld: Neufeld Verlag, 2008. |
Also published under the same title by Bonifatius Verlag, 2008.
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| Enns, Fernando. Heilung der Errinerungen—befreit zur gemeinsamen Zukunft: Mennoniten im Dialog: Berichte und Texte ökumenischer Gespräche auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene. Frankfurt am Main: Otto Lembeck, 2008. |
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| Enns, Fernando. “The International Ecumenical Peace Convocation: Towards an Ecumenical Theology of Just Peace?” Ecumenical Review 63, no. 1 (March 2011), 44-53. |
Published simultaneously in the German version of the journal as Enns, “Die Internationale ökumenische Friedenskonvokkation: auf dem Weg zu einer ökumenischen Theologie des gerechten Friedens?” Ökumenische Rundschau, 60 (March 2011), 4-17.
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| Enns, Fernando. “Menononiten: Plurale Minderheitskirche im Pluralismus,” KZG 2 (2000), 359-375. |
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| Enns, Fernando. “The Peace Church: Dialogue and Diversity in the Ecumenical Movement.” Conrad Grebel Review 23, no. 3 (Fall 2005), 4-19. |
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| Enns, Fernando. “Towards an Ecumenical Theology of Just Peace at the Conclusion of the ‘Decade to Overcome Violence.’” In After Violence: Religion, Trauma and Reconciliation, ed. Andrea Biehler, Christian Bingel, Hans-Martin Gutmann, 198-218. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2011. |
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| Enns, Fernando. “We are the World Council of Church.” Ecumenical Review 58, no. 3-4 (July-October 2006), 287-290. |
|
| Erb, Paul. Orie O. Miller: The Story of a Man and an Era. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1969. |
Erb credits Orie Miller with initiating the first serious Mennonite ecumenical involvement in the modern era through his efforts to strengthen Mennonite peace theology and share it with other Christians.
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| Fast, Heinold. “A Mennonite View on the Reformed Condemnations,” in Mennonites and Reformed in Dialogue, ed. Hans Georg von Berg, et al., 57-60. Geneva: 1986. |
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| Finger, Tom. “A Mennonite Theology for Interfaith Relations,” in Grounds for Understanding: Ecumenical Resources for Responses to Religious Pluralism, ed. S. Mark Heim, 69-92. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998). |
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| Finger, Tom. “An Anabaptist Perspective on Justification,” in Justification and Sanctification in the Traditions of the Reformation, ed. M. Opocensky and P. Reamonn, 44-86. Geneva: World Alliance of Reformed Churches. |
Presentation at Prague V Conference.
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| Finger, Tom. “An Opportunity for Witness,” Gospel Herald (May 1987), 356-357. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Anabaptism and Eastern Orthodoxy: some unexpected similarities?” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 31-32 (Winter/Spring 1994), 67-91. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Christology, Confession and Peace: some ecumenical discussions” MCC Peace Section Newsletter 17, no. 6 (Nov-Dec 1987), 7-8. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Church Talk: Mennonites will begin conversations with Lutherans to heal memories,” The Mennonite 4, no. 30 (August 2001), 6-7. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Confessions of Faith in the Anabaptist/Mennonite Tradition,” MQR 76, no. 3 (July 2002), 277-297. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Controversial Saint...” (letter to the Editor), Christian Century 110, no. 34 (December 1983), 1221-1223. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Eucharistic Theology: some untapped resources,” Vision (Spring 2001), 1-14. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Homily Notes for Ecumenical Sunday, 2000 (Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)." Peeskill, N.Y.: R.K. Graphics [Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute], 16-17. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Konrad Raiser’s View of a New Ecumenical Paradigm,” Ecumenical Trends 22, no. 4 (April 1993), 5-9. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Mennonite Lutheran Bilateral Dialogue (USA) Begins,” Ecumenical Trends 30, no. 8 (Sept 2001), 9-13. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Mennonite pushes WCC to proclaim non-violence,” The Mennonite 1, no. 1 (Dec 1998), 3. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Orthodox, Evangelicals Push for WCC Reforms, Christianity Today, 43, no. 1 (January 1999), 22. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Our Distance Persists, but so does our Sharing,” Gospel Herald 84, no. 45 (Nov 1991), 502-503. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Post-Chalcedonian Christology: some reflections on Oriental Orthodoxy from a Mennonite Perspective” in Christ in East and West, ed. Paul Fries & Tiran Nersoyan, 155-169. Macon, GA: Mercer, 1987. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Proposed Theses for a Believers Church Theology of the Lord’s Supper,” in The Lord's Supper: Believers' Church Perspectives, ed. Dale Stoffer, 256-260. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1997. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Reflections on an Ecumenical-Historical Experiment” in Telling the Churches' Stories, ed. Charles Brockwell and Timothy Wengert, 105-120. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Reformed/Anabaptist Conversations: Jesus as ethical norm,” Sojourners 6, no. 4 (April 1977), 33-36. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Seeking to Link Activism with Doctrine,” Gospel Herald 86, no. 44 (Nov 1993), 7, 10. |
