Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 60:3 (Sep 2017)
Article: Biblical Inerrancy, Church Discipline, And The Mennonite-Amish Split
Author: Kirk R. MacGregor

JETS 60:3 (September 2017) p. 581

Biblical Inerrancy, Church Discipline,
And The Mennonite-Amish Split

Kirk R. MacGregor*

* Kirk R. MacGregor is assistant professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at McPherson College, 1600 E. Euclid, McPherson, KS 67460. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Between 1693 and 1700 a schism unfolded between the Anabaptists in Switzerland over the matter of biblical inerrancy and its implications for church discipline. The majority of Anabaptists sided with the Mennonite pastor Hans Reist, while a sizeable minority sided with Reist’s erstwhile colleague Jakob Ammann. This split, known as the Amish Division, separated the Mennonites from Ammann’s followers, who became known as the Amish. This paper will show that the split ultimately boiled down to the issue of whose interpretation of a cluster of texts—Matt 9:11, Matt 15:11, Matt 18:15–20, and 1 Cor 5:6–11—proved consistent with inerrancy. This article delineates the interpretations of both Reist and Ammann. The article concludes by using the Reist-Ammann disagreement to assess two exegetical methods frequently used by evangelicals, namely harmonization and subordination of less clear texts to more clear texts, in reconciling passages that appear opposed to one another.

Key words: inerrancy, church discipline, Mennonites, Amish, Anabaptism, Hans Reist, Jakob Ammann, harmonization

Between 1693 and 1700 a schism unfolded between the Anabaptists in Switzerland, southwestern Germany, and southeastern France over the matter of biblical inerrancy and its implications for church discipline.1 As demonstrated by John Hostetler’s Amish Society, the majority of Anabaptists sided with the Swiss Brethren pastor Hans Reist (fl. 1670–1704), while a sizeable minority sided with Reist’s erstwhile colleague Jakob Ammann (1644–c. 1720).2 This split, known as the Amish Division, separated the Swiss Brethren (who would later adopt the broader name Mennonites) from Ammann’s followers, who became known as the Amish. This piece will investigate one major issue that led to the split. This issue was whose interpretation of a cluster of texts—Matt 9:10–13 and parallels, Matt 15:11 and parallels, Matt 18:15–20, and 1 Cor ...