Footnotes, Chapter 4
Kierkegaard and Radical Discipleship: A New Perspective (Eller)
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In Dru’s and in Rohde’s selections from Kierkegaard’s journals, the number identifies an entry rather than a page; the date following is that of the particular entry.
1. Papirer, 10:4:A:73 (1851) [my trans.--V.E.].
2. The definitive history of the church's origin and earliest, European phase (to c. 1730) is Donald F. Durnbaugh's Brethren Beginnings: The Origins of the Church of the Brethren in Early Eighteenth-Century Europe, hereafter referred to as Beginnings (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Un. of Pennsylvania, 1960). Much of the same information, though in a quite different format, has been published by Durnbaugh in European Origins of the Brethren, hereafter referred to as Origins (Elgin, Ill. Brethren Press, 1958); this is a source book reproducing many of the primary documents from which Durnbaugh wrote his dissertation.
There is no such adequate source covering the American phase of Brethren history through the eighteenth century. The greatest amount of factual material is preserved in the first and thus "classic" Brethren history, namely, Martin Grove Brumbaugh's A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America (Mt. Morris, Ill.: Brethren Publishing House, 1899). Brumbaugh had access to more primary source material than ever has been available since, and to this degree his work is irreplaceable--though Durnbaugh must take precedence in every respect as regards the European period. However, Brumbaugh's book is not the best sort of history writing: it is not well organized; it is very inadequately documented; it abounds in factual errors and unwarranted conclusions. But although it must be used with caution, nothing has appeared to succeed it.
Floyd E. Mallott's Studies in Brethren History (Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Publishing House, 1954) is a more recent and more scholarly treatment, but because it covers almost 250 years of history in comparatively brief compass, it cannot afford nearly as much information regarding the eighteenth century as does Brumbaugh.
A most valuable resource for the study of Brethren history is the bibliography compiled by Donald Durnbaugh and Lawrence Shultz, an attempt to construct an exhaustive listing of books and pamphlets written by Brethren authors from the origin of the church until 1963. It is found in Brethren Life and Thought 9, 1-2 (combined) and 11, 2.
3. See Durnbaugh, Origins, 14, and Durnbaugh, Beginnings, 1.
4. The best account of Mack's background is the sketch by Hermann Brunn, "Alezander Mack, The Founder, 1679-I735," in Schwaraenau, Yesterday and Today, ed. Lawrence W. Shultz (published by the editor, 1954), 37ff.
5. A brief account of the Pietist movement is given in Durnbaugh, Origins, 32-34, and Durnbaugh, Beginnings, 1-4, but the best full length treatment is Dale W. Brown's The Problem of Subjectivism in Pietism (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern Un., 1962). Brown provides a thoroughgoing description of Pietism in the process of analyzing the problem of its subjectivism.
6. Durnbaugh, Origins, also includes a brief account of Radical Pietism, pp.35-36; Beginnings gives a longer sketch, pp. 4ff.; but the full-length treatment that establishes the concept and gives it definitive analysis is C. David Ensign's Radical German Pietism (c. 1675-c. 1760) (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Boston Un., 1955).
7. In the German-Pietist-Brethren milieu, "separatism" is the term used for a personal Christianity practiced apart from any organized church. We avoided the term in previous chapters and coined the phrase "spiritual atomism" because, of course, in British usage "separatism" identifies an entirely different phenomenon. However, in discussing the Brethren we will revert to the term "separatism," which is the proper one in this context.
8. A brief account of Hochmann appears in Durnbaugh's, Beginnings, 10-12; the definitive biography is Heinz Renkewitz's Hochmann von Hochenau (Breslau, 1935).
9. Lots were cast to determine who should baptize Mack, who then proceeded to baptize the other seven. But the name of that first baptizer and the exact date of the baptism purposely were suppressed in order to forestall any later inclinations toward "founder worship."