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| Finger, Tom. “The Future is in God’s Hands,” Gospel Herald (June 1987), 420-421. |
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| Finger, Tom. “The Way to Nicea: some reflections from a Mennonite Perspective,” Conrad Grebel Review 3, no. 3 (Fall 1985), 231-249. Also published in slightly altered form in Journal of Ecumenical Studies 24, no. 2 (Spring 1987), 212-231. |
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| Finger, Tom. “Why We Have Been Skeptical,” Gospel Herald (May 1987), 338-339. |
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| Finger, Tom. “World Council of Churches Endorses Mennonite Proposal for Peace Decade,” Mennonite World Review (Dec 1998), 3. |
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| Finger, Tom. “World Gathering Haunted by Moor-Slayer” and “World Faith & Order Gathering Seeks to Link Doctrine and Social Action,” Mennonite Reporter 23, no. 19 (Oct 1993), 5. |
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| Friedmann, Robert. “Ecumenical Dialogue Between Anabaptists and Catholics,” MQR 40 (Oct 1966), 260-265. |
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| Gensichen, Hans-Werner. We Condemn. How Luther and Sixteenth Century Lutheranism Condemned False Doctrine. Translated by Herbert J. A. Bouman. Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1967. |
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| Golterman, W. F. “Mennonites in the Ecumenical Movement,” Mennonite Life 18 (Oct. 1963), 170-171. |
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| Gritsch, Eric C., “Christian Unity and Peacemaking: A Lutheran Perspective,” in The Fragmentation of the Church and Its Unity in Peacemaking, ed. Jeffrey Gros and John D. Rempel, 16-33. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. |
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| Gros, Jeffrey and John D. Rempel, The Fragmentation of the Church and Its Unity in Peacemaking. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. |
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| Gwyn, Douglas, G. Hyunsinger, E. F. Roop, J. H. Yoder, A Declaration on Peace: In God’s People the World’s Renewal Has Begun. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1991. |
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| Harder, Helmut. “Fernando Enns on Mennonite Ecumenism.” MQR 79 (April 2005), 251-59. |
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| Harder, Helmut. “Towards Healing of Memories,” Courier 4 (1998). |
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| Hedrick, Joyce C. “An Examination of Ecumenical Involvements of the Mennonite Church, 1960-1978.” 29 p. term paper (MHL Historical Treatises). |
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| Hostetler, Beulah S. “Nonresistance and Social Responsibility: Mennonites and Mainline Peace Emphases, ca. 1950-1985,” MQR 64 (Jan 1990), 49-73. |
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| Hostetler, Beulah Stauffer, “Franconia Mennonite Conference and American Protestant Movements, 1840-1940” (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pensylvania, 1977). |
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| Kauffman, Ivan J. “Mennonite-Catholic Conversations in North America: History, Convergences, Opportunities,” MQR 74 (Jan 1999), 35-60. |
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| Kraybill, Paul N. “North American Inter-Mennonite Relationships,” report to the Inter-Mennonite Consultation (Rosemont, IL, October 28-30, 1974). Mimeograph. |
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| Lapp, James, ed. Principles and Guidelines for Interchurch Relations. Scottdale: Interchurch Relations Committee of Mennonite General Conference, 1971. |
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| Lehmann, Karl and Wolfhart Pannenberg, The Condemnations of the Reformation Era: Do They Still Divide? Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. |
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| Leinhard, Marc and Peter Widmer, “Gespräche zwischen Lutheranern und Mennoniten in Frankreich (1981-1984),” in Wachsende Kirchengemeinschaft. Gespräche und Vereinbarungen zwischen evangelischen Kirchen in Europa, ed. Cornelia Nussberger, 172. Bern: Evang. Arbeitsstelle Ökumene Schweiz, 1992 |
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| Leinhard, Marc. “Von der Konfrontation zum Dialog: Die lutherischen Kirchen und die Täufer im 16. Jr. und Heute,” in Einheit der Kirche. Neue Entwicklungen und Perspektiven, ed. Günther Gassmann and P. Norgaard-Hojen, 37ff. Frankfurt: Lembeck, 1988. 37ff. |
|
| Mennonite World Conference. “An Imperative to be Obeyed: God calls us to Christian Unity.” Courier 13, no. 4 (1998), 11. |
This statement, adopted on July 22, 1998 by the MWC Executive Committee and the (North American) MC-GC Interchurch Relations Committee, states Christian unity as an “urgent imperative” for the church, and encourages deeper ecumenical engagement at both local and global levels.
