Following in The Footsteps Of Christ

Book Review.
Following In The Footsteps Of Christ. The Anabaptist traditions. C. Arnold Snyder. Darton-Longman + Todd 2004.
A.S.- professor of history, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ont. Managing editor of Pandora Press.
Comment. Henry.
The ‘Anabaptist Tradition’ presented here is a historical overview of Anabaptism in its beginnings in the sixteenth century. Like so many beginnings of spiritual movements Anabaptism experienced severe persecution from its critics (the Roman Catholic and Reformation authorities). Such persecution attracted only serious, committed followers and also contributed to the spread of Anabaptism in the world. The movement has gone through many changes in the last four centuries. Evidences of Anabaptism in our post- Christian world may be labels such a Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite, and even Baptist but Anabaptist tradition(s) as it first developed, is more a memory than an actual identifiable characteristic of today’s ‘Anabaptist’ churches.
This book is one of a series of books entitled, “Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series”.
“An Anabaptist was anyone in the sixteenth century who practiced the baptism of adult believers.” (16) (A simple definition.) Anabaptism began as a “spontaneous, decentralized, grassroots, underground movement.” (17) It developed in Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands. Each area had its own distinctive. To insist on adult believer baptism and reject infant baptism put Anabaptists in ‘life-threatening’ conflict with both Roman Catholics and Protestant Reformers. In the Netherlands they became known as Mennonites, i.e. followers of Menno Simons. In Austria John Hutter became the leader of “the communitarian Hutterites”. (21) Anabaptist traditions developed in all three areas of Europe.
Fundamental to Anabaptist belief was the truth about the fear of God and the truth that God was no respecter of person. There could be no salvation without genuine “repentance and righteous living”. (39) “The remedy for sin lies in learning obedience, learning to will what God wills”. (40) This was quite different from the Protestant theologians who taught that salvation was ‘by faith alone’. This contrast was serious enough for Reform authorities to bring incriminating charges and martyrdom against the Anabaptists.
Anabaptists declared that there was no Scriptural teaching that justified infant baptism. The baptism that was taught was a “threefold baptism of spirit, water and blood”. (69)
The Anabaptist church (Body of Christ), community of faith, was shaped by “four biblical commands; to believe and be baptized, to observe ‘fraternal admonition’ (church discipline), to celebrate the Lord’s Supper of remembrance, and to wash one another’s feet”. (86)
“Anabaptists quite commonly framed their asceticism in terms of spirit and flesh, language thy found in the New Testament.” (113) Records of prison interrogations revealed that Anabaptists were very consistent in their biblical responses to their accusers.
Communal worship was central to their communal life-style. Some meetings were out of doors and could last all through the night. They were people of prayer and song. Their song book was the “Ausbund”. (139)
With the exception of some Swiss Brethren, Anabaptists made no provision for worldly possessions and ownership of private property. They were strongly committed to non-violence (passivism).
Many Anabaptists, “between 2000 and 2500” (160), became martyrs experiencing the “baptism of blood”. (159) It was “the ultimate test of personal Gelassenheit (yieldedness).” (164) Suffering was accepted as part of discipleship and was endured with great inner spiritual strength.
The topic of “Anabaptism Today” (184) is the heading of the last chapter. There does not seem to a strong presence of Anabaptist tradition in the churches of North America whose heritage is in the sixteenth century spiritual movement.
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