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For more than 300 years, Mennonites adhered to a strict two-kingdom theology, owing their supreme adherence to the divine kingdom while serving as loyal, law-abiding subjects to the state in all matters that did not contradict their religious beliefs. Traditionally, Mennonites saw affairs of state as none of their business. In times of war, the Mennonite church counseled conscientious objection and spoke against military participation in either combatant or noncombatant roles. Mennonites did not serve in coercive government offices. Most refused to vote or sue in courts of law, and held a generally negative view of expressions of political protest to government authorities. During World War II, however, the voluntary participation of Mennonites in conscientious objector labor camps pulled Mennonite youth out of rural isolation and raised their awareness of America's social ills and their own responsibilities as Christians. In the post-war era, Mennonites were no longer "the quiet in the land", but began to articulate publicly their concerns about such issues as the draft, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War.

In Two Kingdoms, Two Loyalties, Perry Bush explores the dramatic changes both within Mennonite communities and in their relationship with mainstream American society between the 1920s and the 1970s, as Mennonite society and culture underwent a profound transformation from seclusion to nearly complete acculturation. Congruent with their entrance into national society, Mennonites began to engage the state on a number of issues which an older theological and behavioral tradition had previously defined as outside their sphere of concern. Bush notes that, as was the case in mainstream society, it was primarily the church's youth who were the most passionately involved in the struggle to speak out against war and other concerns.

Bush's discussion of pacifism and theology parallels the internal struggle for social and cultural change within Mennonite communities nationwide. His study also sheds much light on the role played by religious conservatives in twentieth-century American social movements. Most studies of anti-war and social justice movements have focused on liberal Christian and secular activists, but Bush's account restores Mennonites to a more integral role in the history of recent social dissent. More generally, by reintroducing matters of religious ideology in considerations of recent social history, Two Kingdoms, Two Loyalties highlights the dynamic relationship between social and intellectual developments in twentieth-century America.

From blood transfusions to salvation by works, John Ankerberg and John Weldon expose the unorthodox doctrines that put Jehovah’s Witnesses at risk physically and spiritually. With its easy–to–follow, question–and–answer format, this book allows readers to quickly discover—

• who founded Jehovah’s Witnesses and why
• why medical care essential to life is refused
• why few Jehovah’s Witnesses look forward to eternal life in God’s presence
• how many Jehovah’s Witnesses prophecies have failed—and why
• how Jehovah’s Witnesses view and interpret God’s Word

Whether looking for specific teachings or an overall understanding of Jehovah’s Witness beliefs and practices, readers will find this guide delivers the information in a concise, practical manner.

Clear, Biblical Answers to Thirty-Eight Cleverly Designed Questions Mormons Ask Christians

Mormonism is one of the most American of religious movements and one of the most rapidly growing of all non-Christian cults around the world. Though today the Mormon church numbers in the millions, few Latter-day Saints realize just how unbiblical and inconsistent their doctrine is.

From his in-depth research of Mormonism, Bill McKeever takes the puzzling and often perplexing questions that Mormons are taught to ask Christians and answers them from the Bible in a simplified, straightforward manner. It provides quick and easy access for lay-Christians to answer the actual Mormon visiting their homes or through other contact. Questions ranging from the inspiration of the Book of Mormon to whether Mormonism's fast growth is proof of its truthfulness are examined in the clear light of God's Word, the Bible.

An Invaluable Tool for the Ordinary Christian