Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
We give ourselves first to God, and now to you. We want to be yours in the obedience
of faith, love, and discipline. As we prayed to God, so we now ask of you: Accept us!
Give us a commission! Just as we can do nothing without Christ, so we want to do
nothing without you. 2
Two other documents accompanied the epistle across the Atlantic: Eberhard’s
ninety-page manuscript entitled Foundation and Orders and his recently revised
Living Churches: The Essence of Their Life.
Elias Walter received the letters from the Rhön very favorably. In the fall of
1929 Eberhard wrote to Robert Friedmann, informing his friend that Elias Walter
had given the Rhön Bruderhof the task of publishing Bertha W. Clark’s article 153
in book form, as well as “other writings of the Hutterites,” and that Elias Walter
had donated funds for the publishing work. Clearly a great trust had gradually
developed between the two; the old Hutterite minister asked Eberhard to put
together, among other things, a scholarly edition of Das Klein Geschichtsbuch (The
Small History Book, documenting early Hutterianism) – a major undertaking
requiring several years of work. 3
For his part Eberhard had become a heart-and-soul advocate of the Hutterian
communities. He wrote to Robert Friedmann: “The tremendous thing about
the Hutterian Gemeinde is that it puts faith into deed so that here and now – in
the pracical, communal life of the church – the kingdom of God is shown as
justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).” 4 And to the American
Mennonite scholar John Horsch he wrote: “Although a centuries-old tradition may
all too easily lead to a gradual loss of faith, love, and the direct experience of Christ,
I find absolutely no hindrance to seeking and believing in complete unity with the
present-day Hutterites…Their prayer for the Holy Spirit proves that the truth is
still living and acive among them, and is not and cannot be extinguished.” 5
Meanwhile Elias Walter had outlined the steps to unity: Eberhard would have
to travel to America, present himself to the elders of the Hutterian communities,
and allow himself to be searched – mind and heart. He must be prepared to answer
questions about his hopes and desires, the history of the Bruderhof in Germany,
his personal faith, his knowledge of the Bible, his family life, and his opinions. At
the end of all this – maybe! – uniting would take place.
But there was a great deal to be done first. In June of 1929 Eberhard traveled
to Austria to discuss with Professor Johann Loserth the editing and publishing of
old Hutterian writings. In November Eberhard gave a series of lectures at Robert
Friedmann’s “Tolstoy Club” in Vienna, and had another meeting with Loserth. 6