Anabaptists Are Christians Of The Radical Reformation Of The 16Th Century

[beameup]

Anabaptists (from Neo-Latin anabaptista, from the Greek ἀναβαπτισμός: ἀνά- "over again" and βαπτισμός "baptism") are Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th century Europe. Although some consider the Anabaptist movement to be an offshoot of Protestantism, others see it as a distinct movement. The Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites are direct descendants of the movement. Brethren, Bruderhof, and the Apostolic Christian Church are later developments in Anabaptist groups.

This name was given them by their enemies in reference to the practice of "re-baptizing" converts who "already had been baptized" as infants. Anabaptists required that baptismal candidates be able to make their own confessions of faith and so rejected baptism of infants. The early members of this movement did not accept 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.

 

from WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptists

[John81]

Again with the unreliable source of wikipedia.

 

You might want to check some pre-Reformation history where even the RCC acknowledged the existence of Baptists because they were persecuting them long before Luther was even born.

 

One source of this is David Cloud's Way of Life Encyclopedia.

[DaveW]

So what?

Just because some who were called anabaptists MAY have come from some "radical reformation" has no bearing on me.

There have always been believers of God's Word throughout history.

Just because 300 some years after Christ some Emperor made a new religion and took the name Christian to it, doesn't mean they were Christian.
They were wrong then, they are wrong now, and real believers were not born from it.

Reformers or protestants. ... There have always been true Christians apart from anything to do with them.

[John81]

Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist, not wishing to be confused with or identified with the people who bore that name. (In fact, the true Anabaptists were not fond of that name either, because it had unfavorable overtones from early church history.) Even as late as the eighteenth century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly (tho’ falsely) called Anabaptists."

 

The above from an article mostly dealing with English Baptists:

http://www.baptisthistory.org/baptistbeginnings.htm

[2bLikeJesus]

During every period of the "Dark Ages" there were in existence many Christians and many separate and independent Churches, some of them dating back to the times of the Apostles, which were never in any way connected with the Catholic Church. They always wholly rejected and repudiated the Catholics and their doctrines. This is a fact clearly demonstrated by credible history.

 

These Christians were the perpetual OBjects of bitter and relentless persecution. History shows that during the period of the "Dark Ages," about twelve centuries, beginning with A.D. 426, there were about fifty millions of these Christians who died martyr deaths. Very many thousands of others, both preceding and succeeding the "Dark Ages," died under the same hard hand of persecution.

 

These Christians, during these dark days of many centuries, were called by many different names, all given to them by their enemies. These names were sometimes given because of some specially prominent and heroic leader and sometimes from other causes; and sometimes, yea, many times, the same people, holding the same views, were called by different names in different localities. But amid all the many changes of names, there was one special name or rather designation, which clung to at least some of these Christians, throughout all the "Dark Ages," that designation being "Ana-Baptist." This compound word applied as a designation of some certain Christians was first found in history during the third century; and a suggestive factsoon after the origin of Infant Baptism, and a more suggestive fact even prior to the use of the name Catholic. Thus the name "Ana-Baptists" is the oldest denominational name in history.

 

A striking peculiarity of these Christians was and continued to be in succeeding centuries: They rejected the man-made doctrine of "Infant Baptism" and demanded rebaptism, even though done by immersion for all those who came to them, having been baptized in infancy. For this peculiarity they were called "Ana-Baptists."

 

This, special designation was applied to many of these Christians who bore other nicknames; especially is this true of the Donatists, Paulicians, Albigenses and Ancient Waldenses and others. In later centuries this designation came to be a regular name, applied to a distinct group. These were simply called "Ana- Baptists" and gradually all other names were dropped. Very early in the sixteenth century, even prior to the origin of the Lutheran Church, the first of all the Protestant Churches, the word "ana" was beginning to be left off, and they were simply called "Baptists."

 

Into the "dark ages" went a group of many churches which were never in any way identified with the Catholics. Out of the "dark ages" came a group of many churches, which had never been in any way identified with the Catholics.

 

The following are some of the fundamental doctrines to which they held when they went in: And the same are, the fundamental doctrines to which they held when they came out: And the same are the fundamental doctrines to which they now hold.

 

FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES

 

1. A spiritual Church, Christ its founder, its only head and law giver.

2. Its ordinances, only two, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They are typical and memorial, not saving.

