CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO ANABAPTIST LEADERS
WMSE f OLLQ1ERS BECAP MENNONITES
¦ J. H. IAN GEN WALTER

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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
ACCORDING TO ANABAPTIST
LEADERS
WHOSE FOLLOWERS BECAME
MENNONITES

CHRIST'S HEADSHIP
OF THE
CHURCH

ACCORDING TO ANABAPTIST
LEADERS
WHOSE FOLLOWERS BECAME
MENNONITES

J. H. LANGENWALTER
President of Bethel College
Erstwhile Dean of
Mennorrite Seminary

MENNONITE BOOK CONCERN
Berne, Indiana
1922

Copyright, 1917
By J. H. LANGENWALTER

WITNESS PRESS,
Berne, Ind.

THIS WORK IS LOVINGLY DEDI
CATED TO MY WIFE WHOSE LOY
AL DEVOTION HAS MADE ITS
PRODUCTION POSSIBLE

PREFACE
When this work was at first undertaken the question of
its publication was practically foreign to the mind of the
author. Even now he feels that to make it most valuable to
the average reader a careful rewriting would be advantageous.
Much material was laid aside which ought to appear for the
benefit of those who have not entered deeply into a study of
Mennonite History. On the other hand it has been frequently
urged that the material found in this work should be made
available for the use, especially of the young people, even in
its present form and therefore the author has consented to
have this child of his thinking to go out into the world to
perform whatever work our Father in heaven may find for
it. It is not without misgivings that this permission has been
granted; it is, however, with the hope that those, who shall
peruse its pages with care, may catch some of the same spirit
of our forefathers, which has increasingly impressed the
author and has made him want to make a contribution worthy
of their memory.
Where this book is to be used as a text or reference book
in Young People's meetings it will be found desirable to
consult freely some of the more general books on Mennonite
History found listed in the Bibliography.
The biographies in Chapter III may prove valuable for
use in attempting to become acquainted with the kind of lead
ership which made possible the valuable contribution of the
Anabaptists and may prove to be the most usable material for
Christian Endeavor or other Young People's classes. If
this chapter, or any other portion of the book, should prove
to be a source of inspiration to the young people of our
churches, then the author will feel repaid for the labor which
was necessary for the production of this work.
J. H. LANGENWALTER.
Bluffton, Ohio, March 20, 1917.

FOREWORD TO SCHOOL EDITION
This book was the result of research work done for the
most part at Hartford Theological Seminary. It was first pub
lished in 1917 and is now re-issued with a few changes in the
forepart of the book. As a bit of research work it is better
adapted to schools than to the general public.
The subject matter is of special interest during this
period of reconstruction When the value of the human element
in any problem is again coming into its own, especially as it
concerns c6nvictions of far reaching import to human society.
The author gratefully acknowledges the help of many
friends both in the production of the work and in the distri
bution of this edition among the institutions of higher edu
cation in the United States of America.
J. H. LANGENWALTER.
Bethel College, Newton, Kansas. March 1922.

CONTENTS

Page
INTRODUCTION  3
CHAPTER I — A Survey of the Times and Conditions in
Which the Mennonite Church Was Born  7
CHAPTER II— Characteristics of Anabaptists  24
The Spread of the Movement  _  24
The Kind of People Who Joined It  25
Their Earliest Confession of Faith  28
Their Hymns  _  31
Their Emphasis on Life  32
Their Use of the Bible  32
Their Relation to the Munster Movement  35
Their Loss of Leaders Through Persecutions  38
Education  39
Their Attitude Toward Persecution  39
CHAPTER III — Representative Leaders of the Ana
baptists and Early Mennonites  42
Hans Denck  43
Michael Sattler .   55
Ludwig Haetzer (Hetzer)  S8
Melchior Hoffmann  60
Konrad Grebel  67
Felix Manz  69
Georg Blaurock  70
Wilhelm Reublin  .-.  72
Pilgram Harbeck  73
Dr.. Balthasar Hubmaier .   74
Eitel Hans Langenmantel  :  80
Dirk and Obbe Philipps  82
Gillis von Aachen  84
Leonert Bouvens  85
Menno Simon  87
CHAPTER IV— Ways in Which the Conceptions of....
These Leaders Regarding Christ's Headship of
the Church Found Expression  97
A. Conceptions of Anabaptist Leaders Regarding
Christ's Person  101

