John Howard Yoder is one of the best-known Mennonite thinkers on peace. But before Yoder there was Guy F. Hershberger, whose reflections on war, violence and peace helped Mennonites navigate perilous times in early to mid-20th century, and who also laid the foundation for what became the Alternative Service Program in the U.S. during World War II. In the 1960s, he played an important role in guiding the Mennonite church’s response to the civil rights movement—nudging them toward greater openness to Martin Luther King’s call for justice for African-Americans.

In this definitive biography, Theron F. Schlabach shows how Hershberger helped Christians live their faith in a world beset by war and injustice, at the same time pioneering creative ways to engage pressing concerns such as civil rights, economic justice and capital punishment.

Says Stanley Hauerwas, Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School: “What Schlabach has given us is an invaluable, honest account of a life lived in the tensions of the Mennonite church as that church explored the implications of being a people committed to nonviolence. The resulting account is a crucial account not only of Hershberger’s life, but of Mennonite life—an accounting I hope non-Mennonites will find instructive because it may help them understand Mennonites, but more importantly how Mennonites help us better understand what being Christian entails.”

Also check out these classics by Guy F. Hershberger:

The Mennonite Church In The Second World War
War Peace, And Nonresistance
The Way Of The Cross In Human Relations

From the Foreword

“Hershberger came of age during the First World War and died just weeks after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, living through what historian Eric Hobsbawm has called an ‘age of extremes.’ Against that backdrop, he sought to show how Christians might live their part in a world beset by war and injustice. Moreover, he insisted that that part flow from a consistent ethic, unchanged but progressively revealed by God as the story unfolded.

Theron F. Schlabach is remarkably suited to guide readers in understanding this drama. For many years Schlabach has been immersed in the sources, the historical context, and the theology of the times; no one is more familiar with the American Mennonite story explored here. This biography is the product of mature scholarship and churchly perspective." From the Foreword by Steven M. Nolt, Professor of History, Goshen College. Read the full Foreword.

Endorsements

“In War, Peace, and Social Conscience, Theron F. Schlabach provides not only an insightful biography of Guy F. Hershberger, but also a detailed analysis of one of the most important Mennonite thinkers to shape Mennonite social ethics in the first half of the twentieth century.” Jeff Bach, Director, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies

“Schlabach ably recounts Hershberger’s personal history and ethical development as he confronted the issues of his day—including war and violence, fragmenting communities, labor conflict, and racial injustice—from a perspective grounded in Anabaptist history and values . . . [he] also illuminates the larger contours of twentieth-century Mennonite life, and challenges twenty-first-century readers to reassess Hershberger’s thoughtful reflections on issues and dilemmas that remain with us still.” Paul Boyer, Editor in Chief, Oxford Companion to United States History

Read the full list of endorsements

Learn more about Guy F. Hershberger

Read an interview with author Theron F. Schlabach about the important role Hershberger played in the Mennonite church in the last century—and why Mennonites and other Christians today should want to know more about him.

War, Peace, and Social Conscience: Guy F. Hershberger and Mennonite Ethics was made possible through the generous support of Mennonite Mutual Aid and the Mennonite Historical Society.