Recent books from the Institute of Mennonite Studies | AMBS | Institute of Mennonite Studies

Hardship, Resistance, Collaboration: Essays on Dutch Mennonites during World War II and Its Aftermath “This collection of essays makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the history of Dutch Mennonites and their congregations during the Second World War and beyond. Through its thoughtful analysis of this difficult period, the authors demonstrate the multitude of responses, including resistance and collaboration, of this small Christian community.” Read more
The Widow and the Judge—Memory, Resistance, and Hope: Intercultural Reading of Luke 18:1–8 in Latin American Contexts of Impunity This volume first describes the context of impunity in which the participating communities—from Perú, Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala—read the text. It then describes the readings of the text realized by the seventeen participating groups, and the exchange they had with their partner groups. Finally, it takes stock of the results of the interaction between the groups and shows the richness of the intercultural Bible reading process, and its usefulness for the ecclesial communities affected by impunity: better understanding of their reality and increased motivation to continue transforming it, nourished by a shared appropriation of the text and the exchange with their partner group. Read more
Peaceful at Heart: Anabaptist Reflections on Healthy Masculinity While there are plenty of books by men, for men, on the topic of “Christian masculinity,” these books generally fail to address men’s propensities for violence and the traditional inequity between men and women, often endorsing inequity and sanctioning aggressive behavior as an appropriate “manly” response to conflict. Peaceful at Heart cuts through this conversation by offering a uniquely Anabaptist Christian perspective on masculinity. Read more
Jesus, Deliver Us: Evil, Exorcism, and Exousiai “Deliver us from (the) evil (one)” is the heart’s cry from the Lord’s Prayer. Evil wears many faces in our modern world. This book connects the Lord’s Prayer to troubles of our times, be it attacks from Satan, the wars around the world, the scourge of racism, or the mass shootings of our time. Read more
Recollections of a Sectarian Realist: A Mennonite Life in the Twentieth Century J. Lawrence Burkholder sought to hold together the sectarian impulses of his denominational identity with a sense of social responsibility. This memoir traces the development of his thought as it intersected with the events of his life. Read more
T he Vehement Jesus: Grappling with Troubling Gospel Texts The Vehement Jesus is a fresh examination and interpretation of several perplexing passages in the Gospels that, at face value, challenge the conviction that the mission and message of Jesus were peaceful. Using narrative analysis and intratextual critique, David Neville makes the case that Gospel portrayals of the vehement Jesus are compatible with—perhaps even indispensable to—the composite canonical portrait of Jesus as the Messiah of Peace. Read more
Later Writings of the Swiss Anabaptists 1529–1592 Here, in translation, are archival holdings documenting the development of Swiss Anabaptist thought over the length of the sixteenth century. They reveal a maturing religious and social movement, whose members—living in a world that designated adult baptizers dangerous heretics—continued to reflect biblically on their call to discipleship. Read more
The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew's Narrative This volume engages the Gospel of Matthew in full awareness of its inherently political character. Weaver situates Matthew’s version of the “good news of the kingdom” squarely within first-century Palestine and its occupying power. The essays focus on issues of power and violence that pervaded the occupied Jewish community of first-century Palestine, that are also visible throughout Matthew’s account. Read more