Book Reviews J. Howard Kauffman a n d L e o Driedger, Tlze Merzlzorzite Mosaic: Identity nlzd Model-rzization (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1 9 9 1). Paperback, 308 pages. In 1975 J. Howard Kauffman and Leland Harder published the results of the first major survey of North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ church members. Melzrzolzite Mosaic reports and interprets the data gathered in a second parallel survey in 1989, seventeen years after the first study. With about two-thirds of the 1989 questions identical to those asked in 1972, valid comparisons can be made and trends discerned. The five denominations studied in both surveys (Mennonite Church, General Conference Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and Evangelical Mennonite Church) include some 232,000 of the 300,000 baptized Mennonites in North America. Data were gathered from over 3000 members by a25-page question- naire administered in group settings and analyzed with the aid of current computer technology. The 1972 survey developed a profile of religious beliefs, attitudes and practices of members of the participating denominations. In addition to validating and up-dating that profile, the 1989 study sought to identify trends "that would provide clues regarding the impact of modernization" (274, 45). It also added questions to explore in-group identity, male-female roles, and other aspects not included in 1972. Most of the trends revealed by the study were not unexpected. Mennonite Brethren have changed most and Brethren in Christ least in the intervening 17 years (46). But "similarities between these five bodies [remain] more significant than their differences" (214). And, of course, on most items the whole range of responses was represented in each denomination. The five groups are very close to each other when compared with the largerecumenical scene in North America. From time to time the authors make helpful comparisons of their findings with similar data from surveys of other religious bodies (e.g. Reginald Bibby in Canada) or national samples (e.g. Gallup poll). The 86 tables provide a wealth of summarized data. The authors have presented this information in very accessible form and added helpful interpretation in each case. Especially valuable are the tables of correlations made possible by computer analysis. Conference and congregational leaders as well as those involved in Mennonite educational and community organizations will benefit greatly from a study of the presented data. If the authors have not identified as many practical implications as some readers would like, the information is there to draw one's own conclusions. The study gives major attention to the impact of modernization. In an occasional lapse from social scientific detachment it even becomes the "onslaught" of modernization (1 5 1,157). Relating it to technological society, the authors use five B o o k Re12iew.s 211 dimensions or indicators of modernization: education, urbanization, mobility, occupational rank, and income. All five denominations have become more urban and increased in educational attainment since 1972 (MBs most; BiCs least); professional, business and clerical ranks have grown, while farm and labour segments are down: urbanization has increased mobility. 111 that "objective" sense, then, Mennonites have clearly modernized during the past 17 years. An important question is how this nlodernization will have affectedMennon- ite identity: "beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviour" (45). How far will it have led in the direction of greater secularization, individualism, and materialism ("con- comitants of modernization") as social theory predicts it should? The answer is unclear. In fact, contrary to expectation, higher education andsocio-economic status correlate negatively with secularism and individualism (100, 243). Sinularly surprising is the finding that the age distribution of those scoring high on all three concomitants of modernization is not lineas, but concave, with teenagers and the over 70 group higher than the three intermediate groups (268). This raises important questions for the authors. Is the assumption that secularism, individualism, and materialism are concomitants of modernization wrong? Do Mennonites simply not fit the expected pattern? (243) Readers may further wonder: did the questionnaire gather adequate data, and were the scales of "secularism" etc., appropriately defined? To that the authors might well respond in the words of Kauffman and Harder in their report of the 1972 survey: Of course, the validity of such findings depends much on the way the questions were asked and the scales defined. There is a sense, however, in which their meaning transcends the researchers' ability to control the instrument. Church members responded to over three hundred questions and gave a wide range of answers on many subjects. When a conglomerate of information is fed into the computer and i t reports plus and minus correlations of various magnitudes, we are pushed to make sense of the reports whether or not we have defined the factors in advance (Arlnbnptists Fo~rr- Cerlt~rr-ies Later-, 33 1 ). Some interesting findings: scores on "devotionalism" were unchanged from 1972; (84) opposition to abortion has significantly increased for all of the options offered, from pregnancy resulting from rape to "does not want baby;" ( 1 95) farmers are the category in which the highest percentage has a household income below $30,000; (40) males Inore strongly support women in leadership roles than do females in 13 of 14 categories, from "worship leader" (73-70%) to "conduct ordinations" (41-33%)(263). Chapter 10, comparing the five denominations, shows MCs and GCs to be the most compatible with each other, although fewer than one fourth of either group favours "uniting with another Mennonite or BIC group" (228). In a number of areas there appears to be a considerable gap between attitude (what people believe) and behaviour (what they do). Thus, 84% agreed that "members of our denomination should vote in public" elections (76% in 1972) but only 65% did so in recent years (46% in 1972) (138). Fifteen percent believed that youth should refuse to register with the draft, but only 3% would take that position if faced with the draft (174). Tables 2 to 4 in chapter 11 show a consistent spread between "moral attitudes" and "moral behaviour," with attitudes generally but not always rating higher. The authors might have given more attention to this than their brief comments ( 1 94f). My few criticisms are not meant to detract from the value of this study. The historical contexts plrovided in the introduction of a number of the chapters are usually carefully stated. Elsewhere imprecise remarksjar unnecessarily: e.g.that the Evangelical Mennonites split away from the "Old" Mennonites (149) when the latter had been equated with the MCs on the previous page; or the curious juxtaposing of Menno Simons and Thomas Muentzer (258) when Menno and Jan van Leyden or even Hubmaier would have been much more appropriate. Similarly, survey results are usually interpreted carefully and precisely, avoiding unwarranted cause-effect language. Elsewhere less care is evident: e.g. "with urbanization came greater interest in education" (37) [vice versa?] or "agrarian lifestyle brought with it large extended families, strongly patriarchal." When the categories "liberal" and "conservative" are used in comparing Mennonite groups or positions, the results are often unenlightening. Kauffman and Driedger (21 Of) introduce the terms carefully and give them specific content from the survey questions. Even so it becomes problematic to identify those who hold strongly to pacifism as "liberal" (236) when that belief is identified as a central element of Anabaptist orthodoxy. Identity and modernization may not have been the most central questions to address in this survey, as some of the ambiguous results suggest. Nevertheless, the book contains an enormous wealth of information to stimulate further study, interpretation and extrapolation. It will undoubtedly become a basis for many important decisions within the five conference bodies in the decade ahead. Adolf Ens Canadian Mennonite Bible College C.J.Dyck, William E. Keeney, and A.J.Beachey, eds., Tlze Writings of Dirk Plzilips (Classics of tlze Radical Refor~~zatio~z, Volume 6 ) ( Scottdale and Waterloo: Herald Press, 1992). 