This volume explores how Mennonite Central Committee has served as a key vehicle for inter-Mennonite collaboration from 1920 until the present. Over twenty scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds examine different ways in which MCC has contributed to expanding networks of Mennonite identity. "Much like the complex and dynamic 90-year-old MCC organization itself, this volume brings together a remarkably rich collection of ideas and perspectives. A Table of Sharing inspires reflection and appreciation for the organization that has meant so much to so many." --Karen Klassen Harder, Professor of Business and Economics, Bluffton University. "Editor Alain Epp Weaver . . . has assembled a score of gifted scholars to contribute insightful and thoughtful essays on the story and program of an institution grappling with some of the most critical issues of the twenty-first century." --Robert S. Kreider, President Emeritus, Bluffton University and Bethel College, in the Foreword "This story of MCC is a story of the church in action." --Danisa Ndlovu, President, Mennonite World Conference. "This book offers fascinating glimpses into the controversies surrounding the creation of MCC, and how and why this religious NGO pursues its mission around the world of peacebuilding, disaster relief, economic development. Individuals interested in the intricacies of inter-Mennonite relations, history, and cultures in North America will find the book especially revealing." --Dean E. Peachey, Vice Principal, The University of Winnipeg Global College

One of the most persistent, if vexing, issues facing not just theology but also political theory, sociology, and other disciplines, is the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For theology, the problem is especially nettlesome on account of the church's shared history and tradition with the Jewish people. Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians, bear the brunt of suffering and dispossession in the current situation, yet are burdened even more by Christian political appropriation of Zionism. Through an analysis of Palestinian refugee mapping practices for returning to their homeland, Alain Epp Weaver takes up the troubled issue of Palestinian dispossession and argues against the political theology embedded in Zionist cartographic practices that refuse and seek to eliminate evidence of coexistence. Instead, Alain Epp Weaver offers a political theology of redrawing the territory compatible with a bi-national vision for a shared Palestinian-Israeli future.

Conflicts today regularly break out along religious fault lines, whether in Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Sudan, or elsewhere. This volume contains case studies of ways in which Mennonites have contributed to peacebuilding and reconciliation in multi-religious contexts and offers a theological rationale for interfaith collaboration. (Christian)

How should Anabaptists, Mennonites and other Christians think today about the saving work of God in Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection? In this volume, 20 leading theologians, biblical scholars, historians of Anabaptism, pastors, and peacemaking practitioners offer their reflections. In addition, while engaging the thought of J. Denny Weaver, they ponder such questions as these and more: Should Jesus' atoning work be viewed as a sacrifice? Or is it better viewed through "narrative Christus Victor"--as a defeat of the powers of sin and death? The book "makes a significant contribution to vigorous scholarly discussions about the nonviolent reconciling ministry of Jesus and the church's responsibility to preach peace in all of the contexts of a twenty-first century global society," says Kim S. Phipps, President, Messiah College. And John D. Roth, prolific author and speaker on Mennonite topics and Professor of History, Goshen College, says this: "Diverse in their approach and argument, the essays gathered in this collection nonetheless sparkle with theological insights that are certain to inspire, challenge and provoke."

Rooted in Mennonite Central Committees nearly six decades of work alongside Palestinians and Israelis, "Under Vine and Fig Tree" examines ways in which the Bible has been used to justify violence and dispossession, and ways it can be received as a life-giving word for Palestinians and Israelis wishing to live securely under their own vines and fig trees. (Christian)