Arnold's vision of Christians living as an "embassy" of the Kingdom of God in today's world is thrilling. The church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to witness to the coming day when peace and justice will rule the earth. Arnold's words are as relevant now as they were when he wrote them 80 years ago. He gives hope and purpose.

Our minister passed out copies of this book to every family in the congregation. The following week we were invited to read our favorite excerpts out loud. This sharing went on for so long and with such feeling that it took over the whole service. We did the same for several meetings and I feel the spirit that was kindled by this sharing had a major impact on our relationships to each other.

This book will be significant for those who want to learn more about the life of Arnold and the spirit that moved him. To my knowledge this is the first biography of Arnold written by a non-Bruderhof author. I like Baum's fresh perspective.Orbis Press has also just come out with another fine book entitled Eberhard Arnold that readers of this book should look at. It is part of their Spiritual Masters series.

Although many other books by and about Eberhard Arnold have been published since this little volume first came out, it still brings back warm memories. The first time I read the book almost 30 years ago it rang so true and expressed so well what I felt about life and Christian seeking, that I eventually became a member of the Bruderhof movement, which Arnold had founded. It was a step in my life I have never regretted. Orbis Press has also just come out with another fine book entitled Eberhard Arnold that readers of this book should look at. It is part of their Spiritual Masters series.

Fifty years after his death members of the Bruderhof communities (which he founded) chose those excerpts of Arnold's talks and writings, which they felt, were the most moving and relevant to them personally. This selection became the manuscript for God's Revolution, which Plough later published. Orbis Press has also just come out with another fine book entitled Eberhard Arnold / Writings Selected that readers of this book should look at. It is part of their Spiritual Masters series.

Though largely unknown today, Eberhard Arnold was widely sought as a public speaker in his native Germany before and after World War I . He influenced thousands during his lifetime. As far as Arnold's writing is concerned, Innerland was his life's work, he tried to include in it every experience he had ever had of God. Buried during the Nazi era, recovered and translated into English, this is one of the most important spiritual books I have ever read. Not a quick read, be ready to invest some time and thought.

Eberhard Arnold is one of the forgotten spiritual leaders of the 20th century. That is sad because his books are as timely now as when they were written nearly 70 years ago, many of them in protest against the creeping tide of Nazism and fascism. Salt and Light: Living the Sermon on the Mount is passionate in its insistence that Christianity is not a religion for dilettantes. To accept Christ and to really live His message is to risk giving everything up for love. Hate, fear, violence and injustice are not just crimes against humanity, they oppose the very organic fabric of creation. Arnold, in Salt and Light, makes it clear that Christians have a special obligation to preserve and cherish life, to peacefully oppose injustice and war and to spread a gosepl of love---not because it is "moral" and "ethical" to do those things, but because Christians in their faith (salt and light) possess the very essence of life, Christ. Read Arnold, and your relationship with God will change forever. Salt and Light is a classic.

Eberhard Arnold's work on "The Early Christians," is an excellent source for understanding the beliefs and doctrines of the early christians in context of their own testimony and time. Arnold begins with a comprehensive introduction to shed light upon the social aspects of church society contrasted with its remarkable spread throughout the Pagan world. In other words, Arnold does a good job describing the initial steps of primative Christianity that would eventually leed to the well-structured and ecclesiastical institution that has prevailed to this very day. The testimonies recorded of these champions of faith, are composed with skill, and fit the criteria for which they were purposed in this work and in their time. Unfortunately, early christians didn't write that much, so we are indebted to work with what has existed from either oral tradition or scholarly manuscripts. There are no 'real' drawbacks to this work except the fact that the actual testimonies are few and emanate only from the scholarly retinue of the sencond century. Overall, this book gets four stars; the benefits range from quick reference to quotes(etc.), and to a broad spectrum of the personality and character of the early church itself.

Eberhard Arnold begins with a brief history of the gradual institutionalizing of simple discipleship into ecclesiastical Christianity. His understood intent, througout the book, is to bring believers back to the basic lifestyle of Christ that was so resplendent in the early disciples. Chapters on martyrs, description of early church life and worship, and the beliefs of the early Christians concerning prophecy, persecution, and the return of Jesus are especially beneficial. A MUST read for anyone who wants to "walk as Jesus did" (1 Jn. 2:6) and follow the examples of the early believers. I heartily recommend this stirring and passionate treatment of "authentic discipleship" by disciple Arnold.

Eberhard Arnold's book is one of the most profound that I have read on early church history. In his attempt to recreate a communal society which was as close to that of the early church as possible (the Bruderhof in Germany and, later, the Hutterites in England), Arnold researched all the early sources which he could find, whether written by Jews, Christians, Romans, or others from the ancient world. His massive volume contains everything he found in his attempt to get to the spirit of that early community. He quotes from Tertullian, Justin, Cicero, Ignatius, Jerome, Theophilus of Antioch, Polycarp, and others. He does not draw conclusions but lets those to his readers to ascertain from the evidence of early believers.

The book is heavy laden with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of translated selections from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. It is a rare edition which enlightens at every turn and, in some ways, reminds one of all the evidence on both sides of the fence which emerge in court proceedings. One reads the martyrdoms of many an early Christian and wonders whence their courage emerged. Much information abounds on early catecomb worship practices in Rome. The book is a marvel, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Jeanne Smith McPherson, KS.