701 pages. The writings of DirkPhilips are generally little known, even though his name is familiar to students of Mennonite history as an important co-worker of Menno Simons, and, as translators and editors have insisted, his writings are more accessible than those of Menno in the sense of being more clearly written. In fact, DirkPhilips (perhaps more correctly Dirk Philipsz) writings have been available in a useful translation since 1910, that by A. Kolb and published by J.F.Funk (reprinted in Bonk Reliebc~s 213 1978). A German translati011 of the Eizcl~iridioi~ oclei- HrrizrlDuclzleii~ was published in the USA in I 8 1 1. It is chiefly this book that was made available in English by Kolb. The editors of the Classics series decided on anew translation of this work and others by Dirk Philips for several reasons, perhaps most importantly because of their desire to "annotate or contextualize the documents within the framework of Dirks' life and thought." There is no doubt that this volume adds valuable information to the texts thenlselves, thus making these works available to a new, more general readership. From alimited sampling withinits more than 700pages it can beestimatedthat the translations, which came through several hands and benefitted from that editorial process, are very good. Their improvement on the earlier one is chiefly in the revision and reformulation of the very numerous biblical quotations. The text itself is not as problematic as that of Menno and the editors have wisely included some original t e r n s in parentheses (wederdooper, p. 176), since the reader is entirely dependent on the translators in the absence of the original. It is not so clear which Bible translation has been used, surely something which should be clarified in the introduction. And so the reader will find the quotation on page 177: "What did our arrogance profit us, ourrichness, OUI-ostentatiousness"(Wisdom of Solomon 5:8), when a good, contem- porary translation, the NEB, renders: "What can we show for all our wealth and arrogance?" Other writings beside the Eizclziridion are included in this generous volume, several individual tracts, letters and even two songs. These hymns understandably do not scan well and it is a shame that these brief texts could not be reproduced in the original as well, perhaps in photocopy. Technically, the volume is well put together, with an introductory biography by William Keeney and excellent anno- tation and footnoting. The review copy had some unclear printing in the early pages and the single portrait is not even of Xerox quality. But apart from such minor criticisms there is much reason to be grateful for a readable and useful presentation of the works of one of the outstanding leaders of the Anabaptist movement. Victor G. Doerksen University of Manitoba Clarence B a u m a n , Tlze Spiritual Legacy of Harzs Derzck. Irzterpretcrtiorz arzd Trarzslation of Key Texts (Leiden: E.J.Bril1, 1991). 287 pages. To those who have read and heard Clarence Bauman, either in his doctoral opus Gewrrltlosigkeit, his volume on the Sermon on the Mount or on other occasions, it will not come as a surprise to see this translation of, and commentary on, the writings of Hans Denck, writings which have always been key texts forBauman. After speaking with him as a young graduate student in Germany it wasnatural for me to acquire Denck's writings in the Fellmann edition and to read Vorz delel- vvc~rw~ lieb for myself. Many students of Professor Bauman will have been similarly affected. Clarence Bauman's teaching and writing bespeak a world of spiritual experience which we refer to as mystical. His voice encourages us to be still and to listen, to contemplate, to explore spiritual resources within as did the mystics of earlier times. Of Hans Denck he says: Hans Denck represents the contemplative genius of the Anabaptist Movement at its highest and best. No understanding of the Anabaptist Vision is complete without coming to terms with the uniqueness of Denck's intellectual spirituality: its inner dynamic, its medieval context, its mystic content, and its Jewish roots ( I ) . This edition begins with a forty-page essay on Denck's life and thought, a clear, well-documentedrecordof this brief (27 years) life and adiscussion ofDenck's spirituality, emphasizing and explaining his "Jewish biblical mysticism" (44). Bauman concludes: Denck's spiritual consciousness appears to transcend all the fixed categories with which he has hitherto been identified. He was too undogmatic to beanevangelical Reformer and too quietistic to be an Anabaptist radical. He was too biblical to be a rationalist and too theological to be a humanist: tooecumenical to be asectarian and too christological to be a Unitarian. His faith was too articulate for Pietism, his hope too evangelicalfor Liberalism, and hislove too universal forconservatism. His heart was tooethically- mindedforan individualisticspiritualist,andhis spirit was toomystically orientedfor asocial activist. His mentality was toodynamic to be doctrinally fixed, and his spirituality was too radical to be existentially safe. His Jewishness was too prophetic to be tolerated, and his Christianity was too authentic to be endured-almost as though his faith were too real to be true and his life too true to be real (47). Part I1 contains the chosen texts, with an introduction and the German original facing its translation. The originals are reprinted with their annotation from the Fellmann edition (Quellen zirzd Forsclzzirzgerz z ~ t r Refor71zntiorzsgescIzicIzte X X I V ) . They include the major texts with the exception of the Micah commentary, which cannot be certainly ascribed to Denck. A Part I11 deals with some Latin poems, polemics and the Micah commentary. The beautifully made volume is completed by a bibliography, glossary and indices. A translation of Denck's major texts by Edward Furcha has been available in two editions, a rather basic one from 1975 and a revised edition in 1989. Furcha's translations are, as he says, "aimed at transmitting the sense of a given passage in good English without unduly violating the original" (1989, vi). A coinparison of selected passages indicates that both Furcha and Bauman have done well with a difficult text, but that there are significant differences. Where Furcha aims at "good English,"Bauman clearly opts for faithfulness to theGerman original. Forexa~nple, Denck's reference to himself, nirz au~a~tseligernlerzsclz, is rendered by Furcha as "a pitiable man." Baulnan says: "a poor in spirit person." One might have preferred "a person poor in spirit," but Bauman's faithfulness is almost that of the medieval interlinear version. A footnote in Bauman's edition then expands on this interesting word, pointing out that this paradoxical formulation ("blessed-poor") derives from Book Rnliervs 215 the beatitudes of Jesus. Furcha's text is not always successful in arriving at "good English;" for example, he uses the pronoun "she" in speaking about love (von dei- mi-en lieb), but naturally cannot be consistent in that usage (270). In contrast with Furcha, Bauman's work gives the reader the wherewithall to approach and to understand the German original, for which the original, the annotation and the translation are all necessary. This has resulted in a splendid, if expensive book. Clarence Bauman himselfwouldlikely call the price of the volume "siindhaft teuer" and one would be inclined to agree, although one should also bear in mind that the word teuei- means valuable as well as expensive. Victor G. Doerksen University of Manitoba Ursula Lieseberg, Studieu rLtrn M l i l - ~ r e r l i e d der Tiiufei- inz 16. Jnlzrlzundel? (European University Studies 1233)(Frankfurt/Main: P e t e r L a n g , 1991). 309 pages. This recent study is "a first attempt to define the still relatively unfamiliar genre of the German mastyr songs of the Anabaptists and to introduce these songs with regard to content, structural characteristics and function" (back cover). Although Lieseberg has drawn on all the significant existing sources of Anabaptist studies (e.g. Wolkan, Liliencron, H.S.Bender, Rosella Duerksen and others) she makes two rather remarkable observations: 1 .Thereis adearth ofresearch on the poetry of 16th century Anabaptist songs, in comparision with the research on prose texts, and 2. the martyr song is to a great extent still a little understood species of sacred song. Basic to this study is Lieseberg's definition of the Miii-tyr-er-lied: "...a song in strophic narration about a martyr event, written in the 16th or 17th century by Lutheran or Anabaptist authors." This definition rules out the inclusion of other kinds of hymns as martyr songs which were written by persons who later met a martyr's death. With this definition as a basis, and with an impressive fund of fresh documentary material at her disposal (see Liter-crtun~e~eichr~is, pp. 257-272), the author, using 65 selected lnartyr hymns (see Ver,eichliis der- Lieder, pp. 273-299), developed the outline, structure and content of this thesis. Lieseberg presents a tri-partite classification of lnartyr songs: 1. by sources: Lutheran, Anabaptist, Hutterite; 2. by period: early (1 2 3 - 4 3 ) , middle ( 1 544-65). late ( 1566-1 6 18), beginning with the first lnartyr song by MastinLuther andending with the last known song in this genre in 16 18; 3. according to priinary and secondary song texts. Primary songs dealt with the death of conte~nporary martyrs, usually well known to the author. Secondary songs concerned biblical and early church martyrs, as well as a few "special" martyr songs of a general nature. In Chapter Six Lieseberg uses 62 pages to present a clear and comprehensive study of the structural features, narrative and stylistic elements of typical martyr songs. A comparison with other studies, for example Yoder's "400 Years with the Ausbu~zcf" and Rosella Duerksen's dissertation on Anabaptist hymnody ( 1 956), as well as various articles would help us to recognize the additional new information and the clear manner in which this fascinating new material has been presented here. In Chapter Nine the author makes a little excursion into the music (melodies and singing styles) of the martyr songs. Only five pages aredevoted to this rich field. The information is largely a summary of some of the information given in much greater detail by Wolkan and Rosella Duerksen. In the section dealing with present singing practices among North American Hutterites the reviewer is left to wonder why such a significant resource as Helen Martens' "Die Lieder der Hutterer" was not consulted. The extensive commentaries which Lieseberg provides on individual songs is a rich source of information for hyrnnologists and authors of handbooks to hymnals. A case in point is the commentary on Wer Clz~isto jetzt v~~ill~folge~l rznclz (Who now would follow Christ in Life, MH 3441, the first martyr song of the Anabaptists. This was a popular hymn sung by Swiss Anabaptists and Hutterites alike, the latter having adopted it in thirteen hymn books with frequent textual variants. The thesis includes five very valuable indices: 1) an alphabetical list of the 65 songs used in the research. For each song Lieseberg lists hymnals, codices and other source material in which the song appears. 