The Activist Impulse: John Roth

In chapter two of The Activist Impulse, "Anabaptism and Evangelicalism Revisited: Healing a Contentious Relationship?" Goshen College historian and editor of The Mennonite Quarterly Review, John D. Roth writes an indirect response to the 1979 volume Evangelicalism and Anabaptism. Whereas this earlier text--as with much of the "traditional assessment of  Anabaptist-Mennonite encounters with evangelicalism" (50)--viewed evangelicalism as a largely negative force that needs to be kept at bay if not outright challenged by Anabaptists, Roth paints a picture of two traditions that share some of the same challenges, as co-heirs of the free church tradition. Thus, rather than each tradition avoiding the other, Roth suggests that "future conversations between Anabaptist-Mennonites and evangelicals be framed in a confessional mode, focusing on a set of theological blindspots, contradictions, or conundrums that both traditions share and which neither has solved very well" (57), such as religious voluntarism, biblical hermeneutics, congregationalist polity, and the sacraments. Roth describes how in this conversation process, Anabaptist-Mennonites might offer the incarnational theology of Pilgram Marpeck as a helpful framework for discussion.

For Roth's penetrating analysis of Anabaptist-Mennonite historiography as well as his intriguing proposal for future Anabaptist/evangelical dialogue, consider purchasing the book (or requesting it at your college or university library). You might also want to check out Roth's very readable trilogy on Anabaptist-Mennonite Beliefs, Stories, and Practices as well as his excellent and accessible book, Choosing against War: A Christian View.