| |
|
|
|
|
New
Releases from
Pandora
Press U.S. and
Herald Press
Unless otherwise
indicated, all books listed are copublished with Herald
Press. Books marked DSB are released by PPUS under the DreamSeeker
Books
imprint.
 Anabaptist
Theology in Face of Postmodernity: A Proposal for the
Third Millennium,
by J. Denny Weaver, was released November 1, 2000. and is
vol. 2 in the C. Henry Smith Series. Weaver questions the
common Mennonite assumption that theology for Mennonites
is founded on supposed "general" theology
located outside the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition.
Drawing on postmodern insights, Weaver demonstrates that
Mennonite theology itself contains seeds of a theology
that is biblical but poses an alternative to rather than
builds on the theology of Christendom, which has long
accommodated violence. Weaver includes groundbreaking
chapters showing that work by black and womanist
theologians has parallels to Anabaptist and Mennonite
theologizing.
God's
Healing Strategy: An Introduction to the Bible's Main
Themes, by Ted
Grimsrud, was released November. 15, 2000, in association
with Eastern Mennonite University. In lively and
accessible style, this book portrays God's persevering
love as the heart of the Bible's message. Bible study can
focus on details at the expense of the Bible's
overarching themes. Without losing sight of the details,
this short but thorough book identifies God's healing
love as the central theme of the Bible and challenges
Christians to let that love shape lives today.
A
Little Left of Center, by Daniel Hertzler (Dreamseeker Books), was released August 31, 2000. In this
engagingly offbeat and often humorous memoir, Daniel
Hertzler, long-time Mennonite editor and writer, tells
his life story and how his theological and philosophical
positions have come to place him just “a little left
of center,” as he puts it. “What a fascinating
glimpse into the life and times of a respected editor in
the Mennonite Church! Along the way we get an
insider’s view on church politics, wry comments on
matters large and small, funny anecdotes, and theological
musings. I probably averaged two chuckles a
page.”—Steve Shenk, Director of
Communications, Eastern Mennonite University,
Harrisonburg, Virginia
The
Merging: A Story of Two Families, by Evelyn King Mumaw (DSB, not copublished with Herald Press), was
published Sept. 15, 2000. Five centuries ago two
different families lived in Europe. Eventually each,
influenced by the Anabaptist movement, became Mennonite
and sent settlers to America. Many years passed. One day
descendants of these two independent family lines met and
merged—to become, in this true and haunting story
spanning centuries and in its final chapters becoming a
moving personal memoir—the family into
which author Mumaw was born. “Like a housewife in
the garden picking the best fruit, Mumaw has filled her
basket of memories with forward-looking stories of her
Anabaptist ancestors, poignant tales of family
wanderings, deaths and illnesses and delightful vignettes
of her own childhood. She adds photographs and
genealogies to garnish her rich harvest.” —Katie
Funk Wiebe, Professor Emerita of Tabor College,
Hillsboro, Kansas
Violence
Renounced: René Girard, Biblical Studies, and
Peacemaking,
edited by Willard Swartley was published July 15, 2000,
and is vol. 4, Studies in Peace and Scripture series.
Contributors include Diana M. Culbertson, Marlin E.
Miller, Ted Grimsrud, Charles Mabee, Gordon H. Matties,
Michael Hardin, Loren L. Johns, Paul Keim, James G.
Williams, Sandor Goodhart, Willard M. Swartley, Robin
Collins, Rebecca Adams, Jim Fodor. A response by René
Girard is included. “René Girard has
emerged in recent years as a foremost voice in cultural
analysis. His theory holds that culture itself and
religion are founded upon an original and ever-recurring
cycle of mimetic desire that breeds rivalry and in turn
leads to sacrifical violence (the means of restoring
peace to the social order). . . . These essays disclose
fruitful insights in biblical interpretation arising from
Girardian theory. . . .” —Willard
Swartley, in the Introduction
Anabaptists
and Postmodernity,
edited by Susan Biesecker-Mast and Gerald Biesecker Mast,
was published June 30, 2000, and is vol. 1 in the C.
Henry Smith Series. This book offers an interdisciplinary
set of proposals for the renewal of Anabaptist-related
thought and practice during the decline of modern
optimism and triumphant reason. Included are critiques
and affirmations of postmodern theory as well as
proposals for strengthening the church's witness in a
dramatically changing world. Writers include Susan
Biesecker-Mast, Stanley Hauerwas, Leo Driedger, Peter
Blum, John D. Roth, Paul Tiessen, Michael A. King, Scott
Holland, Hilde Froese Tiessen, Jeff Gundy, J. R.
Burkholder, Marlene Kropf, Gerald Biesecker-Mast, J.
Denny Weaver, Gerald Schlabach, Douglas Jacobsen, Chris
Huebner, John Stahl-Wert, and more.
Dancing
with the Kobzar: Bluffton College and Mennonite Higher
Education, 1899-1999, by Perry Bush, was published May 1, 2000, by
PPUS with joint HP as well as Faith and Life Press
imprints. Kobzar is vol. 38 in the Studies in
Anabaptist and Mennonite History Series. This book by a
professor of history at Bluffton makes a significant
contribution to historical scholarship on Mennonite
higher education. It is the first to build from the rich
collections of the Mennonite library and archives at
Bluffton and for this reason offers noteworthy insight
into twentieth-century Mennonite historical literature.
Moreoever, the book explores the distinctive vision of
Mennonite higher education, grounded in a
"progressive Anabaptism," that emerged at
Bluffton—and the possibility that it provides a model for
any Anabaptist-related schools seeking to articulate
Anabaptism even for increasingly non-Anabaptist students.
Trackless
Wastes and Stars to Steer By: Christian Identity in a
Homeless Age,
by Michael A. King. Although published by
Herald Press in 1990, distribution of this book has been
newly transerred to PPUS. As William H. Willimon
puts it in the Foreword, “Out of trackless wastes, Michael King
leads us forth, wisely steering a course set by stars
which do not deceive. If you have given up on the church
because it is too critically closes or too uncritically
open, if you have lost your direction on that perilous
path called discipleship, if your house of faith is
beginning to crumble or else you haven’t even begun
to build that house, read this book.”
See also Complete
List of
such 1998-2000 releases as Peace and
Justice Shall Embrace: Power and Theopolitics in the
Bible and Leaving
Anabaptist: From Evangelical Mennonite Brethren to
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches.
Orders
|
|
|
