The Anabaptists And Contemporary Baptists

Scholars and pastors (Paige Patterson, Rick Warren, etc.) offer essays on sixteenth-century Anabaptists (Balthasar Hubmaier, Leonhard Schiemer, Hans Denck, etc.) proposing to recover the Anabaptist vision among Baptists as a means of restoring New Testament Christianity.

Four hundred seventy years ago the Anabaptist movement was launched with the inauguration of believer's baptism and the formation of the first congregation of the Swiss Brethren in Zurich, Switzerland. This standard introduction to the history of Anabaptism by noted church historian William R. Estep offers a vivid chronicle of the rise and spread of teachings and heritage of this important stream in Christianity. This third edition of The Anabaptist Story has been substantially revised and enlarged to take into account the numerous Anabaptist sources that have come to light in the last half-century as well as the significant number of monographs and other scholarly works on Anabaptist themes that have recently appeared. Estep challenges a number of assumptions held by contemporary historians and offers fresh insights into the Anabaptist movement.

In spite of its enormous historical significance and increased contemporary interest, this is the first general introduction to the spirituality of the Anabaptist tradition. Anabaptist spirituality has been described as "both Catholic and Protestant," a sixteenth-century ascetic lay reform movement inspired both by currents of pre-Reformation devotion to Christ and the Reformation call to return to Scripture. Because of their insistence on adult baptism Anabaptists -- often illiterate artisans and peasants with no formal theological education -- met widespread persecution. Arnold Snyder's sympathetic study draws on court records to give an intimate glimpse into their beliefs, practices, and spirituality. As well as inspiring such groups as the Mennonites, the Amish and various groups of Brethren and Baptists, Anabaptist ideas have profoundly influenced individuals and movements throughout the churches into modern times. Book jacket.

Liechty presents selections from writings of the Anabaptist movement that illustrate the Anabaptists' distinctive approach to Christian spirituality. The writings represent the multiple origins of Anabaptism, with selections from three main groupings: Swiss, South German/Austrian, and North German/Dutch.

