Two world religions, Christianity and Judaism, didn’t have to split the way they did.

That’s the belief of the late Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder as outlined in his posthumously-published book, “The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited.”

91短视频 will examine Dr. Yoder’s assertions in a one-day seminar to be held Friday, Mar. 16, 2007.

John Howard Yoder

“Yoder declares that for Jesus to be faithful to his ‘divine mandate,’ his coming did not need to mark the beginning of a new, ‘Christian’ religion,” said Ray C. Gingerich, professor emeritus of theology and ethics at 91短视频 and planning coordinator.

“If Yoder, the most influential Anabaptist-Mennonite theologian of the past century, is correct, this book is destined to rank among his most significant theological works. It may well, within the coming decades, overshadow his ‘The Politics of Jesus’ in its significance for both local and global inter-religious peacebuilding,” Dr. Gingerich added.

“This gathering is designed to raise campus and community awareness and to stimulate a timely and much needed conversation around one of the most pressing inter-religious issues of today – How shall the Children of Abraham live together peacefully in the 21st century,” said Gingerich. “We hope this seminar will be a catalyst to organize more extended studies, stimulating our religious and political imaginations to work toward a more peaceful world.”

Keynote speakers for the conference are Peter Ochs, an Orthodox Jew and professor of Judaic studies at the University of Virginia, and Alain Epp Weaver, long-term Mennonite Central Committee representative in Palestine/Israel and specialist in Jewish-Christian dialogue.

In addition to the main input session, several special topics will be presented by 91短视频 faculty members Nancy Heisey, Ted Grimsrud and Gingerich with ample opportunity for questions, open discussion and a “Where to from here?” closing.

The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. The main sessions will be held in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频.

More information on the seminar is available by contacting Ray Gingerich at 540-432-4465.

The series editors include Peter Dula, assistant professor in the at 91短视频. Others are Chris K. Huebner of Canadian Mennonite University, Waterloo, Ont., and J. Alexander Sider of Bluffton (OH) University.

The new series is intended for conversation among academics, ministers and laypersons regarding knowledge, beliefs and the practices of the Christian faith. The editors noted that “Polyglossia” grows out of John Howard Yoder’s call to see radical reformation as a tone, style or a stance.

“Polyglossia” series editors (l. to r.): J. Alexander Sider, Peter Dula and Chris K. Huebner.

Dr. Yoder (1927-1997) taught ethics and theology as a professor at Notre Dame University and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind. Widely sought around the world as a theological educator, ethicist, and interpreter of biblical pacifism, he is best known for his study on “The Politics of Jesus.”

“Mennonite thinkers, not just in theology, have been doing some very creative, interesting work in conversation with disciplines that have often been under-utilized,” said Dr. Dula. “We hope that ‘Polyglossia’ makes that work available to students, pastors and others in churches throughout North America and beyond.”

The publisher, Herald Press, and the editors welcome titles that emerge out of conversations with contemporary movements in theology, as well as philosophy, literature, political theory and cultural studies. The first title is by Huebner – “A Precarious Peace: Yoderian Explorations on Theology, Knowledge, and Identity.”

Gayle Gerber Koontz of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary said the editors “are from an emerging new generation of Mennonite scholars, well-prepared to encourage and evaluate the little-developed conversation between Mennonite thought and contemporary currents in theology, philosophy and cultural studies.”

Ron Rempel of Mennonite Publishing Network said: “As the publisher for a series of books by John Howard Yoder, we’re pleased to announce the launch of a new series featuring theologians currently developing some of the themes arising out of Yoder’s seminal work.”

Chris Huebner noted that the intent is “to move beyond liberal and conservative, established and sectarian” categories” and “chart a theological path that is faithful to the call to live without having to control our world or that of those around us.”

More information on the Polyglossia series is available from Herald Press, info@mph.org, or from the editors.

For 50 minutes on Friday morning, Feb. 18, in the President’s Room of Hartzler Library, it was something of a time warp.

Three scholars, part of a seven-member group who assembled in 1952 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to critique the status and direction of the Anabaptist movement, interacted with students in a "Mennonite History and Thought" class.

Irvin B. Horst, 89; Paul Peachey, 86; and Calvin Redekop, 79, outlined their involvement in what proved to be a landmark 12-day meeting that also included John W. Miller, A. Orley Swartzendruber, David A. Shank and the late John Howard Yoder. All were living in Europe at the time, doing graduate study or post-war work with Mennonite Church agencies.

"Dr. Al Keim, professor emeritus of history at 91短视频 and author of a major biography of the late Mennonite theologian and educator H.S. Bender, called that gathering "the most creative event in Mennonite history," Mary S. Sprunger, professor of history, told the class in introducing the speakers. "This ‘reunion’ today of three of those original group members is also an historic event."

Dr. Horst, a one-time professor of church history at 91短视频 who later taught 18 years at a Mennonite seminary in Amsterdam, was instrumental in bringing the original group together and in providing insight into similarities and differences between American and Dutch Mennonite faith and practice.

"American Mennonites were becoming more and more acculturated, especially after World War II, just as Dutch Mennonites had generations before," Horst said.

Dr. Redekop, a sociologist and author, is the only "Concern" member not of "Old Mennonite" background. Of Russian Mennonite descent, Redekop said he was raised "a fundamentalist" and was "quite taken back" upon enrolling at Goshen (Ind.) College in 1946.

"Although at first I felt like an alien [at Goshen] my experience there made me appreciate my Anabaptist heritage, and I quickly found myself stimulated and encouraged by the interaction in that European group meeting," he told the students.

The gathering became known as the "Concern" movement, and from this initial meeting came subsequent gatherings and the issuing of a series of widely-distributed "Concern" pamphlets addressing several key issues they felt the Mennonite Church needed to squarely face.

"Even though we all had done graduate study in church-related areas, our group didn’t focus as much on theological issues as on polity – the question of power and authority in the church and are we congregationally structured or more of an authoritarian body," Dr. Redekop said.

"Our aim was to ‘critique’ the Mennonite Church, not to set it off in a new direction," Redekop stated. "We all were influenced by the thought and writings of Harold S. Bender, the most prominent Mennonite leader of the 1940s and 1950s."

"Unfortunately, Bender felt threatened by our efforts, when really what we wanted was to take his work a step farther," Peachey said. "However, a number of the younger generation of Mennonites appreciated what we were trying to do."

"Our desire was to work at reform and revival as an Anabaptist people and not to promote divisiveness and schism," Redekop said. "I think we achieved that goal."

He noted that an intentional church community, Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, Ill., evolved from the "Concern" movement with one of the group members, John W. Miller, giving leadership.

"I wanted to introduce students to the story of these young Mennonites who were trying to find a way to make 16th century Anabaptism relevant for the church in the 1950s and ’60s," Dr. Sprunger said. "They took these issues seriously and dared to propose radical ideas about New Testament congregationalism to a hierarchical church leadership that didn’t welcome the Concern group’s critique of Mennonite denominationalism.

"Even though they wore suits and listened to lectures on Mennonite history, this was a kind of activism," she said. "Scholarly research, discussion and publishing was their way to raise issues and call the church they loved to be more faithful."

"The speakers captured an important topic that still faces the church today – distribution of power," said Paul J. Yoder, a junior history and social studies major from Harrisonburg. "I appreciated the emphasis on reform that they voiced. It’s rare to get to talk with and hear from actual figures that we’re studying in class," Yoder added.