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UNIV 1300-003

• Conclusions the Church, Christology,
• and the Surviving Anabaptist Traditions

• Anabaptists shared with Protestant reformers a
  rejection of the sacra-mentalism of the Catholic
  Church. They were closest to Zwingli, who had
  come to believe that there was no real presence
  of Christ in the communion.
• The Anabaptist outlook was incarnationalthey
  became the body of Christ by patterning their
  lives after the example of Jesus. In this, they
  aimed to be living saints.
• Persecution of the Anabaptists by church and
  government confirmed to them that they were the
  true church because they saw in their trials
  and sufferings a reflection of the trials and
  sufferings of Jesus.
• The early days of the movement were marked by
  dreams and visions and claims of miraculous
  events, but these faded as time passed.

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• Anabaptism linked the inner life to concrete,
  outer expressions of that inner life. The
  Anabaptists believed that the inner change
  wrought by the Spirit in every person had to be
  manifested not only in pious acts, but in
  practical life decisions that were in conformity
  with the social and economic ordering of
  scripture. (Snyder, p. 312).
• A corollary to the linkage of the inner and outer
  lives was a connection of spiritual charisma with
  moral purity.
• While Anabaptists denied that Christ became
  physically present in the communion elements at
  the invocation of priests (a view shared with
  Luther, Zwingli, and the Protestant reformers),
  they insisted that the real presence of Christ
  was in the members who made up the visible
  church. Thus the insistence on the external
  ceremonies (baptism, the Lords Supper), even
  when being known as an Anabaptist was likely to
  end in martyrdom.

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• Christology
• The question arises naturally of who was the
  person of Jesus who was supposedly their pattern
  for living.
• The Swiss and South German Anabaptists were
  largely uninterested in speculation about the
  nature of the Christ and were apparently content
  to repeat orthodox formulations.
• Melchiorite Anabaptism, however, derived an
  unorthodox Christology from Melchior Hoffman who
  believed that Jesus had not taken on human flesh
  but brought a pure flesh from heaven.
• Hoffman was coming very close to the ancient
  belief of docetism (from a Greek word meaning to
  appear) that held that Jesus was a divine being
  who only appeared to be a human being.
• As a consequence, Hoffmans view of human
  regeneration was extremely optimistic the
  believer, joined to Christs body on earth and
  infused with his spirit, would lead a new life of
  conquering the flesh.

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• Pilgram Marpecks views provide a contrast with
  Hoffman Marpeck was more orthodox in his beliefs
  about the nature of Christ, but he also
  maintained that there was an essential unity
  between spiritual and human dimensions of
  believers.
• Marpeck taught that believers are being
  regenerated but that they have not put aside
  their humanity and they have not been fully or
  perfectly wedded to Christ. Thus Marpecks
  thought softened the perfectionist edge present
  in Melchiorite Anabaptism.
• Menno Simons as an heir to Melchiorite Anabaptism
  continued with Hoffmans unorthodox Christology
  but the distinct Christology in those movements
  that trace their origins to Melchiorite
  Anabaptism has faded with time.

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• The Anabaptist Tradition
• Two major issues had largely been settled circa
  1560 among Anabaptist groupsapocalypticism and
  spiritualism.
• The spectacular failures of Anabaptist
  apocalypticism led to the discrediting of the
  setting of timetables for the Last Days. The
  element expecting the imminent return of Jesus
  faded into the background.
• The spiritualist enthusiasm that marked some
  early manifestations of Anabaptism also became
  muted and subdued.
• The Anabaptists, despite persecution,
  nevertheless for the most part insisted on a
  visible community of faith rather than hidden
  believers.

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• Spirit and Letter the developing Anabaptist
  traditions moved in the direction of emphasizing
  the letter of scripture, read Christocen-trically.
  
• The Anabaptist linkage of salvation with a new
  life of visible discipleship continued unchanged,
  but the movement moved toward legalism in what
  constituted the outward signs of spiritual
  renewal.
• Free will the Anabaptist tradition continued to
  emphasize the free will of the individual and
  rejected ideas of predestination.
• Submission of will (Gelassenheit) the inner
  struggle of yielding to Gods will became more
  visible and public with the experience of
  persecution.
• Eschatology interest in eschatology faded as
  apocalyptic expectations were not realized.

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• Baptism the emphasis on water baptism remained
  unchanged, although the apocalyptic overtones
  became subdued.
• The ban continued to be used, especially as more
  external signs of regeneration were defined. The
  ban was supposedly used to keep the community
  holy.
• The Supper the anti-sacramental view continued,
  and the Supper continued to be seen as a memorial
  of Christs sacrifice.
• Mutual aid the emphasis on mutual aid visible in
  early Anabaptism continued in the surviving
  traditions.
• Sword and oath early Anabaptists had divergent
  views on both the sword and the oath, but the
  surviving traditions came to consensus over both
  issues.
• Marriage and the role of women A consensus
  emerged that believers should marry only within
  Anabaptist circles. The roles of women became
  narrower and more confined with the fading of the
  apocalyptic elements in Anabaptism.