Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Method

Description

This book performs a critical yet vibrant reconstruction of Anabaptist identity and theological method in the wake of the recent revelations of the depth of the sexual abuse perpetrated by the most influential Anabaptist theologian of the twentieth century, John Howard Yoder. In an attempt to liberate Anabaptist theology and identity from the constricting vision appropriated and reformulated by Yoder, these essays refuse the determinative categories of the last half century supplied by and carried beyond Harold Bender’s The Anabaptist Vision. While still under the shadow of decades of trauma, a recontexualized conversation about Anabaptist theology and identity emerges in this volume that is ecumenically engaged, philosophically astute, psychologically attuned, and resolutely vulnerable. It examines a wide variety of issues, such as Mennonite feminism, Anabaptist queer theology and Mennonite theological methods. It offers a Trinitarian and Christological framework that holds together the importance of scripture, tradition, and the lived-experience of the Christian community. As a result, the essays interrogate the operations of power, violence, exclusion, and privilege in methodology in this changed context, offering self-critical constructive alternatives for articulating Anabaptist theology and identity. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Series Preface Preface Chapter 1: Challenge and Opportunity: The Quest for Anabaptist Theology Today Anabaptism Is Not Anabaptism—or Is It? How Harold Bender Anchored Anabaptism Yoder and the Sinking of the Mennonite Ship Releasing John Howard Yoder The Need for New Light Conclusion Chapter 2: Contours and Possibilities for an Anabaptist Theology Problems in Appealing to the Anabaptist Tradition Persistent Patterns and Family Semblances A Trinitarian and Christological Framework to Which Scripture Bears Witness Tradition and the Lived Experience of the Community Conclusion Chapter 3: Refiguration, Configuration: Tradition, Text, and Narrative Identity Tradition and Text Interpretation Narrative Identity Conclusion Chapter 4: Mennonite Women Doing Theology: A Methodological Reflection on Twenty-Five Years of Conferences The Conferences Commonalities Theological Reflection Conclusion Chapter 5: Queering Anabaptist Theology: An Endeavor in Breaking Binaries as Hermeneutical Community Context Integrating Lived Experience and Theological Reflection Conclusion Chapter 6: On the Need for Critical-Contextual and Trauma-Informed Methods in Mennonite Theology Mennonite Theological Violence Unsettling Mennonite Theology Conclusion Chapter 7: The Ecumenical Vocation of Anabaptist Theology Ecclesial Traditions and Reform in Service of Unity Ecclesiological Discourse as Practical-Prophetic Intervention Distinctives as Gifts, Not Claims Anabaptism and Actual, Concrete Churches, or What Do We Do with Denominations? The Holy Spirit and Anabaptism within the Presently Divided Church Conclusion Chapter 8: Dialogue as Theological Method: Mennonite Missionaries, West African Churches, and Twenty-First-Century Anabaptist Identity The Growing Importance of Local Contexts Dialogue as Theological Method Conclusion Chapter 9: Restlessness as Theological Method Unmasking Mennonite Theology Four Dimensions of Theological Method Conclusion Contributors Bibliography Index