Anabaptist ReMix

The creative clash of tradition and innovation causes many cultures to be in continuous remix. Crucibles of adaptation are present in religion, law, education, science, technology, publishing, arts, media, etc. The present volume Anabaptist ReMix: The Varieties of Cultural Engagement is a case study of one tradition—Anabaptists and Mennonites—and fragments of its transformation in the modern and post-modern era. Today, in the face of a global pandemic, climate disaster, social fragmentation, and the prospect of nuclear annihilation, the descendants of radical reformers seek to live out the wisdom of that original revolution. Theology is re-imagined as a conversation about human nature and emergent images of the divine. In this volume, the arts are re-framed as an examination of conflict, catharsis, and justice. Christian pacifism is given new partners with those in the just-war tradition. Women find a new voice to tell stories of abuse, oppression, and healing. Native American, Black, and Latinx voices call attention to buried stories calling for resurrection. The power of institutional structures is interrogated and challenged to act on prophetic missions of equality, healing, and justice.

Lauren Friesen is the David M. French Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. He received his PhD (with honors) from the Graduate Theological Union. His recent publications include editing Mennonite Ethics: from Isolation to Engagement by J. Lawrence Burkholder and autobiographical essays Prairie Lands, Private Landscapes. Friesen was awarded the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Excellence in University/College Theatre and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Pacific School of Religion.

Dennis R. Koehn exemplifies a life of activism, scholarship, and professional impact. He did time in a federal prison for draft resistance, completed undergraduate work with honors, and went to Harvard on a Rockefeller Brothers Theological Fellowship. Koehn, as a management consultant, was known for being "particularly suited to joining business and management skills with theology and the needs of church organizations." Koehn received a PhD from Chicago Theological Seminary with a dissertation on religion and war.