2) index of first lines, providing page references to hymns dealt with throughout the study. 3) index to the martyrs referred to in the study. 4) index to melodies. 5) an index of the nineteen different rhyming schemes used in martyr songs. The final five pages, a facsimile reproduction of Hutterite songs written in Fraktur, add a delightful artistic touch to the paperback volunle. In this study Ursula Lieseberg has provided sources and opened doors for further meaningful research in sixteenth and seventeenth century Anabaptist hymnody in general and martyr songs in particular. For this we are gratefully indebted. The author was born in Loetzen, East Psussia, in 1939. She studied Germanistik, Anglistilc and general linguistics at Kiel University. This thesis was written in fulfillment of her master's degree in 1990. George Wiebe Canadian Mennonite Bible College Winnipeg Book R e ~ d e l ~ ~ s 217 G e r a l d R. Brunk, ed., Meizno Siinons. A Renppr-nisnl. Essays in h o n o r of Irvin B. H o r s t o n t h e 450th anniversary of t h e F~~rzdnnzeiztboek (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Eastern M e n n o n i t e College, 1992). Hardcover, 215 pp. This collection of essays includes the papers presented at a conference on Menno Simons held on March 23-24, 1990, at Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary. The book honours the well-known Anabaptist and Menno Silnons scholar Irvin B. Horst who for many years taught at Eastern and at the University of Amsterdam. Included in the collection are the following scholars and their essays: Myron Augsburger (on Horst as a scholar and churchman), Walter Klaassen (on the relevance of Menno Simons today and Menno research), Sjouke Voolstra (on themes in Menno's early theology), Helmut Isaak (on Menno's vision of God's kingdom), Pieter Visser (onMenno Simons printed, readanddebated), Ma-jan Blok (on discipleship in Menno), Abraham Friesen (on Menno and Miinster), and Irvin Horst (on the meaning of Menno today). Augsburger's essay on Horst and IUaassen's biographical essay were not presented at the conference but were added for the book. The collection concludes with a bibliography of Horst's writings. While most of the essays are generally of a scholarly nature, the tone of some is personal, even humorous (Augsburger, Friesen), and some are celebratory and didactic in intent and purpose (Horst, Klaassen). Like Horst's life-long work, the essays reflect scholarship in the service of the church and faith. And this is certainly in the spirit of Menno Simons, who was always wary of the "learned ones" and scholarship detached from faith. Time and again the authors refer to the ground-laying work of Harold S. Bender, who with his "Anabaptist vision" inspired Horst and a whole generation of Anabaptist scholars and churchmen. Horst expresses his appreciation for Bender's vision when he writes: "...as amiddle class group ofChristians living in aprosperous society, we tend to regard discipleship as a contingent issue rather than a central one ... as Christians we avoid confrontation by favouring religious expressions that stress piety rather than ethical demands' '(p. 172). All writel-s, while acknowledging Menno's evangelical theology and practice, at least imply that the Dutch Anabaptist leader would be averse to what is known as fundamentalist evangelicalism today. Does the book advance our knowledge of Menno Simon's life and work? The purpose of the essays is to restate, reappraise and emphasize some of the themes and issues in Menno's early writings, especially in his F~oirhn~entboek. We still do not know ~lluch about Menno's early life, including whether he received his training in a monastery or in a Latin school. With regard to the authorship and date of TIze Blrrsl~he~~zy ofJokrz ofLe)lde~l, Friesen argues persuasively that Menno wrote this work in 1535, before he officially joined Anabaptism, but he does not explain why Menno does not mention polygamy among the sins of John of Leyden. It is unfortunate that there is not a single woman among the contributors of essays, although some writers, not all, use inclusive language (Klaassen, for example, refers to congregational ministers alternately as "he" and "she"). This absence of female scholars in the book (surely there must have been female students whom Horst taught) is all the more unfortunate when it is considered that Menno Simons addressed in his writings both "brothers" and "sisters," took the side of a woman in her struggle against the harsh rules of the ban and shunning, and, as Augsburger surmises, even commissioned "Elizabeth Dirks as the first woman to serve in a deaconess role in the church" (p.9). Mennonite study groups and pastors will find this bookhelpful. It isrelatively free of misprints. Page xii, line 2, should read "as" not "we," and page 98, line 5 , should read "pragmatism." The following sentence on page 37 is obscure: "In it he offers pre-eminently an evangelical basis for the preaching of the people." The author here refers to the Fzazdanzeiztboek of Menno Simons. Harry Loewen The University of Winnipeg James R. Coggins, Jolztz Srnytlz's Congregation. Englislz Sepnmtisnz, Mennonite bzjluetzce, and tlze Elect Nntioa. No. 32 in the Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History Series (Waterloo, Ontario/Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1991). Hardcover, 240 pages, $37.50 (Cdn.). In the first decade of the seventeenth century, during the reign of King James I of England, some 150 Puritan separatists together with their spiritual leader John Smyth (c. 1565- 161 2) left for Amsterdam in search of religious freedom. Soon after their arrival on Dutch soil the group split into three factions. The largest faction, led by John Robinson, moved to Leiden and later as Pilgrim Fathers to New England, where they influenced America through Congregationalism. The group which remained true to John Smyth in 1610 joined the Waterlander Mennonites in Amsterdam. The smallest group, a mere ten members, adhered to Thomas Helwys and returned to England, establishing there the first Baptist congregation. Coggins' book, based on his 1986 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Waterloo, deals with the John Smyth Congregation as a group, describing and interpreting its leaders, their theology, and the congregation's struggles, divisions, and search for divine truth. While the book recounts the stories of all three factions, its focus is on John Smyth and his group's relationship to the Dutch Mennonites. In six chapters the author deals with issues that were important to both the Smyth group and the Mennonites, including the relationship between church and state, religious freedom and tolerance, authoritarianism in church leadership, nationalism and patriotism, predestination and election, and believer's baptism. This fascinat- ing story is not only well told but it also contributes to a better understanding of the early Mennonite-Baptist connection. Book R e ~ ~ i e w s 219 Drawing upon primary andsecondary sources, Coggins corrects some earlier held views and misconceptions with regard to the relationship between the Smyth group and the Dutch Mennonites. For example, by means of a careful analysis of the purpose, date and content of Hans de Ries's "Short Confession" and John Smyth's "Defense" of the "Short Confession" against a certain critic's attack, Coggins is able to establish that the alliance between the Smyth group and the Waterlander Mennonites was concluded in 1610, two years before Smyth died, and not in 16 15 as some had formerly believed. What happened after Smyth's death was a merger or complete union between the two bodies (pp.96-97). Of significance is also the effect that this alliance had upon the Dutch Mennonites. Since the Mennonites like the Smyth group had a congregational form of church government and as autonomous congregations were loosely allied with all other Dutch congregations, it was difficult to come to a decision and consensus with regard to accepting the English congregation. When the Waterlander and High German Mennonite congregations favored an alliance with the Smyth group but the Frisian and Flemish Mennonites opposed it, the Mennonite alliance known as the "Pacified Brotherhood came to an end. The clash between the more tolerant and liberal Waterlanders and the more conservative