3. Its officers, only two, bishops or pastors and deacons; they are servants of the church.

4. Its Government, a pure Democracy, and that executive only, never legislative.

5. Its laws and doctrines: The New Testament and that only.

6. Its members. Believers only, they saved by grace, not works, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

7. Its requirements. Believers on entering the church to be baptized, that by immersion, then OBedience and loyalty to all New Testament laws.

8. The various churches--separate and independent in their execution of laws and discipline and in their responsibilities to God--but cooperative in work.

9. Complete separation of Church and State.

10. Absolute Religious liberty for all.

 

Bro. Garry

[Genevanpreacher]

You will also notice in history the name Anabaptist in a negative way, just because on of the most famous groups in Munster, Germany, were 'new worlders' believing in their group being a 'new heaven' on earth and really messing with biblical doctrine and receiving the nick-name 'Monster Anabaptists'. (I read an article in Encyclopedia Britannica, and had a story told to me by a Mennonite minister about them being compared to the 'Monster Anabaptists'.) And yes the Mennonites believe they are the Anabaptists.

[Invicta]

During every period of the "Dark Ages" there were in existence many Christians and many separate and independent Churches, some of them dating back to the times of the Apostles, which were never in any way connected with the Catholic Church. They always wholly rejected and repudiated the Catholics and their doctrines. This is a fact clearly demonstrated by credible history.

 

These Christians were the perpetual OBjects of bitter and relentless persecution. History shows that during the period of the "Dark Ages," about twelve centuries, beginning with A.D. 426, there were about fifty millions of these Christians who died martyr deaths. Very many thousands of others, both preceding and succeeding the "Dark Ages," died under the same hard hand of persecution.

 

These Christians, during these dark days of many centuries, were called by many different names, all given to them by their enemies. These names were sometimes given because of some specially prominent and heroic leader and sometimes from other causes; and sometimes, yea, many times, the same people, holding the same views, were called by different names in different localities. But amid all the many changes of names, there was one special name or rather designation, which clung to at least some of these Christians, throughout all the "Dark Ages," that designation being "Ana-Baptist." This compound word applied as a designation of some certain Christians was first found in history during the third century; and a suggestive factsoon after the origin of Infant Baptism, and a more suggestive fact even prior to the use of the name Catholic. Thus the name "Ana-Baptists" is the oldest denominational name in history.

 

A striking peculiarity of these Christians was and continued to be in succeeding centuries: They rejected the man-made doctrine of "Infant Baptism" and demanded rebaptism, even though done by immersion for all those who came to them, having been baptized in infancy. For this peculiarity they were called "Ana-Baptists."

 

This, special designation was applied to many of these Christians who bore other nicknames; especially is this true of the Donatists, Paulicians, Albigenses and Ancient Waldenses and others. In later centuries this designation came to be a regular name, applied to a distinct group. These were simply called "Ana- Baptists" and gradually all other names were dropped. Very early in the sixteenth century, even prior to the origin of the Lutheran Church, the first of all the Protestant Churches, the word "ana" was beginning to be left off, and they were simply called "Baptists."

 

Into the "dark ages" went a group of many churches which were never in any way identified with the Catholics. Out of the "dark ages" came a group of many churches, which had never been in any way identified with the Catholics.

 

The following are some of the fundamental doctrines to which they held when they went in: And the same are, the fundamental doctrines to which they held when they came out: And the same are the fundamental doctrines to which they now hold.

 

FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES

 

1. A spiritual Church, Christ its founder, its only head and law giver.

2. Its ordinances, only two, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They are typical and memorial, not saving.

3. Its officers, only two, bishops or pastors and deacons; they are servants of the church.

4. Its Government, a pure Democracy, and that executive only, never legislative.

5. Its laws and doctrines: The New Testament and that only.

6. Its members. Believers only, they saved by grace, not works, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

7. Its requirements. Believers on entering the church to be baptized, that by immersion, then OBedience and loyalty to all New Testament laws.

8. The various churches--separate and independent in their execution of laws and discipline and in their responsibilities to God--but cooperative in work.

9. Complete separation of Church and State.

10. Absolute Religious liberty for all.

 

Bro. Garry

 

I recently read that anabaptists did not baptize by immersion but were against infant baptism.  Those who did practise immersion were known as catabaptists.

[DaveW]

Anabaptists was a generic term initially that referred to anyone who "re-baptised".

As such, there were people of widely varying beliefs - the primary common belief was in baptism after faith, because as far as their opponents were concerning it was the defining attribute.
Mormons would be considered "anabaptists" under such a definition.

Therefore, just because someone was grouped with the anabaptists does not mean they had all doctrine correct.