Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
Chapter one
“To hear and read
the words of Jesus
is dangerous.”
Eberhard arnold, 1929 1
the future lay open – at least for one young man in his early twenties.
Eberhard Arnold was twenty-two when he registered at the Royal Martin
Luther University in Halle an der Saale, on November 11, 1905. For the
moment, his was just another face in the crowd of nearly two thousand first-year
theology students. A young man with principles and self-control. Tall, earnest-
faced, brown eyes behind pince-nez, dark hair parted to the right, and a mustache.
To look at him, it would have been hard to guess that Eberhard was registering to
study theology against his own inner conviction and in submission to his father.
In actual fact, however, in the fall of 1905 Eberhard was not at all clear what
direction his future should take, and he felt somewhat unsure of himself. And
though he, like other young men of his day, sought honor and credibility, he felt
simultaneously tormented by emotions of ambition and pride. These emotions
would be recurring themes in the introsective poetry of his early student years.
Nevertheless, in spite of his personal doubts, Eberhard was certain of his faith – an
almost childlike relationship to Jesus Christ. And he was waiting for a clear call from
him. 2 The call eventually came, though not overnight, and not in a blinding vision.
It came step by step.
originS
Eberhard was born on July 26, 1883, in the farming country near Königsberg.
His full name was Eberhard Arthur Julius Arnold. 3 He was the third child born
to Elisabeth Arnold née Voigt. 4 His mother came from a family of scholars. Her
father was a professor of church history and dogmatic theology at the Königsberg
University. Her grandfather and great-uncle on her mother’s side were also theology
professors and influential men in the Prussian Union of the Evangelical Church.
1