A. James Reimer
Encyclopedia
Allen James Reimer (August 10, 1942 – August 28, 2010) was a Canadian Mennonite
theologian who held a dual academic appointment as Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Theology at Conrad Grebel University College
, a member college of the University of Waterloo
, and at the Toronto School of Theology
, a consortium of divinity schools federated with the University of Toronto
. At the University of Waterloo's fall 2008 convocation, he was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus, an honor seldom bestowed on retired faculty.
Reimer was born and raised in small-town southern Manitoba
. As a teen, he was baptized in the local Mennonite church. He held undergraduate degrees from Canadian Mennonite Bible College (1963; now Canadian Mennonite University
) and the University of Manitoba
(1971); he also spent a year studying at Union Theological Seminary
in New York City
(1971–72) before moving to the University of Toronto, where he earned an M.A. in History (1974) and a Ph.D. in Theology (1983), the latter degree conferred by the University of St. Michael's College
. His doctoral dissertation, directed by Gregory Baum
, was a comparative and contrasting study of the political ramifications of theology in the respective thinking of Emanuel Hirsch
and Paul Tillich
.
Reimer's own theology was not typically Mennonite (vis-a-vis John Howard Yoder
), in that his point of departure was not the Sermon on the Mount
but the classical imagination of trinitarian orthodoxy
. Though he was deeply concerned with Christian social ethics, he insisted that ethics must have a ground external to itself. The triune God, for Reimer, constituted such ground. Whereas Mennonites have been historically critical of the dominant culture, Reimer's later work sought to develop a positive understanding of culture, law, public life and civil institutions.
While writing his doctoral dissertation, Reimer became deeply troubled and conflicted about the theology of Emanuel Hirsch
, a German Christian nationalist and Nazi
sympathizer. Fearing that he was being swayed by Hirsch's arguments, Reimer sought to offset Hirsch's influence by aligning himself more concretely with left of center
politics. He joined the New Democratic Party
and was an active party member for several years before finally resigning his membership over certain of the party's socio-ethical positions, particularly a woman's right to choose. Today, Reimer's overall political vision remains left of center. Though he is a pacifist, he has argued that God's activity in the world cannot be reduced to any one ethical ideology
; otherwise transcendence becomes domesticated.
Reimer was quite productive as an academic. He published numerous articles in various journals; select articles have been compiled to form the content of two of his books: Mennonites and Classical Theology, and Paul Tillich: Theologian of Nature, Culture and Politics. His very first book was a revision of his doctoral dissertation, titled The Emanuel Hirsch and Paul Tillich Debate: A Study in the Political Ramifications of Theology. He also coedited a compendium of essays on the Frankfurt School
of critical theory
. His areas of expertise included Anabaptist
-Mennonite
theology, Christian ethics of war and peace, and nineteenth and twentieth century German Protestant thought (including the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
, Paul Tillich
, and the German church struggle
during the Nazi regime). Over the years Reimer directed several theses and dissertations on these and other related topics.
A. James Reimer was an active churchman who accepted many preaching and teaching assignments in the Mennonite Church for over forty-five years, and was actively engaged in ecumenical and inter-faith encounters. In 2007, a Festschrift was published in honor of Reimer.
On August 28, 2010, Reimer died at his Waterloo home. He is survived by his wife Margaret Loewen Reimer, an academic with a Ph.D. in English, and a former editor of the Canadian Mennonite, and their three children.
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
theologian who held a dual academic appointment as Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Theology at Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College is affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The college is owned by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and named for early Anabaptist leader Conrad Grebel...
, a member college of the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, and at the Toronto School of Theology
Toronto School of Theology
The Toronto School of Theology is an ecumenical centre for graduate theological education and the largest of its kind in Canada. Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the TST comprises seven member colleges in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Reformed traditions, as well as four affiliated...
, a consortium of divinity schools federated with the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. At the University of Waterloo's fall 2008 convocation, he was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus, an honor seldom bestowed on retired faculty.
