Voices of the Turtledoves: The Sacred World of Ephrata (Pennsylvania German History and Culture) - Softcover

Bach, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0271027444 ISBN 13: 9780271027449

Publisher: Penn State University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Winner, 2004 Dale W. Brown Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist StudiesWinner, 2005 Outstanding Publication, Communal Studies AssociationCo-published with the Pennsylvania German Society/Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht "Although dozens, if not hundreds, of books and articles have previously told Ephrata's story and attempted to plumb its mystical theology, Jeff Bach's is the first book to do the job comprehensively, empathetically, and accurately. . . . This book will be the standard work on the subject for decades to come, and it constitutes an important contribution to scholarship in American religious history and the history of intentional communities." -Timothy Miller, The Journal of American History "For the serious student of colonial Pennsylvania, the Brethren movement, communal societies, or Pietism in early America, Bach's work is essential reading."

About this title

Review:

"Where numerous scholars failed in past centuries to write a definitive work about Ephrata Cloister during its peak years as an ethnic, religious, and cultural curiosity in America, Jeff Bach successfully articulates the context in which Ephrata was created and functioned. His research is grounded in thorough knowledge of the European religious thought, practice, and writing that heavily influenced Ephrata's founder and spiritual leader, Conrad Beissel."

--Nadine A. Steinmetz, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Site Director of Ephrata Cloister, 1984-1995

"Bach (Bethany Theological Seminary) has mastered the primary sources--many are in German--and deciphered the religious language and images of Ephrata's extensive devotional literature, letters, hymns, and art. The author's narrow focus on interpreting the religious language of Ephata will limit interest in this monograph to advanced students and scholars."

--W.B. Bedford, Crown College, Choice

"Jeff Bach allows us to understand the ingredients of Ephrata's theology and challenges us to explore how these particular Protestant Pietists fit into the religious smorgasbord that was colonial Pennsylvania. Voices of the Turtledoves answers many questions and raises still more."

--Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe, William and Mary Quarterly

"Although dozens, if not hundreds, of book and articles have previously told Ephrata's story and attempted to plumb its mystical theology, Jeff Bach's is the first book to do the job comprehensively, empathetically, and accurately. . . . No one, however, has set out the community's history or illuminated its ideological basis and coherence nearly as well as Bach has. This book will be the standard work on the subject for decades to come, and it constitutes an important contribution to scholarship in American religious history and the history of intentional communities."

--Timothy Miller, Journal of American History

"No one, however, has set out the community's history or illuminated its ideological basis and coherence nearly as well as Bach has. This book will be the standard work on the subject for decades to come, and it constitutes an important contribution to scholarship in American religious history and the history of intentional communities."

--Timothy Miller, Journal of American History

"The virtues of Bach's book are considerable; however, its chief value is in providing a solid intellectual history of the Ephratan experiment. Bach's clear understanding of the tenets of mysticism and of Boehmist thought allows him to explain elements of Ephratan life and thought which would otherwise be unexplainable."

--James Gallant, Utopian Studies

"For the serious student of colonial Pennsylvania, the Brethren movement, communal societies, or Pietism in early America, Bach's work is essential reading. The excellent bibliographical essay alone (pp. 197-217) makes it indispensable for academic libraries."

--David B. Eller, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"Bach's book is a hard read, but not because he does not handle his subject deftly and with competence. Rather, as Beissel's successor Peter Miller observed about the mystical language of Ephrata, 'Those who speak it are hard to understand.' Thanks to Bach, their voices (likened as they are to the cooing of turtledoves) become much more intelligible."

--Edsel Burdge, Jr., Mennonite Quarterly Review

"Bach uses the unique, mystical language of Ephrata to present a comprehensive view of this sacred community."

--Susquehanna Life

About the Author:

Jeff Bach is Associate Professor of Brethren and Historical Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary. During the summer of 1995, he served as Scholar in Residence at the Ephrata Cloister.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0271027444
• ISBN 13: 9780271027449
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 302