Basics of Anabaptism

[ZiSunka]

It occured to me that we should start a thread about the things that all anabpatists share in common, or at least the majority of anabaptists, like the peace witness and not being calvinistic.

Are there other things we agree on no matter what sect of anabaptist we are?

 

[AngCath]

I was going to start a thread asking about the basics but I'll just ask here: what are the basic beliefs of Anabaptists?
I am ignorant on this topic and would like to know more about you my brothers and sisters.

 

[MrJim]

Your first stop is the sticky at the top. Read through the confessions and come back with your questions and we'll see what we can answer.

 

[Danfrey]

As far as what all Anabaptists have in common, I think it ends with the peace witness and believers baptism. Anabaptist is a very broad term and includes many different theological stand points.

 

[MrJim]

Matthew 28:20 "...teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

I heard it described once that the anabaptists attempt to do the "all things" of scripture.

 

[AngCath]

As far as what all Anabaptists have in common, I think it ends with the peace witness and believers baptism. Anabaptist is a very broad term and includes many different theological stand points.

Friends (Quakers) are Anabaptists right? yet they don't baptize. do they have less in common than the rest of Anabaptists or are they pretty representative of y'all?

sorry about all the questions, I've had very little exposure is all.

 

[MrJim]

Friends (Quakers) are Anabaptists right? yet they don't baptize. do they have less in common than the rest of Anabaptists or are they pretty representative of y'all?

sorry about all the questions, I've had very little exposure is all.

No
Quakers are an offshoot of the Puritan/Anglican group of believers (they're your cousins).

While they have some similar beliefs they are not anabaptist.

And their peace witness is more pacifist rather than non-resistant like the historical anabaptists.

 

[ZiSunka]

Friends (Quakers) are Anabaptists right? yet they don't baptize. do they have less in common than the rest of Anabaptists or are they pretty representative of y'all?

sorry about all the questions, I've had very little exposure is all.

Nope, Quakers are a whole different animal and are not and never were associated with anabaptism or its offshoots.

Quaker and anabaptist theology and practice are completely different from each other.

 

[Danfrey]

Friends (Quakers) are Anabaptists right? yet they don't baptize. do they have less in common than the rest of Anabaptists or are they pretty representative of y'all?

sorry about all the questions, I've had very little exposure is all.

Quakers are not Anabaptists. They are here with us because we find common ground on many issues. There is not any one group that is represenative of all Anabaptists. Our groups range from very traditional horse and buggy groups to very progressive groups that would blend in at the mall. There are core beliefs that we hold in common such as taking Jesus' sermon on the mount literally, but there are also many differences.

 

[MadFingerPainter]

what is peace witnessing?

 

[vespasia]

In the UK its called concientious objection.
People refused to serve in active war service if the intent was to cuase harm to any.
The government responded by allowing concis' to serve in the red cross and in 'caring' for all.

There is no way to disguise it war is terrible its consequences awful and people simply are hurt by it.

In the Uk the quakers led the way in social reform based on scripture and in peaceful witnessing of their beliefs.

 

[MadFingerPainter]

thank you for answering my question ves.

 

[Jehane]

The Quakers would not be active participants in fighting but were always thick on the ground in things like the medical corp, where they felt they were helping readjust the balance of war. Many of them I'd consider incredibly brave; they copped flack for not fighting but did what they could to help the wounded of both sides.

 

[AngCath]

thanks for your feedback regarding the Friends

 

[ZiSunka]

In the UK its called concientious objection. People refused to serve in active war service if the intent was to cuase harm to any.
The government responded by allowing concis' to serve in the red cross and in 'caring' for all.

There is no way to disguise it war is terrible its consequences awful and people simply are hurt by it.

In the Uk the quakers led the way in social reform based on scripture and in peaceful witnessing of their beliefs.

It's more than CO, it's actively building peace, resisting all attempts to get us engaged in violence of any kind, not supporting capital punishment, speaking out against war.

In the US, consciencious objection is about being released from military service obligations because of religious beliefs.

 

[ZiSunka]

Mennonites believe that even service in the medical corps only serves to escalate the fighting on the front lines. The purpose of the medical corps is not to save lives, but to get men (and women) in good enough health to put them back in the battle.

Mennonites do their service at home in other places. One CO man I know was a teacher and the government sent him to a school for severely mentally challenged children, a place where they couldn't hire teachers because no one wanted to work with such disabled children. The whole place was staffed with CO teachers.


Another man, also a teacher, was sent to an island off the coast of Maine where he taught all the children from kindergarten through high school in one room. This was a school that desperately needed a teacher but couldn't find one because they could only pay $500 a year (in the 1960's). If he had gone to the army, he would have been out in 2 years. As a CO, he had to serve 4 years at the school.

Another was sent to clean at a mental hospital.

One other I knew was sent to fight wildfires out west and died during his service.

COs don't get off without having to do anything. They aren't staying home enjoying a normal life while others are off dying. They are taking the jobs that even the men off dying wouldn't take, jobs that benefit the world instead of contributing to its destruction.

But I'm sure it is the same in Aust and the UK!

 

[ZiSunka]

I'm sure we can all agree on absentence issues:

no drinking
no dancing
no sex outside of marriage

right?

 

[MrJim]

I'm sure we can all agree on absentence issues:

no drinking
no dancing
no sex outside of marriage

right?

agreed

 

[vespasia]

The way the phrase CO is used in the two counteries is differant.
The UK government found it was shooting a lot of its own men for objecting to fighting. The Quakers protested peacefully but persistantly.
By the second world war the government worked out that shooting concis' was self defeating and shooting people simply did not change their beliefs. Some had even thanked the shooting parties for sending them to God instead of making them fight.

The UK has abolished capital punishment for ALL reasons.
People are allowed to protest against war. Brain Haw has held a peaceful protest outside the houses of parliment for years.

We live in differant countries with differing social needs and ways of thinking.

Open Brethren adhere to the abstinace of intoxication and sex outside of marriage.
They DO dance although you will not often see people dancing with someone other than their spouse or the person they hope to eventually marry.

 

[ZiSunka]

Yes, the American government used to shoot COs, too. By the second world war, they stopped doing that, thanks mostly to the outspokenness of the quakers here.

So let's see...

Slavery was abolished through the persistent work of the quakers,

Shooting COs was abolished through the persistent work of the quakers.

I think anabaptists could learn about how to speak out for righteousness without being political from the quakers!