History and Renewal in the Anabaptist/Mennonite Tradition

Mennonites have repeatedly appropriated (or misappropriated) their history for purposes of renewal. Fifty years ago, Harold S. Bender propounded the "Anabaptist Vision," the defining statement of Mennonite identity since then, known not just to scholars but to the average church member as well. Historical visions are composed for particular situations and eventually decline in attractiveness. What came before Bender's Anabaptist Vision? What declining paradigm did he replace or revise? Friesen explains the work of Ludwig Keller, a 19th century, non-Mennonite, German historian who reacted against the condemnation of Anabaptism by mainstream Protestant historiography. Keller saw his Mennonite contemporaries as the potential center of an "old evangelical" ecumenism of free churches against mainstream Protestantism. Keller strongly influenced later Mennonite historians such as John Horsch and C. H. Wedel. These chapters were originally delivered as the Menno Simons Lectures in fall 1992 at Bethel College.

Abraham Friesen is professor of history at the University of California at Santa Barbara.