Description
The creative clash of tradition and innovation causes many cultures to be in continuous remix. Crucibles of adaptation are present in religion, law, education, science, technology, publishing, arts, media, etc. The present volume Anabaptist ReMix: The Varieties of Cultural Engagement is a case study of one tradition-Anabaptists and Mennonites-and fragments of its transformation in the modern and post-modern era. Today, in the face of a global pandemic, climate disaster, social fragmentation, and the prospect of nuclear annihilation, the descendants of radical reformers seek to live out the wisdom of that original revolution. Theology is re-imagined as a conversation about human nature and emergent images of the divine. In this volume, the arts are re-framed as an examination of conflict, catharsis, and justice. Christian pacifism is given new partners with those in the just-war tradition. Women find a new voice to tell stories of abuse, oppression, and healing. Native American, Black, and Latinx voices call attention to buried stories calling for resurrection. The power of institutional structures is interrogated and challenged to act on prophetic missions of equality, healing, and justice.
About the Author
Lauren Friesen is the David M. French Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. He received his PhD (with honors) from the Graduate Theological Union. His recent publications include editing Mennonite Ethics: from Isolation to Engagement by J. Lawrence Burkholder and autobiographical essays Prairie Lands, Private Landscapes. Friesen was awarded the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Excellence in University/College Theatre and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Pacific School of Religion.
Dennis R. Koehn exemplifies a life of activism, scholarship, and professional impact. He did time in a federal prison for draft resistance, completed undergraduate work with honors, and went to Harvard on a Rockefeller Brothers Theological Fellowship. Koehn, as a management consultant, was known for being "particularly suited to joining business and management skills with theology and the needs of church organizations." Koehn received a PhD from Chicago Theological Seminary with a dissertation on religion and war.
Reviews
"Our country is in urgent need of a publication that provides a framework for understanding the ebb and flow of religious thought the concepts of ethics, community, faith, culture, and politics. In the edited volume, Anabaptist ReMix, scholars Lauren Friesen and Dennis R. Koehn provide a road map for synthesizing divergent theoretical and practical issues and identifying core values and beliefs for a 21st century Anabaptist vision. This volume will challenge some readers, but the effort will be rewarded with new insights. Essays draw on a wide range of disciplines: the arts, philosophy, theology, and institutional leadership. Topics are intriguing and complex. One big question is left open: what has the melting of Anabaptist and Mennonite history produced that guides religious practices today? Are these traditions evolving in a fruitful 'ReMix'? Delving into this volume, I came away thinking of dynamics in a host of major institutions: history and diverse thought, both read and improvised, have the potential of a creative impact." -Dolores Cross, Education Consultant and University President (Retired)
"Anabaptist ReMix offers an insightful case study into the impact of a particular religious community as it organically adapts and responds to the complexities of history, location, social evolution, technology, the broader society. Friesen and Koehn have brought together an eclectic set of perspectives that together present the Anabaptist tradition not only as a religious community, but rather through the lens of a social movement. This work is critically important at a time when social movements are reshaping our society. A global pandemic, reckoning with historical legacies of racism and inequality, and a deepening awareness of our impact on the environment and one another are reshaping our daily life. Anabaptist ReMix offers insight into how a movement, developed in a similar time of social conflict, carries a set of commitments, practices, and values across time and space. The editors challenge the narrow view of the Anabaptist tradition as insular and isolated, and instead assemble a group of scholars, artists, and practitioners that demonstrate the rich diversity and contribution of a faith community. How might movements that are taking shape today in this moment of crisis similarly evolve and carry out a vision that is both faithful to its commitments but adaptive throughout generations?" -David Vasquez-Levy, President, Pacific School of Religion
"Anabaptist ReMix is an ambitious attempt to tell a more complex story about the diverse ways Mennonites engage with the larger culture. I anticipate that it will generate deep reflection and lively debate among 21st century Anabaptists." -Dan McKanan, Harvard Divinity School; Author of Prophetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition
Book Information
ISBN 9781433187926
Author Lauren Friesen
Format Hardback
Page Count 478
Imprint Peter Lang Publishing Inc
Publisher Peter Lang Publishing Inc
Weight(grams) 758g
