Liberty University

Research Paper
The Origin of Anabaptist

Submitted to Dr. Jerry Sutton
“Church History” – CHHI 694

By
Jonathan Whitfield
August 11, 2013

Table of Content
Thesis Statement 3
Introduction 4

Origins 5

History 7

Beliefs 10

Rituals and Worship 12

Ethics and Community 13

Conclusion 15

Bibliography 16

Thesis Statement

The Anabaptists were distinct because of their assertion of the necessity of adult baptism, rejecting the infant baptism practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, and by defining their characteristics in the belief in the separation of church and state, and the concept that the church represents the community of the saved.

Introduction
Four hundred seventy years ago the Anabaptist movement was launched with the inauguration of believers' baptism and the formation of the first congregation of the Swiss Brethren in Zurich, Switzerland. The movement was formed to give men and women the opportunity to follow the whole Word of God by the virtues thought by Jesus Christ. This movement also gave a significant stance of issues that were pertinent to their beliefs and the local community. In our view of such participation we would call them dominant and forceful especially when it came to the questions on slavery. This was more than just an active voice, they responded to slavery by assisting the escape efforts of slaves. Quaker and Mennonite Christians in the North helped the railroads to become an avenue for freedom.
The Anabaptist was also known as the Mennonites, named after Menno Simons (1496-1561). The basic belief of the Anabaptists was in adult baptism, but they also supported the separation of church and state and voluntary church membership. While there is great debate on the direct development from the Anabaptists to the growth of the Baptist churches in England, it is very evident that the influence of their beliefs and attitudes became accepted and practiced in particular baptism.

Origins
Beginnings
January 12, 1525, a dozen or so men made their way through the snow at night to the house of Felix Manz. The unforgettable event is preserved in several pieces of literature, and bears the mentioning of eyewitnesses such as George Blaurock, a priest who had recently come to Zurich, from Chur. The evening meeting stared with prayer which was immediately followed by George of the House of Jacob standing up and requesting Conrad Grebel assistance in becoming a baptismal candidate. He referred to it as the true Christian baptism based on his faith and knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ.
After his baptism Grebel and Blaurock proceeded to baptize the rest of the brethren who were gathered. They pledged themselves as true disciple of Jesus Christ and to live lives that would offer faith and allegiance to the same. This would also entail them becoming the teachers of the faith during this time of trailblazing. The movement known as Anabaptist has begun.
Founders
Conrad Grebel: Son of a Zurich Councilor educated in ancient languages in Vienna and Paris. One-time friend of Zwingli, he joined in 1522 the group of faithful Brethren around Zwingli. By 1524 he began to oppose Zwingli's attempts to form a State Church, arguing for an independent and voluntaristic assembly. After his baptism, Conrad traveled the canton promoting Baptist beliefs publicly baptizing hundreds. Eventually he was arrested and thrown into prison where he died in 1526.
Georg Blaurock: A former monk and fiery orator. Being a foreigner, he was whipped and sent out of Zurich after several episodes in prison on January 17th 1527. He then took the Anabaptist message to Biel, Berne and the Catholic province of Tyrol.
Felix Manz: A citizen of Zurich and a Hebrew scholar. The Anabaptists frequently met in his mother's house. He was drowned for Anabaptist beliefs on January 5th 1527 with Zwingli's approval, mother and son forced to watch on. None recanted. Manz was the first victim of a Protestant State Church. 11 others soon followed.
Wilhelm Ruebin and Simon Stumpf: Pastors of Basle and Hongg respectively. They came to Baptist views and were expelled and went on to spread their views through Switzerland and Southern Germany. Tragically, after doing much to establish the Evangelical Anabaptists, Rueblin was to repudiate the movement in 1535. The key teachings topics were scripture alone as final authority, need for a pure church of believers entered through baptism, pacifism the Word is the Christian's sword in a different Kingdom, universal atonement (in response to infant baptism for removing original sin), free-will and experiential understanding of salvation, and imminent coming of Christ. History
Early Developments
Anabaptism spread rapidly despite Ulrich Zwingli's attempts to shut them down. By order of the city council, he had Felix Manz put to death by drowning in January of 1527. He also drove Georg Blaurock out of the canton. Eventually, his steady persecution would disperse and shut down that first Anabaptist church in Zollikon, outside Zurich. It would not, however, stop its spread.
Blaurock continued to preach wherever he went. The fire spread, and others took up the cause. By February of 1527, Michael Sattler, a former Catholic abbot, was able to gather representatives of numerous Anabaptist churches in the town of Schleitheim to discuss their future and the direction they wished to go. The result of that gathering was the Schleitheim Confession; to this day the most commonly cited confession among modern Anabaptist churches.
Schisms and Sects
The Catholic Church held a long strong hold on the religious community that finally loosened to the differences lead by Luther, Zwingli and Calvin. Yet the question among ranks was the scope of the changes and how far would they differ. The leaders seemed to hold on to a closely related version of the Catholic Church which is why the Anabaptist movement found such support in rewriting the rules. As a result, some 40 different sacred sects ended up in Western Europe. While their philosophies speckled somewhat from one another, they have been amalgamated together beneath the name of Anabaptists from their conjoint tradition of baptizing members as adults when they could make the free choice to be Christians. In addition to the Bible as a source of religious truth, they also believed in inner revelation coming directly from God. They were most noted as the Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites.
Missions and Expansion
Among the problems facing the Anabaptists, some of the most pressing illuminate the impact that Anabaptism held during the early years of the Reformation. The teachings and way of life of the Anabaptists, according to the Anabaptists themselves, were merely ways of trying to reinstate the true church, a church of true believers. It did not seem this way to the Magisterial Reformers or to the Roman Church, however. It was those very teachings and acts that made the Anabaptists into the object of numerous persecutions at the hands of both church and state. The dialogues and discussions between the Anabaptists and the Magisterial Reformers show some of the main differences between the groups, while the reactions of both the Roman Church and society to the Anabaptists show that their teachings and manner of living did affect the greater society. Many of these effects are reflected in the historiography of the Anabaptists, which is largely hostile to them and their teachings. It remains one of the largest problems in modern scholarship to separate the hostility of their biographers from the circumstances of Anabaptist existence.
This problem in scholarship, which helps in illuminating how marginal the Anabaptists were from their beginnings, leaves many questions for the less hostile scholars to discern. Where did the Anabaptist impulse for separatism come from? Was it Reformation society that forced the Anabaptists to become a community of separatists, or was it the Anabaptists and their teachings that had a bigger effect? The impulse to join and remain within a society of martyrs is certainly hard to pinpoint. According to the most recent scholars, the Anabaptists had enough unique teachings to exclude them from the churches, especially as most of these teachings were hostile to the churches. But the Anabaptists also remained a small sect while other reformers and their churches grew in huge numbers. In turn, this helped in reasserting the differences between the Anabaptists and others. This marginalization of the Anabaptists by Reformation society, as a result of the very teachings which forced them to be separate, served to limit the impact of the Anabaptists.