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| Mennonite World Conference / Baptist World Alliance, Baptist-Mennonite Theological Conversations (1989-1992). |
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| Mennonite World Conference, and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. “Catholics and Mennonites meet in International Dialogue.” Courier 13, no. 4 (1998), 12. |
This joint communiqué reports a meeting on October 14-18, 1998, in which Mennonite and Catholic theologians engaged in international dialogue “for the first time.” The article lists participant names and various presentation topics. Accompanying the communiqué in the pages of Courier is an article titled “Towards the Healing of Memories” which includes personal reports on the meeting from a Mennonite perspective.
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| Miller, Marlin and Barbara Nelson Gingerich, eds. The Church’s Peace Witness. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994. |
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| Miller, Paul M. “Mennonites and Ecumenical Concern: The Case for Greater Cooperation and Involvement.” Mimeograph. 1965. |
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| Mortensen, Viggo, ed. War, Confession and Conciliarity. What Does “Just War” in the Augsburg Confession Mean Today? Hannover: Lutherische Verlagshaus, 1993. |
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| Nation, Mark Thiessen. John Howard Yoder: Mennonite Patience, Evangelical Witness, Catholic Convictions. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman’s, 2006. |
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| Novak, Michael. The Free Churches and the Roman Church: The Conception of the Church in Anabaptism and Roman Catholicism—Past and Present. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1965. |
An essay in comparative ecclesiology from a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic perspective. Notably includes a critique of the “Constantinian solution” as a lesson learned from Anabaptism.
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| Oosterbaan, J. A. “The Mennonites and the Ecumenical Movement,” MQR 41 (July, 1967), 187-199. |
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| Opocensky, Milan, ed. Towards a Renewed Dialogue: Consultation on the First and Second Reformations, Geneva, 28 November to 1 December 1994. Geneva: World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 1996. |
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| Peachey, Paul, “The Peace Churches as Ecumenical Witness,” in Kingdom, Cross and Community: essays on Mennonite themes in honor of Guy F. Hershberger, ed. J.R. Burkholder and Calvin W. Redekop, 247-258. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1976. |
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| Peachey, Urbane. “Ecumenical Peace Discussions: A Summary and Brief Assessment (International).” MCC Archives, Akron, Pa. |
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| Roth, John D. “Forgiveness and the Healing of Memories: An Anabaptist-Mennonite Perspective.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 42 (Fall 2007), 573-88. |
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| Roth, John D. “A Historical and Theological Context for Mennonite-Lutheran Dialogue,” MQR 76 (July 2002), 263-276. |
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| Roth, Willard and Gerald W. Schlabach, eds. Called Together to be Peacemakers: Report on the International Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Mennonite World Conference, 1998-2003. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2005. |
Abridged Edition with discussion questions. The Report was also published in Information Service [of The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity], No. 113 (2003: II/III): 111-148. The full-text is also available online.
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| Saxer, Ernst, et al. “The Attitude of the Reformed Churches Today to the Condemnations of the Baptists in the Reformed Confessional Documents,” in Hans Georg von Berg, et al., eds. Mennonites and Reformed in Dialogue (Geneva, 1986), 42-56. |
Second Helvetic Confession [1561/62 – Bullinger; made official in 1566;] “condemns” Anabaptists twice (chs. 20 and 30). Argues that “to the extent that these repudiations were used to justify the oppression and persecution of the Anabaptists, the Reformed churches must disassociate themselves from them. Repudiation of teachings should not in any case have been permitted to end in public prosecutions, executions and banishments. The Reformed churches have no right to ignore the wrongs done to the Anabaptists in the course of the centuries or even to use any argument whatever to excuse these wrongs” (42).