CONTENTS Page
B. Conceptions of Anabaptist Leaders Regarding
Christ's Work  —  118
C. Conceptions of Anabaptist and Early Mennonite
Leaders Regarding the Church  139
The Community of Saints on Earth  143
The Apostolic Church as a Model  „  146
Can a Person Be a Member of an Organization
Called a Church When He Gives No Evidence
of Being a Conscientious Follower of Christ? 148
What Is the Value of "Sacraments" and Ceremonies? 152
Who Shall Be Ministers of the Church?  155
The Man  156
His Qualifications  157
His Duties  -  158
The Use of the "Ban"  158
The Christian and Civil Authority  161
The Work of the Magistracy  161
Oaths  162
War  10. 162. 166
The State and the Church  165
APPENDIX I— Die sieben Artikel von Schlatten am
Randen  169
APPENDIX II— Wiedertaufer Artikel vom Jahr 1527,
zusammengestellt nach den Bekenntnissen der
1527-28 in der Stadt Steyer verhorten Wieder
taufer aus der Bruderschaft des Hans Hut  173
APPENDIX III— Persecutions and the Persecuted  174
Estimates of  175
Lindsay  175
Mueller  175
Zurkinden  175
Kessler  176
Schwenkfeld  176
APPENDIX IV— Von der Wiederaufrichtung und Ver-
suhnung des menschlichen Geschlechts mit Gott 177
APPENDIX V— Von der Zukunft unseres Erlosers und
Seligmachers, Jesu Christi  178
BIBLIOGRAPHY  181

INTRODUCTION
The movement, known as Anabaptism, affords a
rich field for speculation because of the fact that it
caime into such prominence during the Reformation
period; because so many divisions, sects and denom
inations either grew out of it or came thru it and be
cause of the nature of the sources upon which we are
dependent for our information.
Anabaptisim was not an organized movement in
any strict sense. It was a mass movement which
made its appearance over the greater part of western
Europe. Just when it began is a much mooted ques
tion. That there are traces of "a church within the
Church" will hardly be denied by anyone today. That,
on the other hand, it can be satisfactorily proven that
there is a direct connection between such early mani
festations of conscious or unconscious dissatisfaction
with the established Church and any one of the de
nominations which have grown up since the Reforma
tion, is still a much debated question. Men have writ
ten on both sides of the question and, after reading
many of their arguments, one feels that their conclu
sions are frequently but the reflections of that which
they had hoped might be true. The nature of the

4 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
sources makes any undeniable proof either way almost
impossible. The question is interesting, and even fascinating,
but it is not of vital importance to the present under
taking. The writer takes this position in spite of the
fact that nearly all of the writers on the history of the
Mennonites have considered the question of the origin
of the denomination of prime importance.
The writer has culled his material from available
reports, minutes, letters, etc., of civil authorities ; from
the literature produced by enemies of the Anabaptists
and from the meager literature left by members of the
movement. These sources were often produced in the
heat of controversy or under the stress of torture and
it was therefore necessary to weigh them carefully.
Much of that which was left by Anabaptists and early
Mennonites is simply literature and not in any sense
a schematic presentation of their beliefs. This fact
has made it necessary to get at the probable position
of these people on the question of Christ's Headship
of the Church thru their lives rather than the things
which they are reported to have said. This accounts
for the space alloted in this thesis to biographical
sketches of leaders. This seems justifiable under the
circumstances because so many of the quotations of
things said, or supposed to have been said, were con
ditioned upon character and historical event.
The method of procedure is somewhat unusual

INTRODUCTION 5
when one considers the nature of the subject of this
thesis, but it seemed increasingly, to the writer, to be
the best way of getting a correct estimate of the prob
able thinking of the leaders under discussion.
Much that has been written concerning the Men-
nonites has been in the nature of argument for the or
ganization. The writer ihas aimed rather to emphasize
the fundamental principles, held by the Anabaptists
and early Mennonite leaders, which are of value to
Christianity as a whole and he hopes that the large
possibilities in this direction may be worthily devel
oped toy able writers in the near future.

CHAPTER I.
A SURVEY OF THE TIMES AND CONDITIONS
IN WHICH THE MENNONITE CHURCH
WAS BORN
The name Mennonites comes from one of their
leaders, Menno Simon, and was given to a portion of
the movement by its enemies. Menno Simon was in
no strict sense the founder of the movement which
bore his name in certain sections of western Europe
even before it was crystallized into the denomination.
The Mennonites sprang from that more or less in
definite movement known in history as Anabaptism.
There are those who would like to prove that there is
a direct lineal and spiritual connection between the
Mennonites and the Waldenses and earlier movements
of the same general type. However, strongly as such
a succession appeals to many, Dr. C. Henry Smith is
probably correct in saying that it is "only a beautiful
theory." That there are certain strong resemblances,
especially as regards the attitude toward the Roman
Catholic Church, the civil authorities, the emphasis
upon consistent living, and particularly the desire to
return to the practiices of the Apostolic Church, is true,
but the estimate of Dr. Rufus M. Jones seems to the

