One important connection between this book and our society today is Mennonite wealth. I come from an upper middle class back round, so I somewhat identify with these upper class characters. I like to think that as Mennonites today we're more devoted to class justice then Abram Sudermann, but modern America does seem to be having some class issues, for example in this article http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/opinion/sutter-lake-providence-income-inequality/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 the author describes a town in Louisiana, where there is a strong divide between the upper and lower classes. I wonder how the lower class in Goshen views Mennonites and the college. Reading a book like this makes me think about class more in my own life.
The book also examines how these people maintained their values in times of crisis, and what the effects were. Some remained faithful to their pacifistic views like Peter Vogt and Ohm Siemens, while others like Abram Sudermann used force. It seems to me that Abram got what was coming to him. Peter and Ohms deaths on the other hand are unfair. These were honest hardworking men, who remained true to their principles. How could God let them die?
I think this book gives meaning to their deaths. Without the book their deaths would not be remembered, and the examples they set would not mean much. But because of their deaths Katya survived and was able to recount their story. Through memory their sacrifices live on as an example of people who chose to take pain instead of cause it. This book shows the evil humans can cause, but also provides an example of those who choose not to submit.
I definitely agree with you on the last paragraph. I think this book is an important account of the deaths of this group of Mennonites, especially because Mennonites are not well known in mainstream Christianity and western culture.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you on the wealth/poverty model and the fact that this book highlights the stark differences between the different classes. It resonated with me a little bit, especially the Vogts because I grew up in a neighborhood that sat right between a neighborhood of mostly apartments and rented houses occupied by African, Mexican and Latin American immigrants and a neighborhood occupied by millionaires.
I like that you brought up the idea of what folks from the Goshen community think of Mennonites and Goshen College. I also appreciate the point you made about the book examines the way that people act in times of crisis. I have always believed that people's true colors will show when they are in times of crisis. It seems to me that Peter Vogt and Abram Sudermann definitely showed their true colors during this crisis.
ReplyDeleteI really agree that Katya challenges today our ideas of Mennonite wealth and class justice. In the grand scheme of things, we U.S. Mennonites are ridiculously wealthy compared to Mennonites elsewhere. When my church from home goes to visit our sister church in Colombia, I am always reminded of the massive divide between our two versions of being a Mennonite. They scrounge together barely enough money over 10 years to build a slightly bigger church building, and we have something that must seem like Abram's mansion to our brothers and sisters in Colombia. the difference between living humbly and as one of "the least of these" and living a blessed and prosperous life still battle in the Mennonite church at home and across borders. I think we just try to keep a balance that was not apparent in Katya.
ReplyDeleteJacob, your post prompted some great discussion about wealth and class inequity in American today, and between American Mennonites and so much of the rest of the world. Birdsell writes about a different time period, but these human and social issues are still very much present in our own era. I like your point that the book offers both a context for the story and a way for Birdsell to showcase the lives and sacrifices of ordinary characters who heroically lived their faith, as well as those who didn't do such a great job. Her focus on social history reminds us that there are many untold stories in the lives around us. Perhaps you all will be inspired to tell some of them in the future.
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