Editorial
October, 1970
Volume 5. Number 4
The Anabaptists (as well as the Pietists) had a tremendous influence on Alexander Mack and the early Brethren. Some of the younger members of the Church of the Brethren are appealing to the practices of the Anabaptists, in order to justify their noncooperation with the state. Some say that just as the Anabaptists refused to have their babies baptized, so Christians today should refuse to cooperate with the Selective Service, etc. The article in this issue of the BRF Witness is a study of Anabaptist thought.
The 1970 Annual Conference Central Committee [Program and Arrangements Committee] arranged for a discussion of the theme Anabaptist Thought Today at one of the post-evening insight sessions of the Conference. The message in this BRF Witness was delivered at that session. Note that the Anabaptists accepted the entire New Testament, when studied in context and in light of the laws of grammar, literally–and they disobeyed the state only when the state required them to do something which was expressly forbidden in the New Testament, or when they were forbidden to perform an act clealy required by the Scriptures. When the New Testament spoke clearly, the acted. At all other times, they were not permitted “to despise, blaspheme, or resist the government.”
Basic Principles of Anabaptist Thought
By Harold S. Martin
We have been asked to speak on several questions related to the theme, “Anabaptist Thought Today.” The questions assigned are these:
[1] As you understand Anabaptism historically, what do you feel are some of its most important themes for the life of the Church of the Brethren today?
[2] Where and in what form do you see Anabaptist themes and values existing in the life of the church today?
[3] Where and in what form do you see Anabaptist themes and values existing in the life of the world today?
The Roman Catholic Church had declined in spiritual vitality down through the years, and by the early sixteenth century the church had become so corrupt that great numbers of Christians were calling for reformation, but reformation was slow in coming. During the 1500s, however, under the leadership of such men as Luther and Calvin and Zwingli, thousands of people broke away from the Catholic Church, and established independent Protestant churches. Luther and Zwingli and the other Reformers instituted some very excellent reforms — but when they saw what it would cost to come all the way back to Scriptural ground on such matters as nonconformity and nonresistance and voluntary church membership — they simply failed, and even persecuted those who disagreed with them.
The Anabaptists were a group of Christians who opposed both the apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church, and the compromises of the Protestant Reformers. Their ideal was the primitive Christianity of the church of New Testament times. Harold Bender, the Mennonite historian, states three major themes of the Anabaptist movement, and these [as I understand Anabaptism historically] are important themes for the life of the Church of the Brethren today. The themes were practical discipleship, voluntary church membership, and the practice of love and nonresistance.
1. PRACTICAL DISCIPLESHIP
The Anabaptists were devoted to the Scriptures.
The Protestant Reformers emphasized salvation through faith alone. They said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” But their emphasis on justification by faith alone, resulted in a cheap grace, and in hundreds of baptized church members who had no thought of counting the cost, and of taking up the cross daily and following Christ.
The Anabaptists saw the fallacy of the “only believe” doctrine, and said that to be a Christian involves much more than a mere intellectual belief — to be a Christian means to follow Christ in one’s daily life. This Anabaptist concept of discipleship is summarized in the words of Menno Simons: “Verily, they are not of the true church of Christ, who merely boast of his name. But those are of the true church of Christ who are born from above, who are of a penitent mind, who obey [God], and live according to his holy commandments.” This practical discipleship was central to Anabaptist belief because of their respect for the Scriptures. The Anabaptists were “biblicists” — that is, they tried to follow the New Testament literally. They had a fervent desire to obey every detail of the Scriptures. Alexander Mack says [in the preface to his book, Rites and Ordinances]: “We see how strictly God commanded his people to observe the laws which he had made known by his servant Moses. So…God will be still more strict to have observed all that he has in these latter times revealed…by his beloved Son.” He says that those who are promised eternal life, are those who “will obey him in all things, in small matters as well as in the great.”
The Anabaptists tried to follow the details of the New Testament literally, and this led them to oppose such things as divorce, going to war, the taking of oaths, and even the wearing of gold rings. And it led them to practice such things as feetwashing, the lovefeast, the sister’s headcovering, and modesty in attire. The Anabaptists said that a system of theology [a carefully stated creed] doesn’t amount to much, unless its principles are lived out in the daily lives of the church members.
2. VOLUNTARY CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
The Anabaptists rejected infant baptism. The word “Anabaptist” means “rebaptizer,” or “the again-baptizer.” During the Reformation, both Roman Catholics and Protestants insisted that the church must include everyone in the community, and so the law required that each baby born within the confines of a certain state, had to be baptized into the church which happened to be the religious affiliation of the prince of that particular province. Thus everybody was a church member, but many within the church showed no signs of spiritual life. They were baptized as infants; there was no decision of their own.