10. Donald Durnbaugh has done a consummate job of tracing the historical role of these two factors, summarizing earlier discussion of their relationship and presenting his own analysis, in a two part article, "The Genius of the Brethren," Brethren Life and Thought 4, 1-2 (1959), 4ff., in both issues. Though I have no quarrel with his evidence and its treatment, I do feel the need of modifying the entire frame-work in which the discussion has taken place. My position has been presented in detail in my article, "On Epitomizing the Brethren," Brethren Life and Thought 6, 4 (1961), 47ff. Much of what follows from that piece.
11. The quotation from Menno Simons is found in his "Foundation of Christian Doctrine [1539]," in The Complete Writings of Menno Simons, trans. Leonard Verduin (Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1956), 111. The quotation by Mack Senior comes from his "Rights and Ordinances [1715]," in Durnbaugh, Origins, 384-85. The quotation by Hochmann is from his "Letter to Count von Solms [1708]," in Durnbaugh, Origins, 126. The quotation by Mack Junior is from his "Foreword to 'Rights and Ordinance? [1774],' in Durnbaugh, Origins, 120.
12. Although the above analysis gets at the heart of Brethren ideology, it must be admitted that the historical process itself was not quite as symmetrical as the chart would indicate. Several factors served to complicate the picture. In the first place, Radical Pietism was much more extreme and unbalanced in its emphasis than Anabaptism was in its--although the zeal and evangelistic fervor that Pietism stressed were precisely what the Brethren found lacking in the Mennonites of their day. On this point we need to be aware of the distinction which Mack himself made, namely that between the idealism of the older Anabaptist writers whose works he consulted and the "deteriorated" faith of the Mennonites with whom he came in contact (see Mack's "Basic Questions," in Durnbaugh, Origins, 340, 342-43). The latter were as much in need of some Pietist "life" as the Radical Pietists were of some Anabaptist "backbone."
Another factor ruining the symmetry is that because the Brethren came into being as a break-out from Radical Pietism rather than Anabaptism, they continually had to answer charges from their former colleagues of the Pietist quarter. Almost all of eighteenth century Brethren doctrinal writings arose out of this situation and represent the pull away from Radical Pietism toward Anabaptism. The pull in the other direction, away from Anabaptism toward Radical Pietism, does not find similar expression in Brethren writings, although historically it seems to have been very real in its operation (see Durnbaugh, "The Genius of the Brethren," 1:20-24).
13. All these materials appear in English translation in Durnbaugh, Origins.
14. The eighteenth century Brethren had quite a penchant for hymn-and poem-writing (usually stanza upon stanza upon stanza). Almost without exception, the men who wrote anything also wrote poetry; and in several eases poetry is all they have left us. Undoubtedly this trend reflects the devotional tradition of Pietism.
15. The name was also spelled Saur and Sower.
16. See Donald Dumbaugh, "Christopher Sauer: Germantown Printer," The Gospel Messenger (May 24, 1958), 10.
17. Young John was a sickly youth (he died at twenty-two years), and the story goes that his father urged him to marry early in an attempt to perpetuate the family. The advice was taken, and John married an Indian girl who had been left behind with the Prices when her people had been forced west. The plan was a success--I am a descendant of that union.
18. Mack's poetry has been collected and translated by Samuel B. Heckman in The Religious Poetry of Alexander Mack, Jr. (Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Publishing House, 1912).
19. Here reproduced is the Kurtz-Quinter translation from a parallel-text edition of 1860, the English half of which was reprinted subsequently in Ashland, Ohio, 1939.
20. At points I have amended the translation and added italicts.
21. Though presumably most of the Brethren did learn at least some English in America, almost without exception the documents we shall use originally were in German. Particularly the outlying rural congregations maintained a virtually unmitigated German culture and milieu until well into the nineteenth century.
22. Morgan Edwards, Materials toward a History of the American Baptists (Philadelphia, 1770), Vol.1, Pt. 4, p.66. This passage is quoted in Brumbaugh, op.cit., 525-27.
23. Alexander Mack, Jr., Apology (Ephrata, Pa.: 1788) typescript trans. by N. P. Springer (Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen, Ind.), 31; and Mack's "Open Letter on Feetwashing.".
24. "Faith's Expectation" (Discourse I) in Edifying Discourses, 1:23.
25. Dru Journals, 1031 (1850).
26. Smith Journals, 11:1 A 385 (1854).