The
spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation was lit by Martin Luther in 1517
when he nailed the 95 theses to the door of the church in the German town of
Wittenberg. This act set off a series of events that was to culminate in a
schism with the Catholic Church; an institution that was viewed by many people as
corrupt, avaricious and unbiblical. The largest groups of reformers were led by
Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli which eventually resulted in the Protestant
denominations of Lutheran, Presbyterian and Reformed. However, there was a smaller, more extreme
faction of the Reformation that believed the changes being made did not go far
enough in restoring the church to what the Bible taught. Known as the Anabaptists, this group offered
a whole new vision of how the church could exist in a secular society. It is no overstatement to suggest that their
beliefs and practices have played a role in shaping modern Christianity and
Western society.
The Anabaptist movement officially began on January
21, 1525 when a number of people met at the home of Felix Manz for prayer and
direction. At that meeting, George
Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him upon his confession of faith in
Christ. Afterwards, George Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others who were
present. The word Anabaptist means “re-baptizer” and this act was not only a
religious sacrament but it also challenged civil government as the refusal to
accept infant baptism undermined a seamless Christian society where church and
state were combined.
These re-baptizers had been frustrated by the pace of
change that Reformation leaders such as Zwingli, who was leading the movement
in Zurich were making. These believers,
based on their understanding of scripture, didn’t want to merely reform the
church; they wanted to restore it to its initial purity and simplicity. To do that they believed that the church
could only be comprised of adults who chose
to follow Christ and be baptized.
Thus the Anabaptists developed a practice of
separatist non-resistance that is encapsulated in the Schleitheim Confession
that was formulated at a synod on February 24, 1527. By that time, the original founders of the
Anabaptist movement, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz and George Blaurock had either
died, been expelled or martyred. The young Anabaptist Movement was now led by
Michael Sattler who was working at a time of intense persecution as many local
governments passed edicts that called for the death of anyone who professed to
be an Anabaptist. The whole movement
felt a deep sense of alienation, separation and oppression from the mainstream
culture and governments.
Sattler as the author of the Schleitheim Confession,
lived with the reality of friends having property confiscated, being exiled,
imprisoned, mutilated and killed and he also was tortured and burned at the
stake in May of 1527, less than 3 months after the Schleitheim synod. Ultimately thousands of Anabaptists were
killed for their faith by both Catholics and Protestants alike and “it is a fact recognized by many recent historians that the
persecution of the Anabaptists surpassed in severity the persecution of the
early Christians by pagan Rome!”[1]
The Schleitheim Confession was not a
comprehensive statement of faith but the resolution of specific issues that
“were regarded by the Swiss Brethern as drawing the dividing line between true
Christians and the ‘world’”.[2]
These different issues, which included baptism, separation from the ‘world’,
the Sword and refusal of oaths became foundational to how Anabaptists believed
and lived their lives. In terms of baptism they agreed that it would only be
administered to those who have repented, amended their lives, believed that
Christ died for their sins, and requested it themselves. Infants, therefore
were prohibited from being baptized. In terms of separation with the world,
there was a sharp line drawn between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the
world and the true Christian should have no part with the kingdom of the world
which included other Catholic and Protestant state churches. Under no circumstances should violence be
used as Jesus modeled in his life. Also a Christian should not become a magistrate
or hold public office. No oaths should
be taken as Jesus prohibited the taking of oaths and swearing.
Whether one agrees with the stance the
Anabaptists took regarding their radical ideology and practices that completely
separated them from the mainstream of 16th century Europe, one
cannot help but admire the conviction and extreme sacrifice they were prepared
to make for their belief in what Christian discipleship entailed. These bold men and women, were pioneers in
forging many of the societal principles that comprise the foundation of our
modern Western civilization. As Harold
Bender wrote in his treatise on “The Anabaptist Vision”:
“There can be no question but that the
great principles of freedom of conscience, separation of church and state and
voluntarism in religion, so basic in American Protestantism, and so essential
to democracy, ultimately are derived from the Anabaptists of the Reformation
period, who for the first time clearly enunciated them, and challenged the
Christian world to follow their practice.”[3]
Through their blood, sacrifice and deep
conviction, the Anabaptists planted the seeds that led to the basic principles
of our modern, pluralistic, democratic society that separates church and state
and allows people the freedom to choose their beliefs and worship
accordingly. From the standpoint of
where the world was at in the 16th century and how far the world has
come, this was no small feat.
[1] Horsch, John. Mennonites in Europe
(Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1950) 75
[2]
Stayer, James M. Anabaptists and the Sword (Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press,
1976) 119
[3] Mennonite Quarterly Review 18, 2
(1944): 68
