Anabaptists And Hutterites
The term “radical,” defined as “back to one’s roots,” that pertains to the
religious movements of the Mennonites, Anabaptists, and Hutterites is really a
matter of personal opinion. If a religious cult’s identity is to maintain a
proclaimed moral higher ground or its theological opinion of biblical text is
different than the mainstream, what makes that radical? I will elaborate on their
historical views and their surviving present day cultures. In addition, I will
discuss why the term “radical” plagues them.
“Back-to-their-roots” was a movement against the life penetrating
control of the religious canon of mainly the Catholic Church. Not only the
Anabaptist and associated sects but also the Quakers, …show more content…
And when the lord your God delivers it into your hands you shall strike every
male in it with the edge of the sword”. (Deut 20:12, 13 NKJV)
Apocalyptic teachings are very strong within the Old Testament-orientated
Revolutionary movement. They reference for instance the book of Daniel which
proclaims destruction and death in the end times. The Revolutionaries also
taught separation from religious centralism. Thomas Müntzer states, “The
church calls people to be delivered form slavery to the world-system and to enter
the freedom and security of a new community, God’s people, the church. The
church, as a separated community, is meant to be God’s example in and to the
world a people who have heard of the destruction which is to come, and have
believed in the Savior who has been offered” (Lindberg 248)
The strong emphasis on communistic style living was a major component
of these first two sect’s of the Anabaptist movement. Is this idea of “separation”
really a form of radical thinking? Maybe not, Jesus taught that in order to follow
him, one was to separate themselves from the world. However, what it means
to be separate from the world is completely a matter of Interpretation as can …show more content…
(Forell 368) Sebastian Franck suggested that in
its infancy the church could not dispense with such crutches, but when it
discarded them in its maturity, the Father would be pleased rather than angered.
(Forell 368) Other leaders in this movement like Casper Schwenckfeld
suspended infant baptism because he believed it was based in superstition.
The “Lord’s Supper” is another debated Christian/Catholic sacrament that
the Spiritualists rejected. The Catholics believe in what is called
Transubstantiation. At the very moment that the priest raises the bread
above the alter and pronounces the consecration, the bread becomes the actual
body of Christ. (Erb web link) For non-Catholic Christians, consubstantiation of
the bread is a bit more mystical. They believe that during the sacrament the
substance of the body of Christ is present alongside the substance of the bread
and wine.
Schwenckfeld, Craultwald and other Spiritualist Anabaptists debated at
great lengths what the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper really meant. Obviously
they did not side with the popular religious canon. Sometime later,
religious movements of the Mennonites, Anabaptists, and Hutterites is really a
matter of personal opinion. If a religious cult’s identity is to maintain a
proclaimed moral higher ground or its theological opinion of biblical text is
different than the mainstream, what makes that radical? I will elaborate on their
historical views and their surviving present day cultures. In addition, I will
discuss why the term “radical” plagues them.
“Back-to-their-roots” was a movement against the life penetrating
control of the religious canon of mainly the Catholic Church. Not only the
Anabaptist and associated sects but also the Quakers, …show more content…
And when the lord your God delivers it into your hands you shall strike every
male in it with the edge of the sword”. (Deut 20:12, 13 NKJV)
Apocalyptic teachings are very strong within the Old Testament-orientated
Revolutionary movement. They reference for instance the book of Daniel which
proclaims destruction and death in the end times. The Revolutionaries also
taught separation from religious centralism. Thomas Müntzer states, “The
church calls people to be delivered form slavery to the world-system and to enter
the freedom and security of a new community, God’s people, the church. The
church, as a separated community, is meant to be God’s example in and to the
world a people who have heard of the destruction which is to come, and have
believed in the Savior who has been offered” (Lindberg 248)
The strong emphasis on communistic style living was a major component
of these first two sect’s of the Anabaptist movement. Is this idea of “separation”
really a form of radical thinking? Maybe not, Jesus taught that in order to follow
him, one was to separate themselves from the world. However, what it means
to be separate from the world is completely a matter of Interpretation as can …show more content…
(Forell 368) Sebastian Franck suggested that in
its infancy the church could not dispense with such crutches, but when it
discarded them in its maturity, the Father would be pleased rather than angered.
(Forell 368) Other leaders in this movement like Casper Schwenckfeld
suspended infant baptism because he believed it was based in superstition.
The “Lord’s Supper” is another debated Christian/Catholic sacrament that
the Spiritualists rejected. The Catholics believe in what is called
Transubstantiation. At the very moment that the priest raises the bread
above the alter and pronounces the consecration, the bread becomes the actual
body of Christ. (Erb web link) For non-Catholic Christians, consubstantiation of
the bread is a bit more mystical. They believe that during the sacrament the
substance of the body of Christ is present alongside the substance of the bread
and wine.
Schwenckfeld, Craultwald and other Spiritualist Anabaptists debated at
great lengths what the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper really meant. Obviously
they did not side with the popular religious canon. Sometime later,