A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

roposed remedy. On the other hand it should be pointed out that the charges brought against the church and its ministers (Lehrer) were far too sweeping and too severe in character. There were still some devoted and deeply concerned leaders in the pulpit, and many fine Christians in the pews. Men such as Bernhard Fast, Johann Harder (both elders of the Ohrloff Church), Bernhard Harder, the great evangelist and teacher, and even August Lenzmann, elder of Gnadenfeld — all actively opposed corruption and worked earnestly for the spiritual renewal of the church. It would appear that in the heat of battle, the brethren had temporarily forgotten the spiritual nurture they had received in the "mother churches." Lastly, this document clearly and emphatically expresses the desire of the Brethren to remain true to the historic Anabaptist-Mennonite confession. They consciously saw themselves related to sixteenth cen- tury evangelical Anabaptism. "They did not want to be Pietistic, nor Baptist, but rather Mennonite. They wanted to be and remain historical consistent Mennonitism, a pure Mennonitism that was based not upon birth, but upon rebirth." 32 3. Beginnings in Chortitza A similar and yet somewhat distinctive new life movement originated almost simultaneously, yet independently, in the Chortitza colony. Religious and moral conditions here were even more deplorable than in the Molotschna. In 1853, however, a spiritual awakening took place in the village of Kronsweide. A young man, Johann Loewen, came to a saving knowledge of Christ through the reading of Hofacker's sermons." Through his fervent testimony, some fifty persons, mostly young people, had a similar experience. As a result of both a lack of teaching and also false teaching the group was misled into a false freedom. After the moral lapses of several members the whole group was put under the church ban and the movement was discredited. Fortunately, a new fellowship center in Chortitza developed in the village of Einlage under the sane leadership of such brethren as Abraham Unger, Heinrich Neufeld and Cornelius Unger. In the years 1859 and 1860 the group here became well established through devotional Bible study {Bibelstunden) and the reading of Christian literature. Some of this literature was obtained from the German Baptists. Abraham Unger, in his search for spiritual enlightenment, began to correspond with J. G. Oncken, a Baptist preacher in Hamburg. This initial contact led to increasing Baptist influence in the Chortitza RENEWAL AND REORIENTATION 37 groups. This influence became a major controversial issue in the early M. B. Church as will be shown later. In 1861, the Einlage Brethren established contact with the Molotschna group and discovered that the latter had begun to baptize and in some instances rebaptize those who had experienced God's forgiveness and grace. In the spring of 1862, Abraham Unger, Heinrich Neufeld and a thi