and exclusive Mennonites resulted in the breakup. The alliance between the English and the Mennonites also had a decided effect upon members in Smyth's congregation. Led by Thomas Helwys, a small group was not willing to join the Mennonites. English nationalism and culture, an inability to speak Dutch, and some aspects of Mennonite theology, notably Christology, separation of church and state and nonresistance, made it difficult for the Helwys group to go along with Smyth's decision to join the Mennonites. While the historical narrative is well researched and carefully interpreted, Coggins' treatment of some theological issues is less satisfactory. For example, in his discussion of "Mennonite Christology" Coggins leaves the impression that there was a particular and normative Mennonite Christology. While it is true that Melchior Hoffman, Menno Simons and some of their followers adhered to a "celestial f l e s h view of the incarnation of Christ, there were many other Anabaptists andMennonite% particularly in southern Europe and among the Waterlanders, who rejected this view. Moreover, Menno's Christology certainly grew out of his concept of aL'pure church," but that does not necessarily mean that there is a connection between Menno's "celestial flesh" theology and Mennonite "perfectionism" and "spiritual arrogance" (p.126). Coggins' detailed analysis of Hans de Ries's "Short Confession" and Smyth's "Defense" makes it quite clear that the Mennonite concern for holiness and righteous living derivedfro~n many specific New Testament passages on the subject and not necessarily from a narrow theology of incarnation. Similarly, Coggins speaks of tl2e Anabaptist and tlze Mennonite "view of the state" (p. 129), implying that all Anabaptists and Mennonites separated church and state, refused to serve in government, and upheld the principle of nonresistance. A study of sixteenth century Anabaptism indicates that there were at least two major positions with regard to church-state relations: the Schleitheim separatist position and the Balthasar Hubmaier position, which accepted Christians' involvement in government and their serving with the sword. It is thus incorrect, or toogeneral at best, to state that "From the beginning, Anabaptist attitudes toward the state were based on a concept of separation" (p.128). Incidentally, Hubmaier whom Baptists today consider their Anabaptist hero, is not mentioned at all in this study. The book includes six appendices, including "Members of the John Smyth Congregation," "Others Associated with the Smyth Congregation," "The Robinson Congregation," "The Helwys Congregation," "Letter of Thomas Helwys to the Mennonites," and an excellent English translation of the Latin "Defense of the Ries's Confession." Copious notes for each chapter, an extensive list of primary and secondary sources, and a useful general index complete this study. The text is relatively free of typographical errors and misprints. In the Sebastian Franck quotation on page 150 the word should be "sects" not "sentences." Harry Loewen The University of Winnipeg Heinrich Sawatsky, Merzrzonite Tenzplers, translated by Victor G. Doerksen (Winnipeg: CMBC Publications and the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, 1990). Paperback, xvi, 104 pp. Heinrich Goerz, Metzizotzite Settlenzerzts irz Crirnen, translated by John B. Toews (Winnipeg: CMBC Publications and the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, 1992). Paperback, xiii, 66 pp. These two books bring to three the total number of books in the Echo Verlag series of 14 volumes to be translated andpublished. The first volume was Tlze K~lDarz Settlernerzt (1989-see review in JMS, Vol. 8, 1990). The very dissimilar nature of the two books makes it difficult to do justice to both in the same review. Memzorzite Settlerne~zts irz Crirnea was written by someone who hadnoteven livedin the Crimea and thereforerelied on the reflections of others. Although, as the translator remarks, there is "a sense of the authentic and the graphic," there is nevertheless also a sense of distance. Considerable detail concerning the settlements, their geography, agriculture, industry, institutions and religious leaders is given. Some of the information can be found in much more detail in other accounts (e.g., the stories of some of the prominent leaders such as the Unruhs and the Kroekers). There is also very little drama in the accounts. Book Rei~iews 22 1 Sawatsky's book on the Templer movement is of a very different nature, although it too lacks drama. First, it is told by someone who was only two years old when the Temple Church (Friends of Jerusalem in Russia) was organized in 1863 in Gnadenfeld, Molotschna. Sawatsky therefore was connected with the movement virtually from its beginnings until the book was published in 1953 (Sawatsky died in 1956). No one could have understood the inside story better. Sawatsky was a student of P. M. Friesen in Halbstadt, spent the years 1882(83?) to 1886 in Palestine where he met his future wife, went back to the Caucasus for fifteen years, then moved to Palestine where he helped establish a new settlement in 1902, was banished to Germany for a short period after World War I, then came back to Palestine and eventually was forced to spend his final years (after the establishment of the state of Israel) in Australia! It is impossible to imagine the drama and hardship of such an experience. It would be most interesting to compare this story with the story of Franz Bartsch, a participant in the exodus to Asia (Urlser Auszug rzaclz Mittelasierz, Echo Verlag No. 5). In fact, Sawatsky's bookreveals much less of the drama, passion and hardship than Bartsch's, although it must certainly have been there. Sawatsky always remains quite distant and the events scarcely betray any transcendent dimensions. Does this in itself say something about the nature of the Templer leaders, many of whom were among the "best and the brightest" of the Mennonite colonists in Russia? On the whole, the religious and theological dimensions of the Templer movement are scarcely touched on. The concluding essay (which was not in the original German edition), purports to address the issue under the title "The Battle for Existence and the Pursuit of the Kingdom of God." This is basically an autobiographical account with a wealth of interesting detail, but there is little that helps us to understand the religious pulse of the movement. Helpful additions to the original books include maps of the regions in Russia which relate to the content of the books. Some pictures have also been added to the Templer volume. The quality of the reproductions of the photographs from the original volumes is not always up to the standards possible. A few typographical errors can be discovered (e.g., "Kirshcenhardhof," p. 14, Merzrzorlite Terizplers; "Selbstschutsz," pp. 5 9 , 61, Merzrzorzite S e t t b n e n t s ) . It is also unfortunate that a consistent spelling of "Templer" has not yet been arrived at (s.v., "Templar Movement," by V. G . Doerksen in ME V). The binding of the Templer volume was also poor. The quality of the translations of both books is excellent and should make it possible for many English-only readers to become more familiar with important dimensions of the Mennonite experience. Abe Dueck Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies R o y d e n L o e w e n , Blu??ze?zort. A Me~z~zo?zite Conznzuizi~ in Trmuitior? 1874-1982 (Steinbach, Manitoba: T h e B l u m e n o r t M e n n o n i t e Historical Society, 1983. S e c o n d printing 1990). Hardcover, 670 pp. In an attempt to return to the early Anabaptist Mennonite faith and practice, the Kleine Gemeinde (today Evangelical Mennonite Church), led by Klaas Reimer in 1812, was the first group among the Russian Mennonites to break away from the old congregations. This reforming group objected to the increasing materialism, secularism and worldliness among their co-religionists and insisted that simplicity, humility, non-violence and Christian love in all areas of life were the characteristics of true Christianity. Opposed anddespised by the larger Mennonite body, the Kleine Gemeinde, together with other conservative Mennonites, left Russiain the 1870s for Canada, hoping to establish their ideal community there. Blumenort nearsteinbach, Manitoba, became the early Kleine Gemeinde centre in Canada. Loewen's massive book on the village of Blumenort is a kaleidoscopic historical portrait of a typical Mennonite community in southern Manitoba. By means of community and church records, letters and interviews, the author, himself a farmer and historian living in the Blumenort area, has reconstructed a community history which will be of interest to the people of the area and to the historian and sociologist of Mennonite and ethnic studies. To read the story of Blumenort is to read the history of the Mennonites who came to Manitoba between 1874 and 1880. Loewen deals in great detail with the religious, social, cultural and economic factors which shaped andeventually changed the Blumenortcommunity. Beginning with the religious conservatismof the community in which even the reading of more liberal Mennonite newspapers was proscribed and the first automobiles were rejected, the author traces the Blumenorters' gradual acceptance of new methods of fanning, more up-to-date education, and