Detwiler, George Bechtel (1847-1931)
George Bechtel Detwiler was born near Roseville in Waterloo County, ON. A Mennonite, he married Harriet Tyson, a Brethren in Christ from Pennsylvania, in 1870. Four years later he joined her denomination. After teaching school for several years, he moved in 1885 with his family to a farm near Fort Erie, where he became a minister in the Bertie congregation and helped organize the first Sunday school in at least two Ontario Brethren in Christ congregations.
In 1899 the Detwilers moved to Abilene, Kansas where he became first associate editor and a few months later editor of his denomination's paper, Evangelical Visitor. In 1902 the editorial offices and the Detwilers moved to Harrisburg, PA. Although he did not accept the doctrine of sanctification that was being increasingly favored in the Brethren in Christ Church, he endeavored in his editing to maintain a balance between opposing positions on the doctrine. This editorial policy, however, led in 1918 to his replacement as editor by Vernon Stump, a strong holiness advocate. Thereafter, under Stump, Evangelical Visitor became a holiness paper.
From 1917 to 1925 he taught Bible at Messiah Bible College (later Messiah College). Throughout his life he was a respected Bible commentator and Bible conference speaker.
Bibliography
Sider, E. Morris. Nine Portraits: Brethern in Christ Biographical Sketches. Nappanee, IN : Evangel Press, 1978: 213-44.
Wittlinger, Carlton O. Quest for Piety and Obedience: The Story of the Brethren in Christ. Nappanee, IN .: Evangel Press, 1978: 204-5.
Evangelical Visitor (17 August 1931): 259.
| Author(s) | E. Morris Sider |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1990 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Sider, E. Morris. "Detwiler, George Bechtel (1847-1931)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1990. Web. 23 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Detwiler,_George_Bechtel_(1847-1931)&oldid=87060.
APA style
Sider, E. Morris. (1990). Detwiler, George Bechtel (1847-1931). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Detwiler,_George_Bechtel_(1847-1931)&oldid=87060.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 227. All rights reserved.
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