The Limits of Perfection: A Conversation with J. Lawrence Burkholder

by Rodney J. Sawatsky, Scott Holland (Editor)

"During the course of his long career, J. Lawrence Burkholder served the church in many different pastor, relief worker, professor, college administrator, philosopher, theologian and church statesman. As a young man, Burkholder attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before accepting a pastorate in a small Mennonite church in northern New York. In 1947 he embarked on a two-year term of service with the United Nations as a pilot flying relief supplies into China after World War II. The experience in China was formative. Burkholder returned to graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary haunted by the memories of painful choices he and other relief workers faced as they tried to distribute limited supplies equitably in a context of overwhelming human need. Those memories were formative not only for his dissertation - 'The Problem of Social Responsibility from the Perspective of the Mennonite Church' - but also for much of his later writings on social and political ethics. Following a ten-year teaching appointment in the Bible Department at Goshen College, Burkholder accepted a professorship at Harvard Divinity School, where he later served as dean. In 1971, he returned to Goshen College as president, a position that he held until his retirement in 1984. Although Burkholder spent much of his life serving the church in positions of leadership, his thought often ran at cross-currents with the dominant voices of his generation. Burkholder's experience in China, his active involvement in the civil rights movement and his long career as an administrator brought him face-to-face with the themes of justice, compromise and ethical ambiguity--topics not generally in vogue in Mennonite academic circles during the 1970s and 1980s. Not until 1989, three decades after its completion, was Burkholder's dissertation published. The Limits of Perfection , a collection of essays on the significance of Burkholder's thought, appeared four years later." -Karl N. Stutzman in the Mennonite Quarterly Review

Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll go out on a limb and say publicly that I think this is the best theology book I've ever read. Absolutely excellent engagement with the drawbacks of perfectionist theology within and beyond the Mennonite church, grappling with compromise and the reality of evil. The multiple responses to Burkholder and critiques of his thought point out places where more engagement is needed, graciously and gratefully. In terms of meeting our current moment of purity tests on many issues, honest conversations about compromise, coalition building, and following Jesus through the mess really just hits right. I can't recommend this book enough.

[Jonny Gerig Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burkholder outlines his challenge to pacifism, and specifically a religious isolationism espoused by the Mennonite Church of his day. Includes some important questions for the modern Mennonite Church, as well as anyone attempting to promote strict pacifism from a religious standpoint.

[Joseph Gascho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would give it a 10--one of the top five books I've ever read, for me--exposes the perfectionism of Anabaptism
Not sure when I read it, but have read it several times

[Scott]

Who the fuck does this guy think he is?!?!?