Mennonite Peacemaking: From Quietism to Activism By Leo Driedger and Donald B. Kraybill (review)

468 BOOK REVIEWS There is in him, I think, much more than he himself is aware of. . . . He says that he knows nothing of God, or the immortality of the soul. Well, God does know him. . . . And a man whose whole life and work are inspired by dedicated love for the humiliated and oppressed one is surely loved by God. Saul was a superb political teacher, but his teaching came in the lull of battle and was a rough Socratic dialogue that often left newcomers enlightened but somewhat bruised. He was hard on religious leaders who argued airily for a more "Christian" approach than his, one that eschewed conflict and left change to time and good will. In his Chicago office Alinsky kept pictures of Holocaust victims as reminders of what passivity can do to one's neighbors. This welcome collection of the correspondence of two democratic "revolutionaries " may help deflate the persistent "Alinsky Myth" that he was not a serious social reformer. Maritain clearly revered Alinsky as a political visionary dedicated to helping American society fulfill its promise of freedom, equality, and a share for all in the common good. P. David Finks Sanford, North Carolina Mennonite Peacemaking: From Quietism to Activism. By Leo Driedger and Donald B. Kraybill. (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press. 1994. Pp. 344.»14.95; «19.50 in Canada paperback.) This study explores what the authors call the "restructuring of Mennonite peace convictions" in North America over the past fifty years. Part one of the book examines the theological and ethical issues evident in formal documents and the writings of Mennonite spiritual leaders. The theological differences that separate Guy Hershberger, John H. Yoder, J. Lawrence Burkholder, and Gordon Kaufman are emphasized and portrayed as irreconcilable. Part two of the book analyzes data accumulated from two church-wide surveys of some 3,000 members of five mainline Mennonite and Brethren in Christ groups. Contemporary rank-and-file Mennonite attitudes toward peacemaking, military service, and political participation are revealed. Using these data, Driedger and Kraybill, both sociologists, lament the decline in the traditional Mennonite belief in the "steely character of nonresistance" within the historic peace church. Throughout the book the aim of the authors is to find a way to reconstitute a coherent theological tradition of peace in the face of modernity. During the past century the forces of modernity have persuaded many Mennonites to leave the protective walls of dieir rural enclaves. There also has been a new emphasis on training so that they may attain positions in education, business, and the professions. Moreover, Mennonite groups developed aggressive international mission and service programs that provided world-wide experi- BCX)K REVIEWS 469 enees for its membership. Their involvement and integration in the world shifted their views toward the state and led Mennonites away from a separated church-and-state vision to a new emphasis on their moral responsibility in the world. The meek and mild became active peacemakers seeking ways to resist oppression and social injustice. The theological brokers found ways to turn the nonresistant tradition on its conceptual head to sanction civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance. Driedger and Kraybill are fearful that these changes "have resulted in a pleasant veneer of contemporary peacemaking that will crack under the stress of harsh political conditions." It is the old story of a Christian community trying to do good and ending up doing well. This is a highly readable book which provides not only a basic history of the Mennonites and their current status, but also provides a thorough understanding of the theological transformation from nonresistance as church doctrine to active nonviolent peacemaking with respect for individual conscience within their historic peace church tradition. Thus, today's mainline Mennonites and Brethren in Christ have pasted the label of peacemaking on such wide-ranging efforts that only a few congregations have been willing to require a firm commitment to peacemaking as a requirement for church membership. This theological transformation that the authors examined would have had greater significance if they had placed it within the context of comparative studies in American religion. Regrettably, they made no such attempt. Patricia McNeal Indiana University, South Bend A History of the Roman Catholic...