Jeschke, Marlin L. (1929-2023)
Marlin L. Jeschke: professor of religion at Goshen College and president of the Mennonite Historical Society, was born 18 May 1929 near Laird, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Ernest and Eva (Schmidt) Jeschke. He was the sixth of seven children. In 1955 he married Charmaine L. Shidler; they were the parents of three children. After Charmaine’s death in 1991, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Bixel Miller and became a step-father to her three children. She died in 2018. Marlin Jeschke died 16 September 2023 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
In 1947, Jeschke joined the Salem Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church at Waldheim, Saskatchewan. He graduated from Prairie Bible Institute, Three Hills, Alberta, in 1952, and then proceeded to Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, where he completed his bachelor’s degree two years later. In spring 1955, Jeschke had enrolled at Goshen Biblical Seminary, Goshen, Indiana, and took two courses from Harold S. Bender, whose articulation of an Anabaptist view of the church set the direction for much of Jeschke’s subsequent study and writing. Academic pursuits took Marlin and Charmaine Jeschke to Evanston, Illinois, where Marlin earned a B.D. from Garrett Theological Seminary in 1958 and Charmaine, a degree in English from Northwestern University. Marlin then enrolled in a doctoral program in religion at Northwestern, receiving his Ph.D. in 1965, with a dissertation exploring “an evangelical conception of corrective church discipline,” a study that pointed to his abiding interest in the themes of the believers church tradition.
Jeschke had joined the faculty of Goshen College in 1961, where he taught in the Bible, Religion, and Philosophy Department until 1994, including many years serving as department or division chair. During his tenure, he taught dozens of sections of The Christian Faith (an introduction to theology course) and Religion in America (a church history survey). One of his distinctive contributions to the curriculum was in the area of world religions through courses on Asian Religions he introduced following extended time studying in predominately Buddhist and Muslim countries in 1969. He also launched a course on Christianity and Marxism and developed a long-running and popular course on religion and science. He was instrumental in helping establish the annual academic conference on Religion and Science.
Jeschke’s contributions to Anabaptist-Mennonite theology included books exploring believers church ecclesiology, such as Discipling in the Church: Recovering a Ministry of the Gospel (1972, 1988) and Believers Baptism for Children of the Church (1983). In 2005 he published Rethinking Holy Land: A Study in Salvation Geography. He read widely and published well over 100 book reviews, both in journals such as the Mennonite Quarterly Review, but also for popular audiences in the pages of Mennonite Weekly Review.
Long active in the Mennonite Historical Society, he served on its board of directors for at least twenty-six years between 1981 and 2016, including on the executive committee as both secretary and, from 2004 to 2007, as its president. He was the book review editor for Mennonite Quarterly Review from 1980 to 1994.
Bibliography
“Marlin Jeschke, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion, Dies at 94,” Goshen College. 24 September 2023. Web. 20 May 2024. https://www.goshen.edu/news/2023/09/24/marlin-jeschke-professor-emeritus-of-philosophy-and-religion-dies-at-94/
“In Memoriam: Marlin Jeschke (1929–2023),” Mennonite Quarterly Review 98 (January 2024): 7-8.
| Author(s) | Steven Nolt |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 20 May 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Nolt, Steven. "Jeschke, Marlin L. (1929-2023)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 20 May 2024. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Jeschke,_Marlin_L._(1929-2023)&oldid=178923.
APA style
Nolt, Steven. (20 May 2024). Jeschke, Marlin L. (1929-2023). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Jeschke,_Marlin_L._(1929-2023)&oldid=178923.
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