Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines, 1650-1987

Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc, 1989. First edition. Quarto (11-1/4" x 8-3/4"). (6), 327, (1)pp. Double column text. Indices and bibliography. Dark brown cloth lettered in gilt. An ex-library copy with small rubber stamp on title page & bottom of text block and a library pocket on rear pastedown.

The Brethren church tradition traces its roots back over 300 years to 1708. Eighteenth-century Europe was a time of strong governmental control of the church and low tolerance for religious diversity... Religious persecution drove the Brethren to take refuge in Surhuisterveen, Friesland, in the Netherlands. They settled among the Mennonites and remained there until 1729. Eventually all but a handful emigrated to America... The first congregation in the New World was organized at Germantown, Pa., in 1723. Soon after its formation, the Germantown congregation sent missionaries to rural areas around Philadelphia. These missionaries preached, baptized, and started new congregations.
In 1781 these Brethren adopted the title "German Baptist Brethren" at their Annual Meeting; in 1782 they forbade slaveholding by members.
The group continued to expand and from Pennsylvania, they migrated chiefly westward. By 1908 they were most numerous in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and North Dakota. (Wikipedia)

Contents: Part I: The historical and theological roots of Brethren thought -- Pietism -- Radical pietism -- Anabaptism -- Jeremias Felbinger and the Polish Brethren -- Part II: Alexander Mack and the Early Brethren (1708-1785) -- Alexander Mack's life and thought -- The crystallization of thought and practice in America -- Part III: Expansion and consolidation (1785-1865) -- Historical, practical, and doctrinal developments -- Peter Nead's life and thought
Part IV: Controversy, division, and change (1865-1883) -- issues contributing to the schism -- The division and an analysis -- Doctrinal development and interaction -- Part V: The winds of doctrine (1883-1987) -- Denominational reorganization and cultural interaction (1883-1915) -- The liberal controversy (1913-1921) -- The life and thought of J. Allen Miller -- The background and course of the Brethrenist-Fundamentalist Controversy (1920-1939) -- Readjustment and revitalization (1940-1987) -- Conclusion: "As their faith is, so shall be their outcome"