Anabapt-ish Theology Book Club discussion

After reading the book, did your views on the topic change at all? What is your final impression of the book? What are your key takeaways?

I finished this book a couple of days ago, and I've been writing about it in my book journal, so I thought I'd come and share a couple of thoughts here.

1) This is not a book I would have ever picked out for myself, but I profited from several of the essays, so I am glad that I read it.

2) I felt like this book was a mixed bag for me spiritually. Some of the essays (like "Cataracts of Culture") were very helpful. Others (like "Wine in New Wineskins") hit me at a place in my spiritual walk that I struggled with. I'm still far too consumed by deconstruction/disorientation in my faith walk to be able to feel anything but pain at some doctrinal issues, and so a few of these essays were difficult/triggering reads for me.

3) My impression of this book is that if the Church is going to survive its waning cultural influence, the church has to change. Anabaptist Christianity provides a path that is not as ugly and combative as mainstream evangelical culture. I appreciate that.

4) I really noticed a theme of fellowship and hospitality throughout this work, and this was probably the part that I appreciated the most.
--I loved Heinzekehr's essay and her statements about how hospitality aids justice by dismantling systems of oppression.
--This essay was very well paired with Nickel's essay on how the table is a tool for discipleship. There's a leveling and a basic coming together at a table that allows for love to shine through and for us all to grow together.

I read an article from Skye Jethani last year that called for the end of the sermon centric Sunday, and instead called for more fellowship, prayer and sharing of the Eucharist. I think several of the essays in this book show the power of changing our focus of what church and what it can be.

That brought me back to Robinson's essay on reconstructing something better than what we have now. He reminded us that salvation is not saying a sinner's prayer or affirming correct theology. Instead, Jesus calls for us to love others. As long as church services are consumed with sermons, then churches are going to based on the acquisition of correct knowledge. As Robinson says it's a problem of modernity.

I'm sure if I thought about it more, I would have even more takeaways, but when I think about this book, this is what I think about. And it reminds me, as I live in a country coming out of pandemic, that I need to make sure I'm practicing hospitality and fellowship with other Christians (at least the ones that aren't too triggering to me right now).

Good comments Rebecca. I too would never have read this book on my own and I agree it was a mixed bag.

FWIW, here’s a link to my review: https://dmlhershey.com/2021/05/24/a-l...

You wrote something that will probably stick in my mind the rest of the day:

My impression of this book is that if the Church is going to survive its waning cultural influence, the church has to change. Anabaptist Christianity provides a path that is not as ugly and combative as mainstream evangelical culture.

I agree. Yet...there’s always a “and yet”, isn’t there? I mean, I agree the “Church” does have a waning cultural influence. Yet white evangelicals have never had more power over one entire political party. I suspect some of our secular, non-Christians friends would find it laughable when we say the church has a waning influence. They may fear some sort of church takeover akin to The Handmaid’s Tale. Are they wrong? Just today I saw my home state (PA) legislature is moving forward to pass an anti-abortion bill and part of it would include that women who have miscarriages need to file a death certificate for the miscarriage. This is incredibly cruel to women who have suffered a devastating loss, but is being pushed forward by “pro-life” (air quotes because the same legislature wants to make it easier to get and carry guns...they’re not REALLY pro-life) Christians.

I suppose we agree that the Anabaptist way is less “ugly and combative” than this mainstream evangelical culture. So maybe the lesson is to try harder to help our fearful Christian friends recognize the ends do not justify the means? To help them see giving up power is actually the way of Jesus?

Another question I’d have is that while white evangelicals might be losing, there are plenty of other people of faith around. Perhaps Anabaptists, in not desiring to rule over people, are better positioned to work with Catholics, Jews, Muslims, non-religious and all the rest who make up our increasingly diverse culture?

I don’t know. Good comments though :)

I finally finished this on the weekend and am putting together my final thoughts - if I can keep my notes straight. At one point I had to look back to confirm this book was published in 2014, prior to so much of the blatant cohabitation of evangelicalism and right wing politics. It was apparent that this was also prior to the revelations of abuse by John Howard Yoder becoming public. Growing up in Anabaptist circles, there was so much confirmation bias in these later chapters as well; so much I could relate to, but also so much I could learn from by keeping my mind and heart open. the Cataracts of Culture are alive and well in my circles as well. I am an historic Anabaptist with family history back to the 16th century. I am a privileged white Anabaptist, benefiting from both the struggles and the crimes of my ancestors. I am a practicing Anabaptist - not in the sense of separation from culture as the Amish, Hutterites and some groups of Mennonites, but in how I try to live and serve within the culture. In that vein, I loved the expression (which I have slightly paraphrased) that the bible is to be contextualized to culture but not conformed to it. Too often we conform. It never seems to take long after we are redeemed for us to join the oppressors and forget what it was like to be oppressed. Part of the reason we need to listen to black theology.
Most Anabaptists I've known are certainly not charismatic in the way that term has come to be known. I would say they are fairly evenly divided by those who don't think about the holy spirit at all, ad those who just don't feel he's very active any more, without being completely cessationist. I think a lot of that is because of the way we have come to believe in science in the west. The stories of miracles from developing countries are many and powerful like the examples given, even while we have not seen them (or maybe just not recognized them) here.
I could so relate to the comment in Hannah's essay that one of the hallmarks of Protestantism is that it's easier to separate than to dialog. We dig in our heals rather than listen and contemplate. Hence we end up with so many denominations.
A couple of books that might help get into the minds of the average Anabaptist rather than the theologians would be "Peace shall destroy many" by Rudy Wiebe, and "Mennomoto" by Cameron Dueck. I don't think either fit the guidelines for a book club read, but they are worth the time.
I generally enjoyed this book and am glad UI read it. As others have commented, it's not one i would have found on my own.

Between busyness at work and a couple other projects, it took me a while to finally finish the book.

A couple of my big takeaways:

1) I think I would rate the book as a whole higher than I would most of the individual essays. Many of the essays covered ground I was familiar with and there were only a handful that I really enjoyed and may revisit one day. That said, I'm walking away from the book with a fuller picture of Anabaptism thanks to variety of topics and stories in the book.

2) Robert mentioned this too. The date of the book became really evident. In 2021, you can't discuss Christendom without discussing Trump, Christian Nationalism, etc. in the same way, Drew Harts essay would have been completely different post-George Floyd/BLM. It's not really a critique but it left me wanting more. If anything, the fact that a 2021 version of the book would look so different just speaks to the relevance of an Anabaptist perspective on the issues of our day.