John Horsch (18 December 1867 in

Giebelstadt Giebelstadt is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany. History The town is the birthplace of Florian Geyer (1490–1525), also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", a Franconian nobleman who led the Black Company ...

- 7 October 1941 in

Scottdale, Pennsylvania Scottdale is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Early in the 20th century, Scottdale was the center of the Frick coke interests. It had steel and iron pipe mills, brass and silver works, a casket facto ...

) was a Mennonite historian and writer.

Life

John Horsch was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in Giebelstadt near

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

to Elder Jacob Horsch and his wife Barbara Landes. He married Christine Funck and was the father of three sons and a daughter,

Elizabeth Horsch Bender Elizabeth Horsch Bender (1895 - 1988) was an American Mennonite editor and translator. Bender was a native of Elkhart, Indiana, the daughter of John and Christine Funck Horsch. She was married to theologian Harold S. Bender, for whose books and ...

, wife of Harold S. Bender. John Horsch studied for two years at the Bavarian State Agricultural School at Würzburg, graduating with a diploma in 1886. To avoid

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

, he emigrated to the United States in 1887. He was employed by

John F. Funk John Fretz Funk (April 6, 1835 - January 8, 1930) was a publisher and leader of the Mennonite Church. Funk published the ''Herald of Truth'' from 1864 until 1908 when it merged with the ''Gospel Witness'' to form the ''Gospel Herald''. Jacob Clemen ...

in the Mennonite Publishing Company, where he did much of the editorial work on German language publications from 1887 to 1895. He then served on the editorial staff of the Light and Hope Publishing Company of Cleveland, Ohio, before moving on to the Mennonite Publishing House of Scottsdale Pennsylvania, where he worked from 1908 to 1941. He worked as an editor and writer on history and theology for 55 years. He passed to his reward on October 7, 1941.Horsch, John (1867-1941)
at

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related top ...

Works

* ''A Short History of Christianity,'' 1902 * ''Menno Simons : His Life, Labors and Teachings'', Scottdale, PA, 1916. * ''Infant Baptism : Its Origin among Protestants and the Arguments Advanced for and against,'' Scottdale, PA, 1917. * ''Modern Religious Liberalism : The Destructiveness and Irrationality of Modernist Theology,'' Chicago, 1924. * ''The Principle of Nonresistance as Held by the Mennonite Church : An Historical Survey,'' Scottdale, PA, 1927 * ''The Hutterian Bretheren 1528-1931,'' Goshen, Indiana, 1931. * ''Menno Simons' Life and Writings, a Quadricentennial Tribute, 1536-1936,'' Scottdale, Pa., 1936. * ''Mennonites in Europe'', Scottdale, Pa., 1942. * ''Mennonite History'', Scottdale, PA, 1942.

Literature

* Harold S. Bender: ''John Horsch, 1867-1941: A Biography'',

The Mennonite Quarterly Review ''The Mennonite Quarterly Review'' is an American interdisciplinary review journal, devoted to Anabaptist and Mennonite history, theology, and contemporary issues. History, circulation and operations Published continuously since its concepti ...

21 (1947), pages 131–155. * Harold S. Bender: ''John Horsch memorial papers'', Scottdale, PA, 1947. * Robert Friedmann: ''John Horsch and Ludwig Keller'', The Mennonite Quarterly Review 21 (1947), pages 160–204. *

John Christian Wenger John C. Wenger (December 25, 1910 – March 26, 1995) was an American Mennonite theologian and professor. Life He was the eldest of five children born to A. Martin Wenger (1884–1960) and his wife, Martha A. Rock (1889–1975). He was born at t ...

: ''The Theology of John Horsch''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsch, John 1867 births 1941 deaths American Mennonites Mennonite writers Reformation historians