History of the Church II: Week Two

The Anabaptists  Read story page 247 from Church History.  Their most enduring idea is separation of church and state.  “…the Anabaptists demonstrate those who live most devoutly for the world to come are often in the best position to change the present.” Shelley p. 248

Beliefs of the Anabaptists  Name meant “rebaptizer” and it was intended to associate the radicals with heretics in the early church and subject them to persecution which it did.  The most fundamental issue was the nature of the church and its relation to the civil government.  Luther taught that common people have a right to search Scripture. Anabaptists believed the New Testament did not support a state run religion which both the Catholics and the Lutherans operated under.

Why separation of church and state?  In 1519 at Zurich, Ulrich Zwingli was preaching a reformation at the same time as Luther.  He used the pulpit as his platform and his sermons about the New Testament created quite a stir. By strictly following the Bible, he preached against the use of candles, statues, music and pictures. Later in England this would be called “Puritanism”.  However, Zwingli wanted the support of the city fathers. When some of his disciples said they would not baptize their new born son a conflict arose.

Why separation of church and state?  Infant baptism was used by the state to make sure everyone was part of the church. It had less to do about following Jesus but as a way to make sure the state controlled religion.  Zwingli wanted to keep the support of the state in Zurich with HIS form of Christianity. His members lead by Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, wanted no part of the state controlling ANY religion.  They separated from the church and started to flee across Europe. See map.

The Anabaptists

Persecution of the Anabaptists  In late January, 1525 they formed the first church free from government control in the next village over from Zurich.  Severe persecution followed over the next two centuries as several thousand Anabaptists were killed over their beliefs.  Under the preaching of Menno Simons ( ) most of the descendants of the Anabaptists became known as “Mennonites” as they took on Simons beliefs of pacifism and not bearing arms in war.

Impact of the Anabaptists  In 1527, most Anabaptists met and adopted the Schleitheim Confession.  Here are the four major provisions of the document:  Discipleship – A relationship with Christ not only means believing the good news but actually having a daily walk with God by reading and praying  Principle of love – This is why they choose pacifism and lived in Christian communities  Congregational view of the church – The members were both priests and missionaries  Separation of church and state