eventually modem conveniences that the late twentieth century provided. Especially after the Second World War the community registered a higher standard of living, more openness to "worldly" influences, and an interaction with non-Mennonites. While Loewen does refer to external events and factors which influenced the faith and life of Blumenort, he is most sketchy with regard to the larger Canadian and world context in which his story unfolds. Fewer details about Blumenort and its people and greatercontextualizing would not haveenlarged the volume but would haveenhanced this valuable history. Also in an attempt to be as objective as possible, Loewen seems to shy away from an analysis and evaluation of the conservative views and values of the Blumenort community. In an epilogue written for the 1990 reprinting of the book, Loewen states that while the community has changed (first seminary-educated pastor, greater orienta- tion toward the city of Winnipeg and Steinbach, 10% of the 180 households bearing non-Mennonite names), conservative life values are still dominant. There is an antipathy toward such issues as divorce, alcohol consumption, dancing, and abortion. In the 1988 federal election 84% of the areas people voted in favour of the conservative candidate Jake Epp. Loewen concludes: " ... Blumenort's people were Book Revie118s 223 still organizing their lives with reference to family lines, ethnic identity and rural values" (p.633). This book, together with Esther Epp-Tiessen's Altonn and Peter Zacharias' Reitzlnnd, helps us to understand and appreciate more fully the "Kanadier" Mennonite contribution to the multicultural mosaic of Canada. Harry Loewen The University of Winnipeg Peter a n d Elfrieda D y c k , Up.fi-onz tlze Rubble (Scottdale, PA/ Waterloo, Ont.: Herald Press, 1991). Paperback, 384 pages. Up Fronz tlze R~lbble tells the story of the work of Peter and Elfrieda (Klassen) Dyck in Europe during and immediately after the Second World War. As representa- tives of the Mennonite Central Committee, they devoted themselves to the task of aiding victims of the war. The book is unique in that it is written jointly, each one serving as narrator at different points in the story. The style is conversational, the authors claiming that they are not writing history nor an autobiography, but telling a story - that of their involvement in the lives of thousands of refugees. Since Peter and Elfrieda have reported extensively on their experiences in the congregations of North America, the story is well known to an older generation of Mennonites, but not to the youngergeneration born since those turbulent times some 45 years ago. The informal narrative style make the book accessible to a wide reading audience, and it is indeed a dramatic and compelling tale which the authors relate. Peter was sent to England on behalf of the Mennonite Central Committee in 1941 on what was originally tobe aone-year assignment. Elfrieda hadalso been sent to England to work as a nurse. Both were assigned to work in a convalescent boys' home, and they married in 1944. In 1945 they were transferred to the Netherlands to begin the MCC relief programme there. Refugees of Mennonite background from the Soviet Union began to find their way to the Netherlands, seeking asylum on the basis of the fact that their forebears had left this country in the sixteenth century. As more refugees tried to enter the country, officials began to resist, and Dyck tells of promising authorities on behalf of MCC that the refugees would be looked after and moved at the earliest opportunity to another country. To allow this temporary asylum he had to produce adocument for these people withoutpapers; the Menno Pass, a document in three languages, was devised, and this allowed Russian Mennonites of Dutch descent to enter the Netherlands. As a sizeable number of Mennonite refugees from the Soviet Union began to find their way to Berlin, the Dycks were asked to go there to direct refugee operations. A camp was established, but plans had to be made to move the group out of Berlin, since they had no wish to be re-patriated to the Soviet Union. A provision of the Yalta agreement was that refugees be re-patriated following the war, and the Russians were insisting that Soviet citizens be returned. Dyck was promised by the U.S. military that they would transport the refugees by train from Berlin through the Soviet zone, provided permission was granted by the Soviets. A ship was waiting in Bremerhaven to transport the refugees to Paraguay - one country willing to open its doors to the homeless group. After several delays permission was eventually granted and the group travelled without major incident through the Soviet zone. There has been much discussion around this "miracle," the fact that the Soviet authorities actually signed the papers. One rumour, dismissed as "sheer nonsense" by Dycli, was that the Russian official, Sokolovsky, was drunk and didn't know what he was doing when he signed the papers. Dyck does not give an explanation for the decision to sign the permission papers. A thoroughly researched account by T.D. Regehr ("Anatomy of a Miracle," JMS, Vol. 9, 1991) concludes that it was the "fundamentally decent and humanitarian refugee policy officially enunciated slightly more than a year before the rescue of the Mennonite refugees in Berlin that made possible the rescue." This policy stipulated that Soviet refugees would only be turned over to the authorities if they had voluntarily become involved with the enemy forces. Regehr also attributes the fact that the train was allowd to go through the Soviet zone to the amicable and practical way in whichLieutenant General Clay, the American military official, and Marshall Sokolovsky dealt with many problems that arose between the two occupying powers. Peter and Elfrieda, sometimes Elfrieda alone, accompanied several shiploads of refugees to new homes in South America. The latter part of the book is an account of the challenge of helping people on difficult voyages and in settling in the challenging conditions of Uruguay and the Paraguayan Chaco. Peter and Elfrieda bring to life the horror and suffering of countless people uprooted by a terrible war and its dreadful aftermath. One is impressed by the dedication, resourcefulness and courage of these two people. Also impressive is the account of the supporting role played by the Mennonite Central Committee. We should read this book, lest we forget. Ruth Vogt Winnipeg, Manitoba Harry Huebner, ed., The Clzul-clz as Theological Conznzu~zity: Essays ilz Hoizo~~l- of David Schl-oedel- (Winnipeg: C M B C Publications, 1990). xviit-3 13 pp. This is an outstanding Festsclzl-ift - scholarly, interesting and well-edited. Rodney Sawatsky, president ofConradGrebelCollege, Waterloo, Ontario, opens the volume with a speech which was prepared for the occasion of honouring Dr. Book Rel~ietvs 225 Schroeder. At times light-hearted and personal but always insightful, it radiates friendship and respect. It also contains some weighty themes-the meaning of suffering, the significance of scholarship, and the concern for peace. Particular attention is directed to the cornmunal centre of Christian existence, the church, understood as the "hermeneutical community." Schroeder's scholarly contribution is evaluated as follows: "What makes his theology so important to us in theMennonite church is that his is a theology ofthe church forthe church" (p. 20) in which message and lifestyle are mutually supportive. Then, as a quiet but visible proof of the significance of Schroeder, there follows "A Selection from David Schroeder's Presentations and Writings," pp. 23- 35. It is an impressive list. The first of the subsequent essays is Schroeder's own, entitled "Once You Were No People " - a carefully analyzed interpretation of the centre of I Peter, with particular attention to holiness and service in obedience. The editor is to be congratulated for including this luminous text. The second part of the Festschrifi, devoted to historical theology, opens with "Theology of the Hermeneutical Community in Anabaptist-Mennonite Thought" by Adolf Ens. He follows the lead of George H. Williams: "There is one principle or practice-group study and reverent d i s p u t a t i o n 4 o m m o n to the entire Radical Reformation which goes far to explain the spirit of the movement as a whole" (pp. 69-70). Contrasting such an approach with the practice of magisterial reformers and the spiritualists, Ens goes a long way to establish the uniqueness of the Anabaptist "hermeneutical community." This study should stimulate further research, which will need to look at the sources in their original languages as well as to pay closer attention to other perspectival issues, notably church discipline and martyrdom. Waldemar Janzen's "A Canonical Rethinking of the Anabaptist-Mennonite New Testament Orientation" offers a refreshing evaluation of the traditional Mennonite view of the Old Testament, subordinated to the New Testament. This approach, thinks Janzen, has resulted in a significant neglect, notably of the theological understanding of family and land. In the first instance the stress of the individual faith decisions has hindered more explicit covenantal concerns, specifi- cally in reference to the children of believers who have remained outside thechurch. In the second