TrailsofthePast
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TrailsofthePast
13 Jun, 03:22
Yesterday we followed an old trade and travel route, one that for centuries was familiar to our Mennonite parents. From Amsterdam to Danzig. Hundreds of years ago, a ship a day came from Amsterdam and docked in Danzig. Many times it had Mennonites on board. These church records from Amsterdam show some of the visitors from Danzig who were baptized in the Netherlands in 1703. Toews (Tewes), Friesen (Vriesen) Thiessen (Tiessen), Jantzen, and Dycks (van Dyck).
While the earlier fore parents of ours came for religious freedom and economic opportunity, these later ones simply testify to the deep ties that existed between the churches of the Old Flemish conference, even though national borders separated them.
While the earlier fore parents of ours came for religious freedom and economic opportunity, these later ones simply testify to the deep ties that existed between the churches of the Old Flemish conference, even though national borders separated them.
TrailsofthePast
11 May, 22:12
TrailsofthePast
10 May, 04:04
Although Menno and other early Anabaptist leaders were educated men, many of those who joined the Anabaptist movement were not and in years to come they formed the body of the church. Here are some comments on the leaders that emerged from this body in the late 1500’s. This is from the “Conference on Mennonite Cultural Problems, held at North Newton, Kansas, August 18 and 19, 1944.”
Unlearned Anabaptist Successors
The emphasis on sincerity, simple statement, and Biblical truth as found in the Bible and as illuminated by the Holy Spirit continued during the years of the persecution and migration and martyrdom. In the early debates on religious questions the trained leaders were more than a match for their opponents. By the end of the sixteenth century the situation was much changed; leaders had been killed or had been forced to flee. The later leaders or spokesmen had been denied the opportunities of special ' training. The Frankental [1571] debates in South Germany are an example. “In many ways this was an unequal contest. The Mennonite spokesmen were simple working men, and although in exact knowledge of the Scriptures they excelled the state church representatives, they were no theologians. “We are not able to answer your questions,” said one of them, “except in the simple language of the Bible. It seems strange to us that you should persist in asking us many questions that are beyond us.’”
“They represented their beliefs in plain words of the Bible, Although they agreed with their opponents in a number of doctrines they could not agree on questions regarding infant baptism, nonresistance, government and others. The Mennonites, rooted deeply in the Bible, could not be persuaded to join the established church.”
Unlearned Anabaptist Successors
The emphasis on sincerity, simple statement, and Biblical truth as found in the Bible and as illuminated by the Holy Spirit continued during the years of the persecution and migration and martyrdom. In the early debates on religious questions the trained leaders were more than a match for their opponents. By the end of the sixteenth century the situation was much changed; leaders had been killed or had been forced to flee. The later leaders or spokesmen had been denied the opportunities of special ' training. The Frankental [1571] debates in South Germany are an example. “In many ways this was an unequal contest. The Mennonite spokesmen were simple working men, and although in exact knowledge of the Scriptures they excelled the state church representatives, they were no theologians. “We are not able to answer your questions,” said one of them, “except in the simple language of the Bible. It seems strange to us that you should persist in asking us many questions that are beyond us.’”
“They represented their beliefs in plain words of the Bible, Although they agreed with their opponents in a number of doctrines they could not agree on questions regarding infant baptism, nonresistance, government and others. The Mennonites, rooted deeply in the Bible, could not be persuaded to join the established church.”
TrailsofthePast
08 Apr, 19:59
August 21, 1914
-Slowly, the moon's dim shadow moved in on the bright sun, gradually covering it, until the view of the midday sun was but a dim circle in the sky. At first, the light was too bright, so we had to shield our eyes with our hands. Then, when the shadow came, we didn't even have to squint. It seemed like evening was settling in everywhere. All was darkened. The chickens in the barnyard began making their way to the henhouse as they always did at dusk. Even the dog curled up before us on the front porch.
Of course, the eclipse didn't last very long, but it did arouse talk in the village afterwards. With great curiosity, the people wondered about the meaning of the sun's darkening. There was amazement on the streets. "The sun lost its shine," they gossiped. Some of the villagers were struck with fear, interpreting this midday darkening as God's warning to an unbelieving world, quoting the Bible to verify their point.
"It was fulfillment of a prophecy," they said with conviction, strongly reminding their bystanders that the world would surely come to a sudden end. The eclipse was for them a cosmic sign from God for all people to see.
Others were less alarmed. My father, taking a more sober approach, simply told us that the eclipse belonged to the natural order of the universe. He told us that we should regard the eclipse as part of God's direction in guiding the heavenly bodies. That is how I remember the amazing happening, an experience that captured our fascination. Although the eclipse in Russia came and went, the memory remains. -Margaretha (Ens) Wiebe of Gnadenthal, Baratov Russia, from her book, Mamma, Mother of Ten:
-Slowly, the moon's dim shadow moved in on the bright sun, gradually covering it, until the view of the midday sun was but a dim circle in the sky. At first, the light was too bright, so we had to shield our eyes with our hands. Then, when the shadow came, we didn't even have to squint. It seemed like evening was settling in everywhere. All was darkened. The chickens in the barnyard began making their way to the henhouse as they always did at dusk. Even the dog curled up before us on the front porch.
Of course, the eclipse didn't last very long, but it did arouse talk in the village afterwards. With great curiosity, the people wondered about the meaning of the sun's darkening. There was amazement on the streets. "The sun lost its shine," they gossiped. Some of the villagers were struck with fear, interpreting this midday darkening as God's warning to an unbelieving world, quoting the Bible to verify their point.
"It was fulfillment of a prophecy," they said with conviction, strongly reminding their bystanders that the world would surely come to a sudden end. The eclipse was for them a cosmic sign from God for all people to see.
Others were less alarmed. My father, taking a more sober approach, simply told us that the eclipse belonged to the natural order of the universe. He told us that we should regard the eclipse as part of God's direction in guiding the heavenly bodies. That is how I remember the amazing happening, an experience that captured our fascination. Although the eclipse in Russia came and went, the memory remains. -Margaretha (Ens) Wiebe of Gnadenthal, Baratov Russia, from her book, Mamma, Mother of Ten:
TrailsofthePast
08 Apr, 17:29
“Today, July 28, 1851, we had a total eclipse of the sun. Superstitious people thought the end of the world had come, and harvesters sang hymns in the field…. This year a revivalist, Minna Lange, often spoke at Neuteich. She gave good talks and urged repentance and predicted hard times. People came from Elbing and Koenigsberg 100 wagons at a time and many also came on horseback and on foot…. I too heard her gladly....” Marie Fast Wiebe Entz (1827-1891)
-from the Mennonite communities of Prussia
-from the Mennonite communities of Prussia
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