Through Fire & Water: An Overview of Mennonite History / Out of Print

by Harry Loewen, Carol Duerksen, Steven M. Nolt

This product is out of print from the publisher. Please see 2nd Edition. First published in 1996, Through Fire and Water has proved to be a great resource for Mennonite high school history classes and for people who want to know more about the origins, history, and beliefs of the Anabaptist/Mennonite church.

Genres: History, Church History

Paperback

First published July 31, 1996

Reviews

[Glenn Homes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up in the Mennonite Church and was familiar to the basic history of the church. This book gave me a wider view of the church and all of its different branches. It also helped me to understand my own religious heritage. This is a book that I would recommend that all Mennonites and those who have a Mennonite heritage and are no longer part of a Mennonite Church should read.

[Ike Unger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read history book.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! Wonderful introduction to Mennonites and Anabaptist history. Makes a great defense of their positions without "bashing" other Christian points of view.

[Richard Coombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable history of the foundations of Anabaptists and Mennonites. Lots of stories of personalities. Probably for mid-range readers but good introduction to this history.

[Susanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Through Fire and Water is a meandering history of Mennonites and seems to be a good place to start on the subject. It’s inspiring to read of early Mennonites and of people all over the world today who are still drawn to a way of peace, preaching the gospel of Jesus boldly, and even today are still suffering to the point of death for their beliefs.

The writing could be improved, however. Transitions were awkward, and the vignettes were often strange, leaving me wondering “what was the point of this?” The cartoons, in my opinion, detracted from the book.

I borrowed this book from the library and had to return it before I’d finished when we flew back to Côte d’Ivoire. Borrowed it again when we came back to the US.

[Mark Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this book, which I think was the only one on Mennonite history that my library had. I've recently become very interested in the Mennonites and their beliefs, which align closely with mine. I am a devout Protestant. The intro states that this book was intended partly for high school classes. My biggest reservations are the reading level, and the awkwardness of some of the writing. But I did learn a lot of interesting things. An extra half star because I was so biased towards the subject matter.