|
Anabaptism
One of the radical
movements of the Reformation of the 16th century that believed in the
primacy of the Bible, that only adult baptism was valid as an external
witness of the believer's personal covenant of inner faith, in the
separation of church from state and that true Christians should not bear
arms, use force, or hold government office, and also in the separation
of believers from nonbelievers.
The term "Anabaptist" originated from the practice of baptizing individuals
who previously had been baptized, often as infants.
The Anabaptist movement arose out of the economic, social,
political, and religious situation in early 16th century Europe. These include
peasant unrest brought on by social and economic injustice, the rhetoric of the
fiery German peasant leader
Thomas Müntzer,
the writings of
Martin Luther and, especially,
Andreas Karlstadt, and also the influence of late medieval
mysticism and asceticism, as
well as the dynamics of reform in specific monasteries.
Anabaptism began officially in
Zollikon,
near
Zurich,
on January 21, 1525, when
Grebel,
Mantz,
George Blaurock, and others baptized
each other on confession of faith, thus establishing a separatist congregation. This
event, however, was preceded by debates with
Zwingli and the Zurich city
council, beginning in 1523, over the characteristics and nature of desired reforms.
Anabaptists were consistently hunted down by the
Täufenjager
(baptist hunters) and executed, usually by drowning —
sarcastically called the third baptism — and also as human torches. Just a
few of the original Anabaptist leaders escaped this horrific fate.
Sources: (1) Jones, Lindsay (Editor),
The Encyclopedia of Religion,
MacMillan Reference Books; (2) Estep, William Roscoe,
The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to
Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company; (3) Gordon, Ronald J.,
Anabaptism in 16th Century Europe,
April, 1998.
|
|
|