instance, "the rich land theology of the Old Testament has scarcely been addressed by our ancestors other than in a spiritualized form" (p. 98). The third part of the Festsclzr-(fi, identified as "Biblical Theology," begins with a brilliant statement by Mary H. Schertz: "Interpretation as Discipleship: Luke 24 as Model." To those of us who have read and celebrated-and sometimes only celebrated-Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Tlze Cost of Discipleslzip, "discipleship" may have drifted into a superlative category. Professor Schertz makes it very clear that "the synoptic disciples at times appear to be something less than saints" (p. 1 16). She also makes clear that there are times when the Gospel is proclaimed "through the words and the actions of the poor, the outcast, the outsider, the women" (p. 134). In this way the basis for true discipleship is seen in grace rather than in accomplished perfection. William Klassen, "The Voice of the People in the Biblical Story of Faithfulness," as always profound and charming, underscores the Christian indebt- edness to the Bible for the "commitment to basic human rights, justice and peace." Here Klassen observes that the Bible has always acknowledged the reality of human "unfaithfulness" (p. 140). Hence the meaning of grace is that God's love is not earned by human faithfulness. From within such a context Klassen deals with the role of the community in the formulation and the interpretation of the Bible. He concludes with the challenge that the local congregation needs to be a dialogical participant in the formulation of theology. In the fourth part, "Contemporary Theology ," the first offering is by A. James Reimer, "How Modem Should Theology Be? The Nature and Agenda of Contem- porary Theology." Here we encounter an overview of what the author regards as significant contemporary developments. He discusses at some length Hans Jonas and modem technology, Gregory Baum and social justice, andseveral other thinkers on pluralism. Perhaps the reviewer failed to grasp the full depth of this chapter- assuming that it had something to say in the first place. Lydia Harder, "Discipleship Reexamined: Women in the Hermeneutical Community," argues that there should be "no privilege of the powerful," but instead "mutual dialogue and counsel" (p. 203). While I appreciate her rejection of the traditional misrepresentation of the discipleship of women as mere submission, I think that it might have been helpful to reflect on the administrative structure of the hermeneutical community. The fifth part, "Theological Ethics," begins with "A Critical Analysis of Narrative Ethics" by Duane K. Friesen, in which critical attention is devoted to Stanley Hauerwas. The conclusion is forceful: "The fact is that the categories of narrative ethics do not give very precise guidance for our decisions" (p. 240). "Christian Pacifism and the Character of God" by Harry Huebner views pacifism as the only authentic perspective for acceptable theological thinking. Having with some care and respect reviewed a variety of alternatives, Huebner quickly offers his central insight: "in Christ Jesus we come to know not merely another side of God, but we come to know the very character of God" (p. 259). A variety of texts which have led other interpreters to other conclusions, however, have remained unexamined. Moreover, to state that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was "in prison for his political peace activities" (p. 261) is to offer a half-truth. Bonhoeffer was executed for participation in an attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler. Indeed, Bonhoeffer soughtpeace, but was charged with doing it through other than peaceful means. The concluding sixth part of the Festsclzl-ift is somewhat oddly entitled "Practical Theology." Indeed, practical concerns are present, but such was the case in the preceding chapters as well! Peter C. Erb in "Traditional Spirituality and Mennonite Life" offers a truly vintage contribution-wise, insightful, stimulating. It reflects in depth on several weighty religious issues: "The problem of return" to one's religious roots found in an age which widely differs from the present: "Defining spirituality" as a concern with the interplay of "Spiritual life, love and the Book Revie\~j.s 22 7 Trinity;" the problem of "Spirituality and the Baptism of Adultsm-probably the most searching and potentially the most controversial statement; concerns with action and contemplation; and "the Spirituality of the Gospel of Peace." Finally, James N. Pankratz reflects on "Mennonite Identity and Religious Pluralism" in a Mennonite perspective. Having known Dr. Schroeder personally as a highly respected, valued and loved colleague during the occasions of his teaching directly at the University of Manitoba, I can attest that agreat friend and genuine scholar has been well celebrated by this Festsclzrif. It should have a wide circulation and an appreciative readership. Egil Grislis, University of Manitoba P e t e r Brock, Freedom Fro171 Violence, Sectarian Norzr-esistarzce fi-0171 tlze Middle Ages to tlze Great War- (Toronto/Buffalo/London: University of T o r o n t o Press, 1991). Hardcover, 385 pp, $55.00. Peter Brock's book Freedom Fronz V i o l e ~ ~ c e is part of a trilogy. The other two studies are The QllakerPeace Testirnorzy (1 990) and Freedonz Fronz W a r ( 1 991). Other books by Brock on the subject of pacifism are: Pncifisilz in tlze Uilited States: From tlze Colorzinl Era to tlze First World War (1 968), T~i)entietlz-Cer~t~lv Pacifisnz (1970), and Pacifisriz irz Europe (1972). Brock's writing combines skilful summarizing of historical events and probing analysis of issues and their development. On the subject of pacifism Brock has gained an enviable reputation surpassed by none. With so many books on pacifism some repetition can hardly be avoided, but generally Brock's studies are amazingly fresh, interesting, and informative. This holds true for Freedom Frori~ Violer~ce as well. The pacifist groups included in this book are the following. The medieval Waldenses and the followers of Petr Chelcicky in Czechoslovakia; the early Swiss and German Anabaptists, including the Hutterites; the Polish Anabaptists and the Socinians; the Dutch, German, French, Russian and American Mennonites; and the American Seventh-day Adventists and Plymouth Brethren. Brock ends his study with the beginning of the First World War. About two-thirds of the book, fifteen chapters out of twenty-three, deals with Anabaptist-Mennonite pacifism. The author shows correctly that Anabaptist pacifism, initiated by the Swiss Brethren and codified in the Schleitheim Confession of 1527, formed not only the basis but also the norm for later Mennonite faith and practice. Intending to restore the faith of the early Christian church, the Anabaptist- Mennonites made rejection of sword power, separation of church and state, and the ethic of love in all human relationships the centre of their confessional life. This, according to Brock, differentiated the pacifism of the Mennonites from that of the medieval groups, including the so-called "vocational pacifism" of monks and some heretical individuals and communities. While the "vocational pacifists" renounced war because of their order or status in society, the Mennonites as followers of Christ demanded nonresistance of all their members. Mennonite pacifism, however, was not consistently sustained throughout the centuries, nor in all the countries in which Mennonites came to dwell. Social and political pressures and assimilation often weakened, diluted and sometimes even destroyed the earlier pacifism of many Mennonites. This happened first in the Netherlands, then in Prussia and Russia, and more recently in modern Germany. Those Mennonites who in spite of governmental pressures sought to uphold their traditional nonresistance emigrated to the Americas, particularly the United States, Canada and some Latin American countries where they were exempt from serving in the army. It thus becomes clear from Brock's study that Mennonites were able to preserve their pacifism primarily in countries where because of their thrift, skills and economic contribution to society, they were tolerated and allowed to practice their traditional faith. The chapter on Canadian-Mennonite nonresistance is the shortest chapter in the book, a mere six pages in length. For a fuller treatment of pacifism in Canada the reader might turn to the excellent study by Thomas Socknat, Wit~zess Against War: Pacifisr7z itz Carzada 1900-1945 (Univ. of Toronto Press, 1987). This book argues convincingly that it was the so-called "historic peace churches," including the Mennonites and Hutterites, that established the pacifist tradition in this country. The more modem non-Mennonite peace groups treated in Brock's study are the Seventh-day Adventists and the Plymouth Brethren. While their contribution to the pacifist tradition is significant and similar to that of the Mennonites, it is, according to Brock, of a different kind. Together with the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Christadelphians, two groups not treated in this book, these "eschatological pacifists," as Brock has called them, profess a kind of interim ethic. As Brock points out, correctly I think, these groups "required their members to become conscientious objectors while at the same time supporting participation in fighting at some final day of reckoning when Christ would descend from heaven to overthrow the wicked ....