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Jesus wasn’t necessarily a scientist or a scholar – of course, in his day there were no science STUDIES or scholarly research such as we have today. But, in any event, Jesus was knowledgeable of the scriptures, someone who wanted to reach to the core of the Holy Scriptures and who wasn’t content to remain at surface-level understanding. Today we’re thankful that in the past centuries so much has been discovered about the workings of our world. Science has shown just what a miracle our world truly is! The earth in its full complexity will likely never be completely comprehensible to us humans.

Scholarship and Faith

Many of the universe’s complexities have become clearer to us, however, through scientific discoveries. Our own faith, as it pertains to the times and experiences of Jesus, has also been made more comprehensible through scholarly research. Historical research and theology have discovered much about the time in which Jesus lived and the conditions surrounding his death. Recognizing these things helps us when we attempt to get at the foundation of the Holy Scriptures today. We take the discoveries of this research into account in our interpretation of the Bible. We grapple with the insights of current research in the same way that we do with the Bible – with the difference that the biblical scriptures have a very different kind of authority. The Bible preserve texts that speak to God’s history with people, and the experience of individual people with God. These texts have been inspiring people for two thousand years, while many scientific theories are important only for a few years.

Mennonite Lexicon

The question of the relationship between scientific research and faith can’t be fully treated in a few sentences. In order to get into the diverse scholarship, we would need a lexicon or a course of study. One useful online resource is “MennLex”, a Mennonite lexicon featuring many articles about Mennonite history and theology edited by professors and other specialists.

Theological Education

Mennonites also have centers for theological education. The Arbeitsstelle Theologie der Friedenskirchen at the University of Hamburg has been training pastors and religious educators since 2006 and conducts research on (peace) theology and (peace) ethics. Bienenberg Theological Seminary near Basel, Switzerland, concentrates primarily on researching the Anabaptist movement and offers seminars in conflict resolution and mediation. The Bienenberg is also home to Compax, an institute for conflict transformation.

Test everything; hold fast to what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21

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