By 1870, there were close to two million Germans living in Russia. For the most part they lived in self-governing colonies, exempt from taxation, military service and other obligations of Russian citizenship. They had their own German language schools, regulated their own affairs and kept apart from the Ukrainian and Russian people. Is it any … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part three
History
How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part two
The two most prominent leaders of the church that came to be known as Mennonites were Dietrich (Dirk) Philips of Flanders (now part of Belgium) and Menno Simons of Friesland (northern part of Netherlands). These leaders did not establish a new faith, or a new church, but simply gathered together the remnant of the Waldensians … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one – Part two
How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one
This article focuses on the people calling themselves Mennonite who came to Manitoba from Ukraine in the 1870s and later. Lest anyone think I am engaging in an ethnic slur, let me say at the start that my mother was of those people and I will be sharing some of the things she told me. … Continue reading How Mennonite became an ethnic label rather than a religious one
Have we forgotten what we were supposed to say?
Without going into details, we must recognize that, in the course of history, Mennonites have lost much of this missionary zeal. Without wanting to excuse this development too easily, we can offer some historical explanations. In some places (e.g. Berne) the original vigour of the movement was lost due to persecution. Elsewhere (as in Ukraine), … Continue reading Have we forgotten what we were supposed to say?
It all began on Mount Sinai
Summit of Mt. Sinai, photo by Mohammed Moussa, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Western thought patterns are highly abstract, compared with Eastern. There developed in the West, and only in the West, a group of innovations that constitute the basis of Western thought. These include (in addition to the alphabet) … Continue reading It all began on Mount Sinai
Moses learns to read and write
God had a message that was essential to the well-being of all people, throughout all time. The starting point was to take a group of people and teach them a phonetic alphabet, a set of characters where each character represents a specific sound and those characters can be put together to form words. Nothing like … Continue reading Moses learns to read and write
Anglicans: the glory and the shame
The Church of England has provided us with some of our most glorious hymns. For example:John Newton – Amazing Grace and Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken;William Cowper – There is a Fountain filled with blood and Oh! For a closer walk with God;Charlotte Elliott – Just as I am and Thy will be done;Henry … Continue reading Anglicans: the glory and the shame
Requiem for the Anglican Church of Canada
When I was a teenager and member of the Anglican Church of Canada worship services began with this exhortation: Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly … Continue reading Requiem for the Anglican Church of Canada
The virus of division
Two hundred years ago John Nelson Darby, a minister in the Church of England, became thoroughly disillusioned with that church, all churches in fact. He began to teach a doctrine of the ruin of the church. "The church lies in ruins and cannot be restored, revived or rebuilt." From there he moved to teaching that … Continue reading The virus of division
Quaking Dover – book review
Quaking Dover: How a Counterculture Took Root and Fluorished in Colonial New Hampshire, by Jnana Hodson. The first thing I learned from this book was that New Hampshire has frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. I have often studied the neighbouring states in the road atlas. During the 20 years that we lived in Ontario and … Continue reading Quaking Dover – book review
Flatlander Faith 