[ Tlhese types are all peripheral to the main stream of pacifism" (p.270). Nevertheless, I believe that especially the pacifism of the Jehovah's Wit- nesses requires to be investigated and analyzed by historians of Brock's stature. It was the Jehovah's Witnesses who in Hitler's Germany suffered more on account of their pacifism than any other group, including the Mennonites. In fact, among the Mennonites in Nazi Germany there was not a single recorded Mennonite who because of his pacifism went to jail or was executed by the government, whereas there were between 6,000 and 7,000 Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to serve in Hitler's army, 2,000 of whom were sent to concentration camps and more than 800 either died in prison or were executed (see Eberhard Rohm, SterDe~zfiirclerz Friecler~, 1985, p.213). The book includes an appendix on "Christian Pacifism in Denmark and Sweden to 19 14," an annotated "Bibliographical Postscript," citing the literature on pacifism which has appeared since the book had gone to press, copious notes, twenty-four book titles for further reading, and a useful index. The book's selling price may be a bit steep for the average student, but for the interested reader and student of the subject Brock's book is definitely a must. Harry Loewen The University of Winnipeg R o s s T. B e n d e r a n d Alan P.F. Sell, eds., Baptisni, Peace and tl?e State in tlze Reformed and Merzrzorlite Traditiorzs (Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1991). Hardcover, xi + 2 4 7 pages. $29.95 The context of ecumenical dialogue between the streams of the Christian tradition has shifted notably in the last generation. In the 1950s and 60s, some of us, under the spell of both rationalistic self-confidence and pietistic enthusiasm, and encouraged by the remarkable changes in the Roman Catholic church, anticipated that the divisions which had proved such a handicap to the proclamation of the Gospel would perhaps be overcome in our lifetime. With the shift of the Christian centre of gravity to what in the time of superpower confrontation we called the "Third World," the resolution of disputes which arose among western Europeans four centuries priviously has moved to the background, while issues which most of us have regarded as more global and urgent have takencentre stage in the ecumenical drama. Fortunately, the dialogue on unresolved issues from the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century has not been forgotten. Indeed, the conduct, if not the conclusion, of this dialogue may be crucial to the wholesome participation of those of us with European roots in the tasks of the global Christian community. Both the acrimony of the Reformation disputes and the persecution and bloodshed with which they were too often linked represent demons which will trouble us until they are exorcised. This exorcism will no doubt require of us at least as much intellect and energy as the original debates received from those who conducted them. In this generation the dialogue has been unhitched from discussio~ls of institutional mergers, and from an immediate concern for the total ecumenical vision. Rather, issues dividing one particular stream from another have been taken up in an atmosphere of patient civility and modest expectation. The results have had a low public profile but have been admirable and encouraging. We may celebrate, for example, the achievements of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue as reflected in the three volumes of Lutl~er-011s arzcl Crrtlzolics in Dicrloglre , edited b y Paul C. Empie and others, and published by Augsburg/Fortress Press. The volume being reviewed here is another example of this worthwhile kind of dialogue between two streams of the Christian tradition. The occasion behind this book was a consultation held in October 1989 at the University of Calgary under the sponsorship of that university's Institute for Humanities. It was initiated by Alan P.F. Sell, incumbent of the Chair of Christian Thought in that institution andformerly Theological Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Inspired by the Reformed-Mennonite consultation held in Strasbourg in 1984, Dr. Sell sought and received support from both the WARC and the Mennonite World Conference for a North American sequel. This co-operation of the churches and the academy brought together an exceptionally fine (although unfortunately all male) collection of scholars from Canada and the United States. As the title suggests, the dialogue focused on three topics which have typically been at issue between Mennonites and the Reformed churches: baptism, peace, and the proper relationship between church and state. Six papers - two on each topic - form the first and largest part of the book. Although Reformed and Mennonite views are thus presented alternately, almost as if to structure the contrast between them, the tone of the presentations is irenic without being unfaithful to the presenters' roots. Charles West records his own ambivalence about pedobaptism, and reminds us of Reformed theologian Karl Barth's verdict against it. Marlin Miller, while making a strong case for what he understands to be the "best" Mennonite view of baptism, recogilized the wide diversity of Mennonite baptismal practice. Harry Loewen lifts up somewhat neglected dimensions of the Anabaptist heritage, such as the thought of Balthasar Hiibinaier and Pilgram Marpeck, to show that there are points of contact with the Reformed concern for responsibility for civil justice. Iain Nicol presents a clear summary of Calvin's critique of the Anabaptists on this topic, but concludes with questions about the contemporary adequacy of Calvin's views. To this reviewer, the middle two papers were the most complex and interesting. Max Stackhouse links the topic of peace to persistent questions about church, family and state, breaking through stereotypes of opposition between the two traditions to a recognition of unresolved issues which will require us to draw upon the "plurality of gifts" given to our churches. Howard John Loewen points to the need for continuing re-interpretation of the Mennonite tradition of social ethics, attempting to show that contemporary Mennonites are articulating an approach to peace which is, within the terms of H.R. Niebuhr's well-lcnown typology, transfor- mational, a typification which Niebuhr himself believed was best expressed by the Reformed churches. Dialogue on these topics, of course, involves more than Reformed and Mennonite perspectives, and it raises interpretational questions of concern to the whole academy. Both the conference and the booli recognized this wisely. Part two of the booli gives us the responses of Catholic philospher Hugo Meynell, United Church historian Torn Sinclair-Faulkner, and two Baptist scholars: sociologist Har-ry H. Hillar and theologian Andrew D. MacRae. The first two, in particular, add Book Rel~irt~'.r 231 the lustre of imaginative writing to an aready well-crafted set of presentations. In fact, the whole bookis amazinglyreadable for being the proceedings of aconference. Further, the editing and printing are both of exceptional quality. This reader found only ony typographical ersor (p. 90). Even the five-page conclusion which, with a list of nine recommendlt' ions to the sponsoring denominations, makes up the brief third part of the book is unusually well-written. It goes beyond mere summary of what was said, charting a course for the future of the dialogue in compelling fashion.We are not told who wrote the conclusion. The two editors and the Calgary Institute for the Humanities are to be commended for organizing this fruitful dialogue, and for presenting it to us in this well-crafted book. We may hope that this achievement will encourage further, and broader, dialogue. John Badertscher The University of Winnipeg Titus P e a c h e y and L i n d a G e h m a n Peachey, Seelcitzg Peace (Intercourse, PA: G o o d B o o k s , 1991). There are some things that story does better than other kinds of discourse. It can, for instance, cany truth into the heart more directly than either essay or sermon. Seeking Peace is, for thisreason, abookfor the heart. It is an omnibus of stories (more than 70) with a common theme: How do Mennonites around the world close the gap between what they profess to believe about non-violence and how they live out that profession? The focus is pretty well narrowed to the Mennonite response to war- related destruction and violence. Such response, in these stories, most frequently is the refusal of one of three activities: taking up arms, employment which aids the war industry, or paying war taxes. (Incidentally, some readers may be surprised, as I was, to learn that war tax refusal is not just a recent stance, but one taken by Anabaptists in the 16th century.) Individual stories vary in intensity and impact on the reader. Some are merely sketches, less than a page, while others are more fully developed, allowing the characters to take on life and the described events to exert a degree of dramatic force on the reader. It's the cumulative effect of story piled on story that eventually compels the reader, creating for