CHAPTER 1 THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES. The Great Commission. A Definition of a Church. A Voluntary Association. A Church Not National or General. The Officers of a Church. The Ordinances. The Proper Subjects of Baptism. The Form of Baptism. The Lord’s Supper. The Ordinances as Symbols. The Churches Missionary Bodies. The Continued Existence of the Churches. CHAPTER 2 THE ANCIENT CHURCHES. Early Conditions. Isaac Taylor. Epistola ad Diognetum. The Beginning of Dangerous Heresies. Baptismal Salvation. Metropolitan Bishops. Gregory the Great. The Baptism of Believers. The Fathers. The Early Councils and Infant Baptism. The Baptism of Adults Who Had Christian Parents. The First Law and The First Rule for Infant Baptism. The Testimony of Scholars. The Form of Baptism. Six Rituals on the Subject. The Christian Monuments. The Catacombs. The Baptisteries. Clinic Baptism. Religious Liberty. Tertullian, Justin Martyr and Lactatius. Constantine the Great Issues an Edict. Theodosius the Great Enforces Religion by Law. CHAPTER 3 THE STRUGULE AGAINST CORRUPTION. Incorruptible Churches. The Testimony of Bunsen. The Montanist Churches. The Anabaptism. The Spread of the Movement. The Novatian Churches. Robinson Traces Them to the Reformation. They Were Called Anabaptists. The Donatist Churches. Their Origin. Rejected Infant Baptism. Benedict. Lincoln. Augustine. Liberty of Conscience. Neander. Their Attitude Toward Liberty. Their Protest. CHAPTER 4 THE PAULICIAN AND BOGOMIL CHURCHES. The Sources of Information. The Greeks, The Armenians. "The Key of Truth.". The Apostolic Origin. They Rejected Other Communions. The Story of Constantine. The Connection of the Mohammedans. The Sabians. The Numbers of the Paulicians. Religious Liberty. The Free State of Teprice. Among the Albigenses in France. Persecuted. Conybeare on Baptist Succession. Justin A. Smith. Widely Scattered in Europe. the Paulicians not Manichaeans. Their Doctrines. The Synod of Arras. A Confession of Faith. The Adoptionists. The Form of Baptism. Macarius. The Oriental Church. The Bogomils. Brockett. Their Persecutions. The Form of Baptism. CHAPTER 5 THE ALBIGENSIAN, THE PETROBRUSIAN, THE HENRICIAN, THE ARNOLDIST, AND THE BERENGARLAN CHURCHES. The Origin and Spread of These Churches. Prof. Bury. Their History. Their Good Character. Their Writings Destroyed. They Were Not Manichaeans. Two Classes of Believers. In Southern France. The Crusades Against Them. Their Doctrines. Rejected Infant Baptism. Peter of Bruys. His Opinions. The Petrobrusians Accused of Being Anabaptists. Henry of Lanusanne. His Great Success. Held the Opinions of the Anabaptists. Arnold of Brescia. The Testimony of Otto Freising. The Arnoldist. Berengarius. His Troubled Career. CHAPTER 6 THE WALDENSLAN CHURCHES. The Alps as a Hiding Place. Peter Waldo. The Preaching Tour. Origin of the Waldenses. The Name. Roman Catholic Historians on Their Origin. Rainerio Sacchoni. Preger. The Statement of the Waldenses. The Noble Lessons. The Reformers. Beza. Later Writers. The Special Historians of the Waldenses. Faber. Moreland. Claudius Seisselius on Their Character. Their Manners and Customs. Their Principles. Infant Baptism. Their Change of Views in Regard to the Practice. Adult Baptism. Immersion. CHAPTER 7 THE ORGIN OF THE ANABAPTIST CHURCHES. The Anabaptist Movement. Mosheim. Sir Isaac Newton. Alexander Campbell. Robert Barclay. Von Usinger. Sacchoni. Cardinal Hosius. Luther. Zwingli. Anabaptism no New Thing. They Were Found in Many Lands. Different Leaders. Kinship to The Waldenses. Limborch. Keller. Moeller. Lindsay. The Waldenses and The Anabaptists Found in the Same Places. Waldensian Preachers Found Among the Anabaptists. Points of Agreement. The Anabaptists Claimed a Succession From Earlier Times. The Antiquity of the Netherland Baptists. The Swiss. Moravia. The Picards. Erasmus. Sebastian Frank. Schyn. Abrahamson. Ypeij and Dermout. CHAPTER 8 THE CHARACTOR OF THE ANABAPTISTS. Called by Many

Click here to read the introduction to The Naked Anabaptist. In churches and kitchens and neighborhood centers across the world, communities of Jesus-followers are crafting a vision of radical service, simple living, and commitment to peace. Many are finding a home in a Christian tradition almost five centuries old: Anabaptism. Who are the Anabaptists? What do they believe? Where did they come from? What makes them different from other Christians? And can you become an Anabaptist without leaving your own church? Follow Stuart Murray as he peels back the layers to reveal the core convictions of Anabaptist Christianity, a way of following Jesus that challenges, disturbs, and inspires. Glimpse an alternative to nationalistic, materialistic, individualistic Christian faith. If you are seeking a community of authentic discipleship, heartfelt worship, sacrificial service, and radical peacemaking, consider this your invitation. This new edition features: Voices and stories from North America and the global church. Updated and expanded definition and discussion of Christendom. Updated resource section. Free downloadable study guide available here.

This book is a detailed study on the nature of the Church as found in the New Testament. It is also a defense of the antiquity of the Baptists, showing that it is of neither Protestant nor Reformation era origin. It contains an analysis of those people and churches known as Anabaptists.

By utilizing the contributions of a variety of scholars – theologians, historians, and biblical scholars – this book makes the complex and sometimes disparate Anabaptist movement more easily accessible. It does this by outlining Anabaptism's early history during the Reformation of the sixteenth century, its varied and distinctive theological convictions, and its ongoing challenges to and influence on contemporary Christianity. T&T Clark Handbook of Anabaptism comprises four sections: 1) Origins, 2) Doctrine, 3) Influences on Anabaptism, and 4) Contemporary Anabaptism and Relationship to Others. The volume concludes with a chapter on how contemporary Anabaptists interact with the wider Church in all its variety. While some of the authorities within the volume will disagree even with one another regarding Anabaptist origins, emphases on doctrine, and influence in the contemporary world, such differences represent the diversity that constitutes the history of this movement.