Reimer was born and raised in small-town southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. As a teen, he was baptized in the local Mennonite church. He held undergraduate degrees from Canadian Mennonite Bible College (1963; now Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University is a Christian university located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that awards three and four-year degrees in a variety of programs...
) and the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
(1971); he also spent a year studying at Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1971–72) before moving to the University of Toronto, where he earned an M.A. in History (1974) and a Ph.D. in Theology (1983), the latter degree conferred by the University of St. Michael's College
University of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
. His doctoral dissertation, directed by Gregory Baum
Gregory Baum
Gregory Baum, OC is a Canadian theologian.Born in Berlin, Germany, he came to Canada from England in 1940. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and physics in 1946 from McMaster University, a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 1947 from Ohio State University, and a Th.D...
, was a comparative and contrasting study of the political ramifications of theology in the respective thinking of Emanuel Hirsch
Emanuel Hirsch
Emanuel Hirsch was a German Protestant theologian and also a member of the Nazi Party...
and Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
.
Reimer's own theology was not typically Mennonite (vis-a-vis John Howard Yoder
John Howard Yoder
John Howard Yoder was a Christian theologian, ethicist, and Biblical scholar best known for his radical Christian pacifism, his mentoring of future theologians such as Stanley Hauerwas, his loyalty to his Mennonite faith, and his 1972 magnum opus, The Politics of Jesus.-Life:Yoder earned his...
), in that his point of departure was not the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
but the classical imagination of trinitarian orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
. Though he was deeply concerned with Christian social ethics, he insisted that ethics must have a ground external to itself. The triune God, for Reimer, constituted such ground. Whereas Mennonites have been historically critical of the dominant culture, Reimer's later work sought to develop a positive understanding of culture, law, public life and civil institutions.
While writing his doctoral dissertation, Reimer became deeply troubled and conflicted about the theology of Emanuel Hirsch
Emanuel Hirsch
Emanuel Hirsch was a German Protestant theologian and also a member of the Nazi Party...
, a German Christian nationalist and Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
sympathizer. Fearing that he was being swayed by Hirsch's arguments, Reimer sought to offset Hirsch's influence by aligning himself more concretely with left of center
Left of Center
Left of Center was a College rock/Indie rock radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 26 and Dish Network channel 6026. It was replaced by Sirius XMU as part of the Sirius/XM merger of channels on November 12, 2008...
politics. He joined the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
and was an active party member for several years before finally resigning his membership over certain of the party's socio-ethical positions, particularly a woman's right to choose. Today, Reimer's overall political vision remains left of center. Though he is a pacifist, he has argued that God's activity in the world cannot be reduced to any one ethical ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
; otherwise transcendence becomes domesticated.
Reimer was quite productive as an academic. He published numerous articles in various journals; select articles have been compiled to form the content of two of his books: Mennonites and Classical Theology, and Paul Tillich: Theologian of Nature, Culture and Politics. His very first book was a revision of his doctoral dissertation, titled The Emanuel Hirsch and Paul Tillich Debate: A Study in the Political Ramifications of Theology. He also coedited a compendium of essays on the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
of critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
. His areas of expertise included Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
-Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
theology, Christian ethics of war and peace, and nineteenth and twentieth century German Protestant thought (including the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
, Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century...
, and the German church struggle
Kirchenkampf
Kirchenkampf is a German term that translates as "struggle of the churches" or "church struggle" in English. The term is sometimes used ambiguously, and may refer to one or more of the following different church struggles:...
during the Nazi regime). Over the years Reimer directed several theses and dissertations on these and other related topics.
A. James Reimer was an active churchman who accepted many preaching and teaching assignments in the Mennonite Church for over forty-five years, and was actively engaged in ecumenical and inter-faith encounters. In 2007, a Festschrift was published in honor of Reimer.
On August 28, 2010, Reimer died at his Waterloo home. He is survived by his wife Margaret Loewen Reimer, an academic with a Ph.D. in English, and a former editor of the Canadian Mennonite, and their three children.