her the sensation of being sussounded by a veritable cloud of witnesses. These witnesses, like those of Hebrews, are not restricted to one historical era, and, although most livedllive in America, collectively they represent the world. They speak with a rich diversity of voices, reaffirming, for the most part, what the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonites said in November, 1775: "We find no free- dom in giving, or doing, or assisting in any thing by which men's lives are destroyed or hurt" (p.138). Individually, the stories represent varying degsees of success in working out the Mennonite, Amish and Hutterian teaching on non-violence. For instance, the controversial experiment in self-defence undertaken by Russian Mennonites after the 1917 Revolution stands in contrast to Zairian Pastor Kobangu Thomas's refusal to take a gun during the volatile events in Zaire during the early 1960s. Pastor Thomas could say, "I Icnow my hands are clean of human blood." Siegfried Bartel, on the other hand, came to his peace position nfrer- serving as captain in the German Army in World War 11. Conviction came when he heard the Russian soldiers singing the same carols his soldiers were singing in German; and when, in the Polish Corridor, he realized that, "Icould have killed my cousin!" During the same war, Marian Claassen Franz, growing up in rural Kansas, observed how her mother invited Gesman prisoners, who helped on the family farm, into their home for lunch. For Mary, the American guards accompanying these prisoners were more frightening than the "enemy." The irony is intensified when a guard falls asleep while supervising the POWs and a Jeep full of military superiors arrives. The POWs walce the guard in time to save him from the wrath of his superiors. At firstreading, I was puzzled by the organizationof the book: the stories jump from continent to continent, from century to century. Why aren't they grouped according to time and place, or around specific wars? I came to the conclusion that the collage effect deliberately chosen by the authors was appropriate. By placing in sequence Elena Munoz, a Latin American Mennonite struggling to live out peace principles in a compromising work situation; Paul and Loretta Leatherman, modem Americans deliberately withholding war taxes; and Jan Smits, a sixteenth centuryAnabaptist martyr, the authors once more make their point: the way of peace demands sacrifice from followers of Christ, regardless of time and place. At the end of the book, there are indices that organize the stories according to general issue, geography, and era. And the bibliography will be useful for readers whose appetite has been whetted for more information on the Anabaptist experience and peace theology. The authors, Titus Peachey and Linda Gehman Peachey, have long been acquainted with peace issues. From 1981- 1985 they served as directors of Mennon- ite Central Committee relief and development programmes in Laos. Following their return to the U.S. they completed a study of military-related industries in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, titled Wor-ldPeace Begirls irz Lnncnster: At present they serve as Co-Executive Secretaries for Mennonite Central Committee. U.S. Peace Section. Sarah Klassen Winnipeg, Manitoba Book Re1~irn1.s 233 You Doll't Get to Be a Saint. P o e m s by Patrick Friesen (Winnipeg: T u r n s t o n e Press, 1992). Patrick Friesen has established himself as a poet with a distinctive voice in Canadian letters. His explorations of experience which is of necessity Mennonite but not necessarily Mennonite has been sensitive and profound. In the past several years he has also extended his range by recasting his powerful poem The Sh~rr71lillg as a stage production, and this season his play Tlze Raji had a very successful run at the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, demonstrating that Friesen's compelling lines have dramatic as well as lyrical intensity. His new book of poems is named after its last poem, a conversation of sorts at the margin of death, but this title characterizes rather well what is a collection of diverse pieces, including texts for a multi-media performance (A Hcl17rlfill ofRnir~), a dance collaboration (nmzn), a radio reading (sillgel-), as well as several groups of new poems. Apart from his ventures into new avenues of expression, the poems of Patrick Friesen remain keen and taut because of his unending pursuits of the lifelines of his experience. Dennis Lee refers to his "furious equipoise" on the cover, which is a fittingly dramatic collage by the artist Esther Warkov. My own favorites among the many splendid poems are those evoking those earlier memories which have become his frequent preoccupations, like: rowing home sundays after a week of the hammer after ladders and beams and skyline father collapsed in a sprawl like an idling motor about to stall like a tamarack leaning into a fall like a bundle of clothes or a doll it frightened me as if he was dying as if the strength of his arms was flowing through his fingers into the air as if the continent of his body was sinking away as if his breath was a sigh from the end of the world I watched the hesitant rise and fall of his chest I imagined his red heart slow-pulsing the blanket slid from his shoulders and he turned against the cold reaching blindly in his sleep for comfort he seemed a wounded lord I wanted to bury his name take him into my arms and carry him to the river to find the boy he was I wanted to row him home In poems such as thesePatrickFriesen not only shows adeep love of language but his language betrays layers of his own love, which he is exploring. As he says in his "biography": I'm a child in a northern tree still climbing at the sky In a brief review it is impossible to represent the varieties of Friesen's style. Readers will find an intriguing variation on T.S. Eliot in the poem "godly w o r l d , a text which would have appeared here, were it not for fear of the dreaded f-word in this journal. Another great gift of this poet is his recognition of the meaning of silence, the silence which so essentially surrounds and accompanies the poet's word. He brings his own tribute here to silence if it's chosen silence is not an enemy it is where words begill and end silence is the heart's chamber between beats We have reason to be grateful to the Turnstone Press for producing this and the other poetry collections which have allowed a gifted Mennonite generation to find a free voice and an understanding audience which is by no means limited to the Mennonite world. Victor G. Doerksen University of Manitoba S a r a h Klassen, Violeizce and Mercy. P o e m s (Windsor: Netherlandic Press, 1991). Paper, 108 pages. $9.95 Where violence is dismemberment, mercy consist of making whole again. While many poets mirror the fragmentation of violence, Sarah Klassen ap- proaches it from a desire to heal. Violerzce nr7d Mercy, her second collection of poetry, speaks of the desire to soar above this broken earth and see it whole. I came away from this book saddened by her evocations of murder and v i c t i m - zation, yet grateful for the courage and faith with which she shares her vision, and grateful, as well, for the dedication with which she attends her work. These poems are carefully and lovingly crafted. Klassen handles free verse with admirable discipline. The rhythm of her lines is simultaneously natural and dramatic; the imagery is vivid. Violer~ce arzd Mercy opens with poems about the complex relationship between a teacher of literature and her students. Klassen is very aware of the failure of language to bridge the gaps between us. The teacher can only "dispense connectives" ("Language arts"). Even the confessional journals of the students, filled with their private terroranddesperation, bring theirteacher only slightly closer to them: ~ o o k R e i i e \ ~ ~ s 235 ... there is nothing I can do. Nothing except point out perhaps the lack of punctuation, circle the misspelled words with a soft pencil, join all disconnected fragments ... ("Evidence") It is a brilliant touch, that "soft" pencil -as though tenderness could only be bestowed through marks on the page. Language and human mercy, it seems, are often inadequate for the violence of the world. But the poet refuses to despair. This theme carries through into many of the poems of domestic and military violence which follow. "While waitingfor war" captures the "long white silence" and "terrible emptiness" of January 1991, as George Bush's deadline approached and the world prepared for war. The stanzas are numbered one to ten, recalling the grim countdown of those days, the inevitability, the willfulness, the premeditation. But there is more faith than anger here. The poem speaks of prayer and of petition. "Eachcedar tree holds snow in its upliftedarms," as if in supplication. Klassen treats this difficult theme with humility and with a sense of wonder. There is no righteousness here, no pronouncements, only an invitation to question: "What will you beg for?" Viole~lce and Mercy closes with a series of poems about Leonardo da Vinci, his "obsession with motion" and his "desire/ to master each tiny nerve/ and artery, each bone,/ the stubborn direction of blood" ("Anatomy"). The artist's desire to masterthe impossible resonates sweetly and sorrowfully with the natureof I