Thesis (Th. M.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-140).

In the 1870s, Manitoba was a province in the midst of transition from an Indigenous and Métis space to an agricultural centre for the Canadian nation. During this transition, the English and French-language newspapers (both Métis and Franco-Manitoban) of Manitoba documented Mennonite immigration, families, and farming practices. This thesis explores the observation accompanying the nation-building project of Mennonite immigration reserves. Through the newspapers, governments and other residents of Manitoba were able to monitor the successes and failings of the Mennonites, telling stories about their arrival and adjustment. The tensions around the re-making of Manitoba into a Canadian province are evident, and debates about immigration were often centred on Mennonites. While Mennonites themselves may or may not have been aware of their role in the colonial project, they were, nevertheless, recruits and participants in the larger national and provincial ambitions for the future success of Manitoba as part of the nation. / October 2016

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

This thesis examines the conflict between the military forces of Nestor Makhno and Mennonite colonists in southern Ukraine during the Russian Civil War (1918-1921) through the historical narratives found in each group’s literature. Employing a methodology derived from deconstructionist approaches to history and James Wertsch’s theory of distributed collective memory, this thesis considers the nature of each group’s historical narratives, their biases, the context of their respective productions and how these same narratives contain intimations of the other side’s perspective.

This thesis argues that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites, who first came to Canada in 1874, were committed to absolute pacifism. This commitment--one of the basics of their faith--caused major tensions with the host society, notably in times of war. In this thesis I investigate three kinds of resources, each offering a different perspective on the pacifist conviction of the conservative Kanadier Mennonites. The first consists of three migration accounts; the second includes six sermons; the third is a unique set of minutes of the "Aeltestenrat"--the Council of Elders--which record the deliberations of the church leaders who met with government officials to negotiate the alternative service program for conscientious objectors during World War II. The documents demonstrate that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites were not socially or politically engaged pacifists but that their commitment to absolute pacifism was an integral part of their overall understanding of being Christian.

This thesis examines the conflict between the military forces of Nestor Makhno and Mennonite colonists in southern Ukraine during the Russian Civil War (1918-1921) through the historical narratives found in each group’s literature. Employing a methodology derived from deconstructionist approaches to history and James Wertsch’s theory of distributed collective memory, this thesis considers the nature of each group’s historical narratives, their biases, the context of their respective productions and how these same narratives contain intimations of the other side’s perspective.

This thesis argues that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites, who first came to Canada in 1874, were committed to absolute pacifism. This commitment--one of the basics of their faith--caused major tensions with the host society, notably in times of war. In this thesis I investigate three kinds of resources, each offering a different perspective on the pacifist conviction of the conservative Kanadier Mennonites. The first consists of three migration accounts; the second includes six sermons; the third is a unique set of minutes of the "Aeltestenrat"--the Council of Elders--which record the deliberations of the church leaders who met with government officials to negotiate the alternative service program for conscientious objectors during World War II. The documents demonstrate that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites were not socially or politically engaged pacifists but that their commitment to absolute pacifism was an integral part of their overall understanding of being Christian.

Thesis (M.A.)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96).

No description available.

Revivalism and fundamentalism were significant forces that greatly influenced the life and theology of North American Mennonites during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After World War II, the (Old) Mennonite Church began to make a significant shift away from fundamentalism. The Conservative Mennonite movement began in the 1950s in protest against the theological and sociological changes taking place in the Mennonite Church, particularly the loss of fundamentalist doctrines. This thesis traces the influences of fundamentalism as they were adopted early in the twentieth century by the Mennonite Church and came to fulfillment in the founding of the Conservative Mennonite movement. By looking at the history of the (Old) Mennonites in North America and the development of Protestant fundamentalism, this thesis provides a theological analysis of the influence of fundamentalism on the Conservative Mennonite movement.