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| Sell, Alan P. F., “Anabaptist-Congregational Relations and Current Mennonite-Reformed Dialogue,” MQR 61 (1987), 321-334. |
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| Smid, Menno. “Der mennonitisch-lutherish Dialog,” in Was hat die Oekumene gebracht? Fakten und Perspektiven, ed. Hermann Brandt and Jörg Rothermundt, 43-52. Gütersloh: Güterloher Verlagshaus, 1993. |
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| Smucker, Donovan. "Ecumenism." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1989. Also published in the print version of The Mennonite Encyclopedia Vol. 5, 257-258. |
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| Paul Toews, “The Long Weekend or the Short Week: Mennonite Peace Theology, 1925-1944." MQR 60, no. 1 (January, 1986), 38-57. |
Toews chronicles the development of Mennonite peace theology in the period between the World Wars, with particular attention to the ecumenical activities (and their critics within the Mennonite Church) that contributed to this movement.
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| Truemper, David G. “The Role and Authority of Lutheran Confessional Writings: Do Lutherans Really “Condemn the Anabaptists?” MQR 76 (July 2002), 299-313. |
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| von Berg, Hans Georg, et al., eds. Mennonites and Reformed in Dialogue (Geneva, 1986). |
Papers presented at a day-long consultation convened by MWC and World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) in Strasbourg in 1984. This gathering grew out of an earlier consultation (March 5, 1983 in Zurich) of WARC and Baptist World Alliance to celebrate 10 years of dialogue to which Mennonites were invited as commentators. MWC and WARC meeting in Strasbourg concluded with published report (1986) and promise for a further report in 2 years.
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| Widmer, Pierre, “Lutheran-Mennonite Colloquium,” tr. Marlin Miller, MQR 58 (April 1984), 180-182. |
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| Wilson, H. S., ed. Bilateral Dialogues (Geneva, 1993). |
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| Yoder, John H. “40 Years of Ecumenical Dialogue Efforts on Justice and Peace Issues by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the “Historic Peace Churches.” A Chronology,” in, A Declaration on Peace ( ), 93ff. |
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| Yoder, John H. “A ‘Free Church’ Perspective on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry,” in The Royal Priesthood, 277-288. |
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| Yoder, John H. “A ‘Peace Church’ Perspective on Covenanting.” The Ecumenical Review 38, no. 3 (July 1986), 318-21. |
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| Yoder, John H. “A People in the World,” in The Royal Priesthood, 66-101. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Another ‘Free Church’ Perspective on Baptist Ecumenism,” in The Royal Priesthood, 263-276. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Catholicity in Search of Location,” The Royal Priesthood, 302-320. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Christian Unity in Search of Locality,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 6:2 (Spring, 1969), 185-199. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Free Church Ecumenical Style,” in The Royal Priesthood, 232-241. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Imperative of Christian Unity,” in The Royal Priesthood, 290-299. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Nature of the Unity We Seek: A Historic Free Church View,” in The Royal Priesthood, 222-230. |
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| Yoder, John H. The Ecumenical Movement and the Faithful Church (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1958). |
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| Yoder, John H. The Royal Priesthood: Essays Ecclesiological and Ecumenical. ed. Michael Cartwright (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994). |
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| Yoder, John H. “Let Evanston Speak on War!” The Christian Century (August 18, 1954): 973-4. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Islam’s Special Challenge to Christian Mission,” Gospel Herald (Dec. 31, 1957): 1142. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Islam’s Challenge to Mennonites,” Gospel Herald (Feb. 4, 1958): 110-111. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Mennonites and Contemporary Ecumenical Movements,” Unpublished paper presented to the Centennial Study Conference, General Conference Mennonite Church, Christian Unity in Faith and Witness, Donnellson High School, Donnellson, Iowa, June 20-23, 1960, 8pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Mennonites and Interdenominational Agencies,” The Mennonite (March 20, 1962): 181-2. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Unity We Have,” The Mennonite (March 13, 1962): 165-6. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Unity We Seek,” The Mennonite (March 27, 1962): 213-4. |
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| Yoder, John H. “War, Peace and the Evangelical Challenge,” Outline presentation at Denver, 19 April 1966. Unpublished, 15pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Christian Unity Within a Divided North American Protestantism,” Unpublished memorandum on Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities stationery, March 1, 1967, 13pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Unique Role of the Historic Peace Churches,” Brethren Life and Thought 14 (Summer 1969): 132-49. |
Seems relevant because it is specifically discussing the hpc role in the context of Christianity as a whole.
