Separation and the Sword in Anabaptist PersuasionRadical Confessional Rhetoric from Schlietheim to Dordrecht by Gerald Biesecker-Mast |
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Through rhetorical criticism of Anabaptist confessional argument during the Reformation era, the book describes the relationship between separation and peace articulated by Anabaptist leaders and writers in the decades following the adoption of the Schleitheim Brotherly Union in 1527. By exploring this rhetoric of peaceable, Anabaptist persuasion, the book provides resources for all nonconformists who seek to make peace through spiritual practice and public argument
Among the discoveries is that European Anabaptists explained and lived peaceful separation from the surrounding violent society in a variety of ways, sometimes stressing withdrawal and at other times emphasizing engagement.
Contemporary historians disagree about the meaning and extent of Anabaptist peace convictions at least as much as sixteenth-century Anabaptists appeared to have differed in their own views. To sort out the disagreements, both ancient and contemporary, this book examines the emergence of two primary approaches to defending defenselessness among European Mennonites and Hutterites who inherited the Anabaptist vision.
About the Author
Gerald Biesecker-Mast, Bluffton, Ohio, is Associate Professor of Communication at Bluffton University and the author of numerous published essays dealing with religion and persuasion. He is co-editor with Susan Biesecker-Mast of Anabaptists and Postmodernity (2000), and with J. Denny Weaver of Teaching Peace: Nonviolence and the Liberal Arts (2003). Biesecker-Mast is a graduate of Malone College, Canton, Ohio and received his Ph.D. in rhetoric and communication from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995.
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