The Church’s Peace Witness, edited by Marlin E. Miller & Barbara Nelson Gingerich, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994, 228 pp.
An excerpt:
The Preface explains that
This volume comes as an invitation to the process of reconciliation, of seeking a common foundation for our understanding of the church and its mission to the world, grounded in Scripture (p. viii).
It was initiated by the USA National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC) with
participants in the conversation. . . from the Roman Catholic Church, from all the historic peace churches, and from all the member churches of the [NCCC] (p. viii).
The Introduction indicates that
This volume attempts to… bring to the confessional explorations the church-dividing issue of the relationship between church and society raised at the Reformation by the Anabaptist churches (p. 7).” It continues: “The book begins with a background chapter on the uses of Scripture in various North American church documents from the 1980s on the topic of peace… Then follows the biblical core of the book…. (p. 7).
Two essays treat of Old Testament, two of New Testament considerations. Two essays follow with reference to church history: one on the pre-Constantinian understanding of the military, another on the move of the historic peace churches (Mennonite, Quaker, Church of the Brethren) from sectarianism to ecumenism. Finally, a chapter entitled “Toward Acknowledging Together the Apostolic Character of the Church’s Peace Witness”, and a section, “Consultation on the Apostolic Faith and the Church’s Peace Witness: A Summary Statement”, together with “Select Bibliography” and “Index of Scripture References” sections complete the volume. In all there are nine chapters and three final sections.
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