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| Yoder, John H. “A Non-Baptist View of Southern Baptists,” Review and Expositor 67 (Spring 1970): 219-28. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Christian View of Other Religions,” Unpublished paper, AMBS, Spring, 4pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Martin Luther’s Forgotten Vision,” The Other Side (April 1977): 66-70. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Radical Reformation Ethics in Ecumenical Perspective,” in The Priestly Kingdom, 105-122, 202-205. (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984/2001). |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Contemporary Evangelical Revival and the Peace Churches,” in Mission and the Peace Witness, ed. Robert L. Ramseyer, 68-103, 137. (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1979). |
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| Yoder, John H. “Historic Multiracial Meeting in South Africa’s Capital: Why?” The Mennonite (Aug. 21, 1979): 503. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Could There Be a Baptist Bishop?” Ecumenical Trends 9 (July/Aug. 1980): 104-7. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Reformed Versus Anabaptist Strategies: The Limits of a Typology,” Theological Students’ Fellowship: News and Reviews 3 (Feb. 1980): 4-7. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Alive and Well at Anderson, Ind,” Gospel Herald (Nov. 18, 1980): 931. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Finality of Jesus Christ and Other Faiths,” Collected material from lectures and essays, AMBS, 1983, 33pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “A Critique of North American Evangelical Ethics,” Transformation 2 (Jan.-March, 1985): 28-31. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Reformed Versus Anabaptist Social Strategies: An Inadequate Typology,” Theological Students Fellowship Bulletin (May-June 1985): 2-10. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Calling a Council for Peace,” Ecumenical Trends 15 (Nov. 1986): 157-60. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Challenge of Individual Ecumenism: A Thinkpiece,” Unpublished paper, January 1986, 3pp. |
On the ecumenical witness value of Mennonites becoming non-Mennonites.
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| Yoder, John H. “Adjusting to the Changing Shape of the Debate on Infant Baptism,” in Oecumennisme: Essays in Honor of Dr. Henk Kossen, ed. Arie Lambo, 210-14. (Amsterdam: Algemene Doopsgezinde Societeit, 1989). |
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| Yoder, John H. with Richard J. Mouw, “Evangelical Ethics and the Anabaptist-Reformed Dialogue,” The Journal of Religious Ethics 17 (Fall 1989): 121-37. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Foreword,” in Pentecostal Pacifism: The Origin, Development, and Rejection of Pacific Beliefs Among Pentecostals, by Jay Beaman, i-v. (Hillsboro, KS: Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 1989). |
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| Yoder, John H. with James William McClendon, Jr., “Christian Identity in Ecumenical Perspective: A Response to David Wayne Layman,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 27 (Summer 1990): 561-80. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Believers’ Church Conferences in Historical Perspective,” MQR 65 (Jan. 1991): 5-19. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Conscientious Objection” and “Peace,” in Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, ed. Geoffrey BWainwright et al. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Geneva: WCC, 1991), s.v. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Ecumenical Dimensions of Peace Work,” Unpublished outline of presentation, Bristol, England, Nov. 29, 1991, 4pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “Ecumenical Peace Witness in Europe under the MCC Peace Section,” Unpublished paper, written originally for a special edition of an MCC Newsletter, but then not used, March 1992, 5pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Disavowal of Constantine: An Alternative Perspective on Interfaith Dialogue,” in The Royal Priesthood 242-261. |
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| Yoder, John H. “The Changing Shape of the Conversation Between the Peace Churches and Mainstream Christianity,” Public lecture, Swarthmore College, September 29, 1995, 17pp. |
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| Yoder, John H. When War Is Unjust: Being Honest in Just War Thinking, Rev. ed. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996; reprinted by Wipf & Stock |
And see bibliography for some of JHY’s other writings on JWT.
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| Yoder, John H. “On Christian Unity: The Way from Below,” Pro Ecclesia IX/2 (Spring 2000): 165-183. |
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| Yoder, John H. The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited, ed. Michael G. Cartwright and Peter Ochs. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003; London: SCM Press, 2003). |
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| Zigler, M.R. The Christian and War: A Theological Discussion of Justice, Peace and Love. Amsterdam: Historical Peace Churches and Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1958. |
A joint letter submitted from the Historic Peace Church service agencies to the World Council of Churches, arguing that war is contrary to God’s will, and suggesting that such an affirmation ought to be a foundation of ecumenical discussion, fellowship, and union. The letter is published together with a response from the WCC by Reinhold Niebuhr and Angus Dun, and a further statement by the peace churches.
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