Beliefs
Sacred Narratives
The Anabaptists emphasized the authority of scripture and salvation by grace through faith in Christ. The Anabaptist did not entrust the interpretation of Scripture to individuals or scholars or church hierarchy. Instead, the Scriptures were to be read by all believers had received the Holy Ghost, their meaning was to be discerned within the context of the believing community, and every interpretation was to be tested against the Gospel stories of Christ’s life and words.
Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence
During the Second Disputation (1523) concerning the Reformation of the church in Zurich, Zwingli backed away from his earlier call that the council act immediately to abolish Mass, or else he would act on his own, to the more conservative position of not acting without council authorization. This was in a response to the Council's willingness to embrace Reform, but at a pace at which the whole Canton of Zurich could move. To Grebel, Manz and the other Radicals, such a concession was an undermining of Zwingli's own principle of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) as the sole authority in matters of Faith. Grebel and the others saw that in arguing that the magistrates were to determine what reform was to occur, Zwingli was undermining the authority of Scripture as it is God (as He reveals in His Word) who determines how we are to worship, not the State. It was from this concession that the Radical's disillusionment with Zwingli's Reform began.
At first there was no question concerning infant baptism, but rather a call for those who desired to be faithful to partake of the Lord's Supper apart from those who would deny it in word or deed. When it became obvious that the magistry was not going to support their appeals, the radicals began to seek the formation of a voluntaristic group of believers. Meanwhile, the view that the Lord’s Supper was only valid for faith naturally leads on to the view that Baptism was only valid where faith was present. Election to the Covenant was increasingly seen to be only by spiritual Rebirth, not physical birth. This conception caused even Zwingli to doubt infant baptism at one point. However, by this time Zwingli began advocating infant baptism by appealing to a comparison of circumcision with baptism - that both are given to children. The Radicals rejected this interpretation, pointing out that the former was but a type of the other, as Passover (which children had attended) was but a type of the Lord's Supper (which even for Zwingli only adults could attend).
Afterlife and Salvation
The Anabaptists advocated that the Bible taught of salvation by grace through faith alone. They rejected the doctrines of penance, purgatory and indulgences. They believed in the symbolic rather than literal use of the body and blood of Christ at communion-known as transubstantiation. They advocated freedom for priests to marry, and believed that they should conduct services in languages besides Latin. They held to the priesthood of all believers, and that the Bible should be able to be read by the common man.
Rituals and Worship
Sacred Time and Space
Anabaptist argued for a pure church and a radical discipleship in absolute obedience to Scripture. They refused to countenance any form of worship that could not be substantiated by Scripture. Despite their radical origins, several Anabaptist groups kept faithful with genuine conservatism. They worshipped in private homes and remained relatively an isolated community. Although their numbers were unstable, the disciplined lifestyle of these people makes them much admired throughout history.
Rites and Ceremonies
Anabaptists (meaning "re-baptizers") represent a radical Protestant tradition tracing its history to the 16th century. The Anabaptists were distinct because of their assertion of the necessity of adult baptism, rejecting the infant baptism practiced by the Roman Catholic Church. They believed that true baptism required a public confession of both sin and faith, which could only be accomplished as an adult exercise of free will. The early members of this movement abhorred the name "Anabaptist", claiming that since infant baptism was unscriptural and null and void, the baptizing of believers was not a "re-baptism" but in fact the first baptism for them.
The Anabaptists insisted upon the "free course" of the Holy Spirit in worship, yet still maintained it all must be judged according to the Scriptures. One reason given for not attending the state churches was that these institutions forbade the congregation to exercise spiritual gifts according to "the Christian order as taught in the gospel or the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 14.
Ethics and Community
Community Organization
The Anabaptists emphasized the importance of the Christian community in a practical way in the sharing of goods and production. This was based upon the communitarian passage in Acts 2:44, 45 and though implemented by the radicals in Canton Zurich and 'built into their abortive New Jerusalem' by Rothmann and John Beukels of Leyden, it is really the distinguishing feature of the Moravian Anabaptists under Jacob Hutter, founding father of the Hutterites.
Participation in public office was suspect. As Christ had refused the office of king (John 6:15) and also of judge (Luke 12:13), so, too, must the Christian refuse to be involved in earthly government.