By way of contrast, the Anabaptists believed that the church should include only those who had been born again, and who were living a transformed life. To the Anabaptists, the church was not the entire community, but a select group, keeping itself separated from the world. They considered infant baptism a meaningless and useless rite, and they insisted on rebaptism at the time when a person accepted Christ of his own accord. Baptism was not merely a ritual for new-born infants [to make sure that everyone in the community belongs to the state church], but baptism was a sign of the new birth [an outward sign of an inward change].
The Anabaptists did not believe that the entire social order could be Christianized, and that the church must comprise everybody — but they did believe that in the church they could create a truly Christian society. And so they tried to maintain a pure church by having included in its membership only those who voluntarily chose to become members — and by exercising a vigorous discipline within the church.
3. THE PRACTICE OF LOVE AND NONRESISTANCE
The Anabaptists stood for absolute separation of church and state. They held firmly to the principle of non-participation in war.
They believed strongly that the state was necessary, and that it was indeed ordained of God for the maintenance of order in an unregenerate society. But they also believed that the Christian could have no part in the use of force — whether as a soldier in the army, or even as a magistrate in the civil government. They stood firmly for the separation of church and state.
The Anabaptists did not take a stand of opposition to war, but rather, they took a stand of nonparticipation in it. They were not merely humanitarian pacifists crusading for the end of all wars. The historian Bender says that the Anabaptists “saw the whole of history [from the fall of the first Adam, down to the second coming of Christ], as a great battle between God and his enemies. There was no humanistic view of getting rid of war in history.” The Anabaptists [who had a strong influence on Alexander Mack and the early Brethren] recognized that the unregenerate world was not capable of living a nonresistant life, and that the state operated by sub-Christian principles — but the Christian lived by nonresistant principles, and therefore was separate from the state. The Dortrecht Confession [adopted by the Anabaptists in Dortrecht, Holland in 1632], says, “We also believe and confess that God has instituted civil government for the punishment of the wicked and the protection of the pious…Wherefore we are not permitted to despise, blaspheme, or resist the government, but we are to acknowledge it as a minister of God, and be subject and obedient to it — in all things that do not militate against the laws and commandments of God…[we are] also faithfully to pay it custom, tax, and tribute; thus giving it what is its due, as Jesus Christ taught, did himself, and commanded his followers to do.”
The humanitarian pacifist passes resolutions expressing opposition to war; he urges the nations of the world to disarm, and to find “a Christian way” to solve international problems; he views the state as an agency for Christianizing the social order. These are excellent ideals, but they are based on a wrong concept of sin, Christianity, and the kingdom of God. The Anabaptist nonresistant sees no possibility for transforming human nature apart from the grace of God; he believes that loyalty to God’s kingdom limits his participation in earthly governments; he contributes to the government through peaceful living, rather than through direct political action; he expresses appreciation for the government and prays for it, but does not attempt to control it, nor demand that it follow a certain course of action with respect to foreign policy, etc.
CONCLUSION
[1] As you understand Anabaptism historically, whet do you feel are some of its most important themes for the life of the Church of the Brethren today?
The themes are practical discipleship [obedience even to the details of the Scriptures]; voluntary church membership [a pure church composed only of those who voluntarily choose to live a transformed life]; the practice of nonresistance [a strict observance of separation between church and state].
[2] Where and in what form do you see Anabaptist themes and values existing in the life of the church today?
The theme of practical discipleship is seen today in the Church’s emphasis on “the good life” [emphasizing not a creed, but good living]. But the desire to obey every detail of the Scriptures is fading rapidly in the Church of the Brethren, even to the point that those who do attempt to follow the New Testament literally, are not usually called by the nice word “biblicists,” but by the ugly word, “legalists.” [I have discovered, however, that those who level the charge of “legalism” usually don’t know what legalism is].
The theme of voluntary church membership is universally held throughout the Church of the Brethren today, and we commend the Church for maintaining this position. But the concept of the Church as a select group, composed of transformed individuals [keeping itself separate from the world, and disciplined], is being endangered by the emphasis on “a turn to the world.” There is often very little evidence of changed lives, of church discipline, and of standards and restrictions and regulations.
The theme of love and nonresistance is seen today in the Church’s emphasis on pacifism. But today, the biblical nonresistance of the Anabaptists and Pietists is being replaced by a humanistic pacifism — a crusade for a world without war.
[3] Where and in what form do you see Anabaptist themes and values existing in the life of the world today?
None of these themes exist in the world; only believers are capable of practicing the biblical themes and values upheld by the Anabaptists.
It is my conviction that the Church of the Brethren should move beyond the ecumenical movement [as symbolized in the Councils of Churches]; and even beyond the evangelical movement [as symbolized in the Billy Graham Crusades and the Congresses on Evangelism]; and again recapture the Anabaptist vision of practicing the principles of the biblical faith as taught in the Scriptures and handed down by our Anabaptist forerunners.
The foregoing message was given at a post-evening session of the
Church of the Brethren Annual Conference at Lincoln, Nebraska on June 26. 1970.
