God’s Word and our words

Anabaptist Community Bible assembles the biggest scripture study group ever

Courtesy of MennoMedia Courtesy of MennoMedia

You need another Bible. If that seems unlikely, you might not have discovered the Anabaptist Community Bible. Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism, it’s a landmark accomplishment — an important resource to strengthen Spirit-led biblical interpretation by lay people.

John D. Roth, the volume’s general editor, believes it is unique.

“I am not aware of this approach [anywhere else] to a study Bible, which is often associated with the exclusive expertise of biblical scholars,” he told AW in an interview.

The publisher, MennoMedia, shipped the first copies in December. Based on strong sales of the first run of 10,000, they’ve ordered a second printing.

As envisioned when the project launched two-and-a-half years ago, this is a people’s Bible. The marginal notes feature insights and questions distilled from almost 600 Bible study groups.

“We were tremendously gratified by the response,” Roth said. “The goal was 500 groups; we didn’t know what to expect. We found there is energy for a meaningful project. People want to be a part of something bigger than our local congregations.”

Scholars’ comments form a second category of marginal notes. The third is made up of quotes from 16th- and early 17th-century Anabaptists.

The result, as Roth notes in his in­troduction, is “a chorus of voices and perspectives, much like the Bible itself.” The chorus unifies around Jesus-
centered biblical interpretation. Schol­ars’ introductions to each biblical book point to Jesus and Anabaptist theology.
For example, Safwat Marzouk shows where Genesis offers “signposts of hope ­toward the transformation of conflict.”

Seven essays address themes that will break new ground for many readers. Among them:

Gerald J. Mast summarizes the Apocrypha and why traditional groups such as the Amish and Hutterites continue to read this “second canon.”

John Kampen explains how Ana­baptist interpretations of the Bible have contributed to anti-Jewish prejudice. He advises how to avoid “casually reduc[ing] Judaism to a religion of law.” Explaining concepts such as supersessionism (the idea that the Christian church has replaced the Israel of Hebrew scripture), he makes the reader more aware of antisemitic theology and better equipped to extend a witness of peace to Jewish people.

Melissa Florer-Bixler analyzes violence in the Bible. She invites readers to “wrestle with God and God’s character” even as the biblical writers and redactors did, trusting that the struggle strengthens our relationship with God. She observes that the meaning of violent narratives changes when we learn to read them from the perspective of oppressed people rather than from the position of privilege that many North American Mennonites hold.

Jonny Rashid describes seven theologies — liberation, feminist, Black liberation, womanist, mujerista (mujer means “woman” in Spanish), queer/LGBTQIA and disability — leading to his conclusion that “an Anabaptist theology of liberation . . . would seek to understand God, Christianity and the Bible from the perspective of marginalized groups.”

Like these essays, some of the mar­ginal notes recognize progressive be­liefs while refraining from explicitly endorsing them. The note on 1 Corinthians 6:9 — which lists people who won’t inherit God’s kingdom — says: “Modern culture includes committed and consensual LGBTQ relationships. We wrestled with what Paul might say today.”

The note on 1 Timothy 2:8-9 — which instructs men how to pray and women how to dress — simply asks the reader to consider how we decide when to follow scripture explicitly and “which [passages] can be reframed in light of changing cultures.”

The editors have taken care to re­spect readers across a range of theological beliefs. Although the leaders of conservative-leaning denominations like the U.S. Mennonite Brethren Con­ference declined to support the project, some of their members participated. This Bible belongs in USMB, LMC and other Anabaptist homes, too.

The scripture text is the Common English Bible, published in 2011, which emphasizes simplicity and clarity. For example, in Lamentations 3:19-20, the New Revised Standard Version’s “wormwood and gall” becomes “bitterness and poison,” and “My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me” becomes “I can’t help but remember and am depressed.” In the CEB, even the poetic parts of scripture still sparkle with unpretentious words and phrasing. If you’ve gotten used to a particular translation, the CEB will refresh your Bible reading.

Topping off the bonus features are 40 works of art in a woodcut style inspired by biblical passages.

Just as scripture is a library of 66 books, the Anabaptist Community Bible is a library in one volume. There could be no better way to celebrate Anabaptism’s 500th anniversary than by using this new edition of scripture with the imprint of our theology, created by our scholars and our broad community of faith.

Paul Schrag

Paul Schrag is editor of Anabaptist World. He lives in Newton, Kan., attends First Mennonite Church of Newton and is Read More

Anabaptist World

Anabaptist World Inc. (AW) is an independent journalistic ministry serving the global Anabaptist movement. We seek to inform, inspire and Read More

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