Anabaptist Theology and History

Overview Courses

• Philosophy and Ethics of Political Violence: Peace, War, and Terrorism (level 200)

  In this course, students will learn about major ethical and philosophical positions concerning conflict, violence, non-violence, “just war,” and “just peace.” The course works from an interdisciplinary perspective, including methodologies from theology, political science, and philosophy.

• Dutch Anabaptism: The Pursuit of Religious Purity (level 300)

  Students will learn about the theological tenets and historical origins of the Anabaptists, and other nonconformist religious minorities that spread around Europe in the sixteenth century. The early years of Anabaptist-Mennonite development will be contextualized in relation to the broader socio-political developments and religious reformations of the era. This course focuses on key biblical texts that are often connected with themes of peace and peace theology. 

• Biblical Perspectives on Peace and Justice (level 300)

  This course focuses on key biblical texts that are often connected with themes of peace and peace theology. Students will analyse with violent stories and texts from the Bible and consider differences between biblical and contemporary concepts of “peace” and “justice.” How can these inspire our thinking today about restorative justice and sustainability?

• Modern Anabaptist Theology: Being Church in the World (level 300)

  This class will introduce students to (English-language) Anabaptist/Mennonite theologies since the mid-20^th century and the way they have understood the relation between the “church” and the “world.” Prominently, Anabaptist/Mennonite theologians have argued that the church should be distinct from the world, to which it is to witness God’s desire of peace. The church is thus understood as a “colony of heaven” or an “outpost” of the Kingdom of God. In making this claim, theologians are inspired by (a particular interpretation of) Anabaptist history. Yet, as we will discover in this class, Anabaptist/Mennonite thinking has always been more plural than such constructive approaches allow for.

  In recent times, the normative status of several influential Anabaptist and Mennonite theologians is being challenged for historical, political, theological and ethical reasons. Feminist and postcolonial critiques, as well as the changing character of the global church, contribute to the widening of Anabaptist/Mennonite theological interpretation. Anabaptist and Mennonite theologies is today better imagined as a broad collection of conversations with a range of different approaches to the church, ethical/political issues, and the outside world. In this class, students will learn to assess that conversation and take their place within it.

• Freedom, Community, and Difference in Church Practice (level 300)

  How do we live together in difference? In recent times, this question seems to become increasingly fraught in our societies. It is also a question that has animated lively debate in religious communities such as that of the Anabaptists and Mennonites. While some have sought conformity in the church, others (in the vrijzinnig) tradition have embraced an individual freedom from dogmatic ties. Yet is individual freedom enough to tie a community together across differences?

  In this class, we will ask how we can understand the relation between different notions of freedom, difference, and community, both within the church itself and in the church’s interaction with wider society. Particular attention will be given to the Anabaptist/Mennonite religious tradition and the resources it brings (both historical and contemporary) to approaching these questions. Finally, students will be acquainted with (and practically exercise) kinds of communication and facilitation that allow a shared life in difference and relation to take shape.