Johann Christoph Arnold
| Johann Christoph Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1940 (age 76–77) England |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Subjects |
Conflict resolution Death anxiety Marriage Parenting |
| Spouse | Verena Arnold |
| Relatives | Eberhard Arnold (grandfather) |
Johann Christoph Arnold (November 14, 1940 - April 15, 2017) was a Christian writer and pastor. He was the elder of the Bruderhof Communities between 1983 and 2001. Arnold authored 12 books.
Arnold is the son of Annemarie (née Wachter) and Johann Heinrich Arnold (1913-1982), and grandson of Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935), who co-founded the Bruderhof Communities in 1920. Arnold was born in the Cotswolds, where the Bruderhof fled from Nazi Germany. He traveled with his parents to Paraguay but then moved to New York in 1954. He lived in Rifton, New York until his death in 2017. On May 22, 1966, he married Verena Meier with whom he had eight children.
Arnold helped found Breaking the Cycle of Violence, a conflict resolution program in the wake of the Columbine high school massacre. Through the program he spoke to school students and adults about the importance of forgiveness in the US, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Rwanda and other places. He traveled and spoke extensively with Steven McDonald, a US police officer who was shot and paralyzed, and who contributed to Arnold's book on forgiveness.
Arnold wrote a total of twelve books, covering a wide range of topics. The books are published by Plough Publishing House. Many of these books have become bestsellers and large numbers of copies have been given away for free, or are available as free e-books.
Arnold's best known book is Why Forgive?, which has been published in more than 10 languages. The book details the stories of people who have forgiven after negative life events. The book has been endorsed by Nelson Mandela, who said: "A much-needed message not only for South Africa, but for the whole world."
"Read this book. It deals with some hard issues, head-on. It might give you more than you wanted to think about. But I think it will also help you see, as it helped me to see, that there are more stories of love and forgiveness in the world than there are of hatred and revenge." - Steven McDonald
In 1996, Arnold wrote A Plea for Purity, later renamed Sex, God and Marriage. The book was endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI while he was still a cardinal saying "I am very happy for this book and for its moral conviction." The foreword was written by Mother Teresa, who wrote:
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