The year was 1697. Mennonites fleeing persecution in Switzerland had been living in Alsace for some time. There was danger without because Louis XIV had sent his troops to annex Alsace to France. There was trouble within because Jacob Amman, one of the Mennonite ministers, accused the church of apostasy and worldliness. He demanded a … Continue reading Gerhard Roosen and the Amish division
clothing
Plain clothes
Clothing as a status symbol is not a new thing. In fact, a few hundred years ago there were laws to define what clothes a person could wear to fit his status in society. These were called sumptuary laws, and they made it possible to instantly discern whether a person was a priest, a bishop, … Continue reading Plain clothes
Anabaptism is not a lifestyle
The bishop got up to preach one Sunday morning and proclaimed to us that when a person wore plain clothes, that was proof that he or she was born again. An unconverted person could not get himself to wear such clothes. By “plain clothes” he meant the form of clothes that was mandated in his … Continue reading Anabaptism is not a lifestyle
Flatlander Faith 