Making Of Martyrs Thought-Provoking Exhibit Touches Past And Present With Facinating Exploration Of Religious Intolerance

Sat., April 27, 1996

Paul Turner Staff Writer

If you’d rather not be challenged by tough questions about what it means to walk the walk of sometimes unpopular religious faith, steer clear of the “Mirror of the Martyrs” exhibit opening in Spokane next week.

It tells the stories of believers who didn’t take the easy way out, often paying for such stands with their lives. “Many people react on a personal level, asking ‘Would I have that kind of courage?”’ said Robert Kreider, the Kansas-based curator of the exhibit.

“Mirror of the Martyrs,” a walk-through and read experience, asks questions such as: Why do the powerful fear the weak? What beliefs are worth dying for? Is the teaching to love one’s enemy practical counsel?

The presentation gets its name from a book published in 1685. That volume described the lives of Anabaptist martyrs (the Reformation movement out of which today’s Mennonites, Amish, Brethren, Hutterites and others sprang). And eight of the original copper plates used to produce illustrations for that piece of Christian history will be part of the exhibit.

But the museum-quality display is dominated by interpretive panels and etchings that explore religious persecution, past and present.

Area Mennonite churches are sponsoring the exhibit.

In addition to offering something of cultural value to the community, local Mennonites hope the presentation will help dispel the stereotype that they are the black hats-and-buggies people, said Gary Jewell, senior pastor of a small Spokane congregation. “A lot of people don’t even know we’re here.”

Spokane is the exhibit’s 41st stop on a six-year tour that has attracted more than 40,000 visitors, said Kreider.

Larry Hauder, a regional Mennonite leader in Boise, said anyone curious about the roots and nature of religious intolerance should find “Mirror of the Martyrs” intriguing. “In addition to the history, there are theological and cultural overtones,” he said.

Jewell put it this way: “Any time our faith comes up against the broader consensus of society, the question is, do I keep my mouth shut or am I compelled to speak out and thus receive some disapproval from friends, families and authorities? Or is faith just a personal thing and it’s only between me and God?”

The exhibit is a production of The Martyrs Mirror Trust, a foundation dedicated to preserving and communicating the Anabaptist heritage.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Exhibit schedule The Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit, on display from May 3 through June 9, will be at Whitworth College’s Campus Center, in the Parr Conference Room. The room is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. After May 17, will be open weekdays only, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Exhibit schedule The Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit, on display from May 3 through June 9, will be at Whitworth College’s Campus Center, in the Parr Conference Room. The room is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. After May 17, will be open weekdays only, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.