Conclusion
Anabaptists in the modern era are known for their distinctive beliefs and cultural heritage. With little variance, they stress very closely the same doctrinal positions as their 16th Century advocates, such as, but not limited to: The Priesthood of all believers; Separation of Church and State, with laws of God taking precedence; voluntary membership, unregulated by the state; Greater emphasis on the authority of Scripture; Baptism as a sign of a believers commitment; Discipleship being central to understanding the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Bibliography
Burrage, Henry. A History of the Baptist in England. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1894.
Carroll, J. The Trail of the Blood. Lexington: Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, 1931.
Cramp, J. Baptist History. Philadelphia: Jas B. Rodgers Co. Printers, 1890.
Hiscox, Edward. Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1980.
Lincoln, C, and Mamiya Lawrence. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1990.
Walker, Williston, Richard Norris, David Lotz, and Robert Handy. The History of the Christian Church. Nw York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.
The Reformation (The Penguin History of the Church), Owen Chadwick, Penguin Books, 1990

The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Marshall Oxford University Press, 2009
The Naked Anabaptist, Stuart Murray. Herald Publishers, 2010 (Kindle Locations 52-53, 70-71).

Anabaptist in 16th Century Europe, Church of the Brethren Article, Ronald J. Gordon, Published April, 1998

The Sermon on the Mount: a theological investigation by Carl G. Vaught, Baylor University Press, 2001 pages 7-10, 11-14 Matthew by Charles H. Talbert, Green Press Publishers, 2010 page 78

The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009, B & H Publishing Group, pages 194- Gospel of Matthew by Craig S. Keener 2009 pages 37-38 Preaching Matthew's Gospel by Richard A. Jensen 1998 pages 25 & 158

The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism William Roscoe Estep. Roadman Press, pages 110, 114-115; Kindle Location). German Peasants' War and Anabaptist Community of Goods, McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion, Series Two (Book 6) by James Strayer, McGill-Queen's University Press (January 10, 1994)

--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. Burrage, Henry. A History of the Baptist in England. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1894.
[ 2 ]. Ibid
[ 3 ]. Anabaptist in 16th Century Europe, Church of the Brethren Article, Ronald J. Gordon, Published April, 1998
[ 4 ]. Ibid
[ 5 ]. Ibid
[ 6 ]. Ibid
[ 7 ]. Cramp, J. Baptist History. Philadelphia: Jas B. Rodgers Co. Printers, 1890.
[ 8 ]. Ibid
[ 9 ]. The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Marshall Oxford University Press, 2009
[ 10 ]. Ibid
[ 11 ]. Walker, Williston, Richard Norris, David Lotz, and Robert Handy. The History of the Christian Church. Nw York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.
[ 12 ]. Ibid
[ 13 ]. German Peasants' War and Anabaptist Community of Goods, McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion, Series Two (Book 6) by James Strayer, McGill-Queen's University Press (January 10, 1994)
[ 14 ]. Anabaptist in 16th Century Europe, Church of the Brethren Article, Ronald J. Gordon, Published April, 1998
[ 15 ]. Anabaptist in 16th Century Europe, Church of the Brethren Article, Ronald J. Gordon, Published April, 1998
[ 16 ]. Cramp, J. Baptist History. Philadelphia: Jas B. Rodgers Co. Printers, 1890.
[ 17 ]. German Peasants' War and Anabaptist Community of Goods, McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion, Series Two (Book 6) by James Strayer, McGill-Queen's University Press (January 10, 1994)
[ 18 ]. The Reformation (The Penguin History of the Church), Owen Chadwick, Penguin Books, 1990
[ 19 ]. Hiscox, Edward. Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1980.