Posted on 05/02/2013 6:40:01 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
I am often asked, “What is an Anabaptist?” and “Who are the Anabaptists?” If one listened to everyone who claimed an Anabaptist connection, it would be easy to be confused. For many today a progressive politics is Anabaptist; for others it means being either Yoderian (John Howard Yoder) or Hauerwasian (Stanley Hauerwas). Fair enough, but neither of them is the full representation of Anabaptism.
So today I want to sketch the view of the one description of Anabaptism that shaped the 20th century the most. I refer to Harold S. Bender‘s classic essay called “The Anabaptist Vision.” No, it is not true that all Anabaptists agree with Bender, and no, some today (like Thomas Finger, in his big study, A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology, or J. Denny Weaver, Becoming Anabaptist) want to frame things in a different way, but it can be said that Bender’s sketch is the most influential view of Anabaptism of the 20th century.
There are three major dimensions of the Reformation: Luther and the Lutherans in Germany, Calvin and the Reformed in Switzerland, and Zwingli-generated (and then finished later by others) Anabaptism. Anabaptism spread through Switzerland, South Germany, Moravia and then into the Netherlands. The early Anabaptist theologians and statements of faith were uniformly Protestant in theology (justification, salvation by faith) yet were not simply Lutheran or Reformed. Their emphasis on adult baptism, upon profession of faith, as part of commitment to be a disciple, and to form into a fellowship of discipleship distinguished the Anabaptists from both the Lutherans and the Reformed, not to mention the Catholics.
Anabaptism is largely responsible for the nonconformist impulse of the church — to be sure, it has some connections to those before it, like the Waldensians of Italy, but the Anabaptists were radical in their nonconformity to the State and to State-sponsored churches — that is, the Catholic Church, Lutherans and the Reformed. All non-State churches in the U.S., and that’s most, owe some debt to the Anabaptists.
They were a courageous lot — thousands were put to death. They paid their life to be nonconformists, and there’s a positive way to put this: they died in order to be faithful to their commitment to follow the Bible, the New Testament and Jesus Christ.
For Bender, the Anabaptists are the full implementation of the Reformation. Neither Luther nor Calvin went far enough. Bender’s focus is Luther, not Calvin, and he cites evidence that Luther late in his life realized his “mass church,” which was basically everyone born into the community/State would be baptized and be Lutheran, was ineffective in transforming the life of the person. The early Anabaptists, like Conrad Grebel, observed the lack of discipleship among the Lutherans of the Reformation. So the Anabaptists carried through the Lutheran reforms and broke with 1,500 years of the church.
Bender is famous for three features of the Anabaptist vision:
The essence of Christianity, or the Christian life, is discipleship — a committed following of Christ in all areas of life. The word on the street in the 16th century — and this word repeated often enough by bitter enemies of the Anabaptists — was that they were consistent and devout Christians. If Luther’s word was “faith,” the word for the Anabaptists was “follow.” The inner conversion was to lead to external transformation.
A new conception of the church as a brotherhood of fellowship. The ruling image of a church among the Catholics and Reformers was more national and institutional and sacramental, while the ruling image for the Anabaptists was fellowship or family. Joining was voluntary; the requirement was conversion; the commitment was to holy living and fellowship with one another. Thus, the Anabaptist separated from the “world” to form a society of the faithful. This view of the church led to economic availability and liability for one another.
A new ethic of love and peaceful nonresistance. Apart from rare exceptions like Balthasar Hubmaier and the nutcases around Thomas Müntzer, the Anabaptists lived a life shaped by love and nonviolence. They refused to coerce anyone.
Thus, for Bender, the focus was on discipleship not sacraments or the inner enjoyment of justification. The church was not an institution or a place for Word proclamation in emphasis but instead a brotherhood of love. In addition, against Catholics and Calvinists who believed in social reform, like the Lutherans the Anabaptists were less optimistic about social transformation. But, unlike the Lutherans who split life into the secular and sacred, the Anabaptists wanted a radical commitment that meant the creation of an alternative Christian society.
If you mean ‘faith’ as in the way we live due to our respective religions, then I can. To wit: If and when a mudslime tries to compel me to live under his rules. If you mean killing someone just because they’re a different faith, then I agree with you wholeheartedly.
Religion came first, LONG before government as we know it today.
If a government is made up of people hostile to the beliefs held by church-goers, and then attempts to impose it’s version of how life should be lived upon them, you now have a spark to ignite a fire.
The beginnings of the Amish denomination.
I didn’t think you needed a specific answer. Of course I understand, for the same reason as any meeting... No one wants to be killed.
As I said, I don’t understand why a govt would kill people for attending church.
Neither will I
Ok, thanks
Why the hostility? That’s what I don’t understand
Why "of course"?
You didn't seem to be able to understand earlier. So it was my example that convinced you?
No, it’s pretty simple to figure out why people don’t want to be killed.
So why did you say you didn’t understand it?
The Anabaptists generally took the opposite view of the Lutherans and the Calvinists and the Catholics.
Both the Catholics and other Reformers believed in the Church-State model of human government.
The Anabaptists took the view that the believers in the Church were excluded from worldly formation of State governments.
While the Reformers believed Baptism was required for salvation, the Church-State began to baptize everybody from infancy. The Anabaptists held the view that the baptism was of no effect for salvation until after the age of accountability and a person had been justified by faith alone in Christ alone. Hence their second Baptism after saving faith, or “ANABAPTIST” in their belief.
While most reformed leaders had previously been Catholics and also believed in the Church-State in their governments, the Anabaptists were younger, and typically were killed by the other believe system’ forms of government before they were old enough to mature in their theology. Anabaptism is more characterized by later pacifism movements, which in many instances, died out, because they were literally being killed off by either Catholics, or other Reformers.
It depends upon one’s faith, i.e. belief.
Catholics during that time tended to be amillenial and also believed God had given them authority over the world.
The RCC was working to keep the Church together.
They identified government in the State and the Church as being one controlled by the Church.
If somebody disagreed, they were to be anathema and in many cases either to change or to be put to death.
The Reformers had advanced in the soteriology, but still tended to a Church-State run government. Oppose their theology and you are guilty of treason, again, off with their heads.
An old one...
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: “Stop. Don’t do it.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
“Well, there’s so much to live for!”
“Like what?”
“Are you religious?”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?”
“Christian.”
“Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”
He said: “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.”
I said: “Die, heretic scum,” and pushed him off.
“I don’t understand why people kill others and have wars because of differences in their religious beliefs.”
I don’t understand why people kill others over money, drugs, women, etc.
A quick read of Genesis might provide a clue.
“A quick read of Genesis might provide a clue.”
Well, duh.
Really?
And both the obituary and the wanted poster described them as regular contributors to the Free Republic Religion Forum Tag-Team Perpetual Donnybrook.
;-)
So now you do understand?
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