Freedom from Sinful Thoughts

J. Heinrich Arnold (1913-1982) is best known for his books Discipleship and Freedom from Sinful Thoughts, which have helped thousands to follow Christ in their daily lives, and for his pastoral care as elder of the Bruderhof communities. When Heinrich was seven, his parents Eberhard and Emmy Arnold and their five children left a bourgeois life in Berlin for a dilapidated villa in the German village of Sannerz, where they founded a Christian community based on Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. As a young man, Heinrich Arnold refused to serve in Hitler's armed forces and was forced to flee Germany. He studied agriculture in Zurich, Switzerland, and in 1936 married Annemarie Waechter, a kindergarten teacher. In 1938 they moved to England, where Heinrich managed the community's farm. In 1941 the community was forced to emigrate to South America. In 1954, Heinrich Arnold and his family moved to the fledgling Woodcrest Bruderhof in Rifton, New York, where he served as pastor for the rest of his life. Those who knew him best remember Heinrich Arnold as a down-to-earth man who loved life and would warmly welcome any troubled person in for a cup of coffee and a chat.