The Anabaptists was one of the most tragic in the history of Christianity. Perhaps there is no group within Christian history that has been judged as unfairly as the anabaptists. They were widely misunderstood. The word "Anabaptist" means "one who rebaptizes." The Anabaptists proper were those in the radical Reformation who gathered and disciplined a "true church" upon the apostolic pattern as they understood it. In general they looked to the scriptures and especially the New Testament as their authority. They wished to return to the primitive Christianity of the first century. The founders of Anabaptism in Zürich were Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz. The Anabaptists pledged themselves as true disciples of Christ to live lives separated from the world and to teach the gospel and hold the faith. This was clearly the most revolutionary act of the Reformation. First and fundamental in the Anabaptist vision was the conception of the essence of Christianity as discipleship. They wanted a church free from the guardianship of the state, accepting such members as joined out of an uncoerced decision. For the Anabaptist, the church was neither an institution (Catholicism), nor the instrument of God for the proclamation of the divine Word (Lutheranism), nor a resource group for individual piety (Pietism). They believed that the church of the Restitution, the True Church and should be followers of the Great Commission. According to Anabaptist understanding of right faith, the Great Commission was fundamental to individual witness and to the ordered community of believers as well. The Anabaptist made the Commission binding upon all church members. The expansion of the Anabaptist movement issued three centers : Switzerland, South Germany, and Moravia. At the end of the Reformation period, anabaptist congregations existed, apart from Moravia, in Switzerland, the Palatinate, the Netherlands, and Friesland, in Prussia and Poland. The Anabaptist often was called "the radicals," "the left wing of the Reformation." The Anabaptist vision included three major points of emphasis ; a new conception of the essence of christianity as discipleship, a new conception of the church as a brotherhood, and new ethic of love and non-resistance. Evangelical Anabaptists contributed their efforts for establishing "the true church" to follow the Apostolic patterns in evangelistic ministry and training their members. They also realized that the evangelistic job was every believer"s calling from God. Their Evangelistic motivation should be emphasized and applied upon the modern churches and Christian"s daily life.
The Anabaptists was one of the most tragic in the history of Christianity. Perhaps there is no group within Christian history that has been judged as unfairly as the anabaptists. They were widely misunderstood. The word "Anabaptist" means "one who rebaptizes." The Anabaptists proper were those in the radical Reformation who gathered and disciplined a "true church" upon the apostolic pattern as they understood it. In general they looked to the scriptures and especially the New Testament as their authority. They wished to return to the primitive Christianity of the first century. The founders of Anabaptism in Zürich were Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz. The Anabaptists pledged themselves as true disciples of Christ to live lives separated from the world and to teach the gospel and hold the faith. This was clearly the most revolutionary act of the Reformation. First and fundamental in the Anabaptist vision was the conception of the essence of Christianity as discipleship. They wanted a church free from the guardianship of the state, accepting such members as joined out of an uncoerced decision. For the Anabaptist, the church was neither an institution (Catholicism), nor the instrument of God for the proclamation of the divine Word (Lutheranism), nor a resource group for individual piety (Pietism). They believed that the church of the Restitution, the True Church and should be followers of the Great Commission. According to Anabaptist understanding of right faith, the Great Commission was fundamental to individual witness and to the ordered community of believers as well. The Anabaptist made the Commission binding upon all church members. The expansion of the Anabaptist movement issued three centers : Switzerland, South Germany, and Moravia. At the end of the Reformation period, anabaptist congregations existed, apart from Moravia, in Switzerland, the Palatinate, the Netherlands, and Friesland, in Prussia and Poland. The Anabaptist often was called "the radicals," "the left wing of the Reformation." The Anabaptist vision included three major points of emphasis ; a new conception of the essence of christianity as discipleship, a new conception of the church as a brotherhood, and new ethic of love and non-resistance. Evangelical Anabaptists contributed their efforts for establishing "the true church" to follow the Apostolic patterns in evangelistic ministry and training their members. They also realized that the evangelistic job was every believer"s calling from God. Their Evangelistic motivation should be emphasized and applied upon the modern churches and Christian"s daily life.
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