Three very different topics are considered in this edition of the journal: the history of the peace position of the Brethren in Christ Church, as documented in official statements of faith; missions; and singleness and the church.
The lead article by Randall Basinger, retired professor of philosophy and provost at Messiah University, had its beginnings in the Discipleship Class Learning Community I attend at the Grantham (PA) Brethren in Christ Church. During a series on the denominational core values, the current statement on peacemaking in the Articles of Faith and Doctrine came into focus: “While respecting those who hold other interpretations, we believe that preparation for or participation in war is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ.” Randy started researching previous doctrinal statements on nonresistance and the peace position, and discovered that this was the first time anything like a “qualifying clause” to the peace statement was included. Where did it come from? Why is it there? What does it mean? Why are no other doctrines or beliefs qualified in this way?
I asked Randy to turn his research into an article exploring the history of the peace position in the Brethren in Christ Church as articulated in official confessions of faith/doctrinal statements from the first one in 1780 to the present, how the “qualifying clause” came to be, and its implications for the peace position (and perhaps other core beliefs?) in the future.
Two shorter articles are the result of ongoing research for books the authors are writing. Daryl Climenhaga is writing a history of Brethren in Christ World Missions (tentatively projected to be published by the Historical Society by 2028). In the course of his research, Daryl uncovered the considerably less well-known stories of three mission stations that were started in Southern Rhodesia in the early twentieth century but did not last. What happened and what can we learn about the larger story of Brethren in Christ missions from these “failed missions”? Lucille Marr has already written extensively in the journal about her relative, H. Frances Davidson, a member of the first missionary party to Africa, and her parents. She now focuses on the relationship between Frances and her oldest sister Mary, who was no longer Brethren in Christ but supported Frances’s missionary call and provided a home base for her. You can look forward to learning more about Frances in a new full-length biography Lucille is currently writing.
Traditionally, the April edition also includes the papers presented at the Sider Institute’s annual conference at Messiah University. Last fall’s conference was on “Singleness in the Church,” with two papers by Christina Hitchcock, professor of theology at the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, SD, and a short summary by Messiah University associate professor Paul Johns of the demographics of singleness. Together, they explore the challenges and opportunities related to many in our congregations who are not married, whether by choice or circumstance.
We conclude with four book reviews and a letter to the editor regarding one of the books reviewed in the December 2023 edition.