Table of Contents
Introduction
Framing the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Swiss Anabaptist Two-Kingdom World View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Context
Broader North American Cultural, Economic, and Political Dynamics . . . 4
Broader U.S. Religious Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Mennonite Church Around the Turn of the Twentieth Century . . . . . . 12
Changing Church Leadership Structure
Centralization of Authority: Illustrated in the Lancaster Conference . . 13
Codification of Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mennonite Church Intersection with Protestant Fundamentalism . . . . . . . . 17
Daniel Kauffman and Bible Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Mennonite Church Doctrine of Nonconformity: 1930-1959
Biblical and Historical Underpinnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Specifics: As Taught 1930-1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Communicating the Doctrine of Nonconformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mennonites, Economics, and Nonconformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Work and Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Wealth, Materialism, and a Christian Standard of Living . . . . . . . . . . 47
Business Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
From Unquestioning Obedience towards Personal Responsibility
And Stewardship—Shifts in the Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, and Other
Interviewee Recollections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Analysis and Synthesis
Several Approaches to Understanding Mennonite
Emphasis on Nonconformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 65
Mennonite Economic Life: Lessons for this Century from the Last . . . . . . . 70
Appendix 1 – New Testament texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Appendix 2 – Illustrative Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85