Daniel Musser (1809–1877) was a physician and a bishop [1] at the Longenecker's Reformed Mennonite Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA. He is best known for his 1864 book "Non-Resistance Asserted",[2] from which Leo Tolstoy quoted extensively in his 1894 book "The Kingdom of God is Within You".[3]
Dr Daniel Musser | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 2, 1809 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 20, 1877 (aged 67) Lampeter, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, Minister (1851), Bishop (1863) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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Musser belonged to the Reformed Mennonites, one of the smallest and strictest Mennonite groups, formed in 1812 and which, by 1906, had 2,079 members in 34 congregations, mainly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ontario. The Church adopted the sixteenth century Anabaptist practice of banning and shunning to reform members.
Musser was unusual in being a physician in a community largely dominated by farmers and artisans. As a writer, he wrote with remarkable style and was well-read. American Mennonite historian Theron Schlabach described him as "the most systematic thelogian of any nineteenth-century Mennonite group".[4] However, John Funk was highly critical of Musser's book The Reformed Mennonite Church and her accusers.[1]
Although Musser and Tolstoy agreed on nonresistance, Musser's views on government and human nature differed sharply from those of Tolstoy: Musser saw humans as basically evil, needing governments to control them; Tolstoy, on the other hand, saw governments as inherently evil, and humans as essentially good.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Funk, John F. (1878). "The Mennonite Church and her accusers: a vindication of the character of the Mennonite Church of America from her first organization in this country to the present time". Internet Archive. p. 5. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Non-Resistance Asserted: or the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of this World Separated". Internet Archive. 1864. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "The Kingdom of God is Within You: Christianity not a mystic religion but as a very new theory of life". Internet Archive. 1894. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ a b "Mennonite Historical Bulletin, Vol LIV, Jan 1993". Internet Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
Further reading
edit- Musser, Daniel (1873). The Reformed Mennonite Church: its rise and progress, with its principles and doctrines.
- Funk, John F. (1878). The Mennonite Church and her accusers: a vindication of the character of the Mennonite Church of America from her first organization in this country to the present time.
External links
edit- Rev Daniel Musser
- Family of Daniel Musser
- A History of the Reformed Mennonite Church by Wilmer J. Eshleman
- Official website of the Reformed Mennonite Church