8 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
present writer as both correct and pertinent when he
writes: "It cannot be absolutely established that the
Anabaptists were decendants of the earlier mystical
movements. What we actually know is that there
suddenly appeared, just at the dawn of the Reforma
tion, in almost every Christian country, little groups
of men and women, who were detenmined to recon
struct Christianity after the New Testament model,
who were bent on reviving primitive Christianity."
(Studies in Mystical Religion, p. 370).
It was very natural that such a free, intense type
of Christianity should Ibreak forth with the Reforma
tion, and it was also natural that when this movement
attained the proportions (which it very naturally at
tained during such times of religious, social, commer
cial and political reconstructions as we find during the
first part of the 16th century, that there should be
many eddies in the swollen stream of human develop
ment. When one takes into consideration the far-
reaching influences of such inventions as that of gun
powder and of printing; the mal-adjustments which
naturally followed between civil and ecclesiastical au
thorities because of the Church's ambitions to control
governmental as well as spiritual affairs; the effects
of Humanism and the terrible oppressions of the poor,
one does not wonder that early decades of the 16th
century found western Europe confronted with a con
dition -of social, political and religious unrest which

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 9
was fraught both with unprecedented opportunities
and rwith grave dangers. Neither does one wonder
that those who have studied that situation within re
cent years should differ so widely in their conclusions
as to the causes which led to such a condition of affairs.
When men like Karl Kautsky (Communism in Central
Europe in the Time of the Reformation) and E. Bel-
fort Bax (The Peasants' War) undertake a study of
the situation, one would naturally expect to find them
emphasizing the social element. The same is true on
the religious side of those writers who have set out to
find the causes for that period of unrest from the angle
of Church History. These may at times be tempted to
under-emphasize the points which the others, to them,
seem to have over-emphasized. This fact also accounts
for the differences of opinion which prevail regarding
various leading men of the Reformation period and
the widely varying conclusions concerning the rela
tions of different groups to each other. The present
writer feels that such a situation calls for a patient
seeking to live one's self into conditions of the Refor
mation period rather than for the spirit of controversy,
no matter what may be the phase of the situation in
which one is especially interested. That period was
one of intense feeling and activity under high pressure.
Entire classes of men, who for centuries had seen few
changes, were suddenly thrust into situations calling
for great and sudden readjustments. The situation

10 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
was kaleidoscopic and therefore confusing. Men were
shaken up in their entire thinking and consequently
did not react in only one phase of their thinking.
Hence it seems preposterous to attempt to establish
in which one phase of men's mental processes are to
be found the causes for conditions as we find them
during the Reformation period. The writer has found
this fact of increasing signifiance as he has tried to
glean that which men may have thot during that
period of stress on the significance of Christ as the
Head of the Church.
The invention of gun-powder made the fortresses
of feudal lords of little value but it also took from the
poor classes the ability to fight for themselves. It
materially affected the conditions of the laborers and
the merchants and it intensified the question of the
relationship between Christianity and war. The in
vention of printing stimulated education, gave litera
ture to the poor and oppressed so that they came to
think, and consequently to act, more independently;
it gave men the Bible and thus a greater opportunity
to gain a clear conception of Christianity, but it also
gave to the enemies of the poor and oppressed and of
those who sought religion pure and undefiled a lever
age which they had not had before, as is clearly seen
from the fact that for centuries our histories have been
patterned after the literature of the oppressors and the
persecutors and that today we have to face the solu-

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 11
tion of the almost insurmountable difficulties of find
ing out what really were the facts. The spread of
Humanism caused the emphasis to be placed on the
individual rather than the organization and did much
to bring about a better condition of affairs for large
masses of people, but it also caused weaker minds and
crushed spirits to react in ways which often proved
unwholesome for the general welfare; it made men
free from tradition and made them see that the primi
tive gospel message dealt with life and action rather
than organization and theological conclusions, but it
also made some men, unprepared to see the difference
between liberty and license make demands and under
take steps which brought dire limitations upon the
freedom which had been, perhaps, all but gained. This
is true, e. g. of the Peasants' War and of the "Kingdom
of Munster". These two instances suggest, as is so
often the case, that the causes were complex. Both
social and religious factors enter into the problem
raised by these instances. The "Twelve Articles" of
the "Peasants" have a religious stamp. Religious lead
ers gave them their approval. This was true even of
Luther (Brons, Ursprung, Entwickelung und Schick-
sale der altevangelischen Taufgesinnten, p. 3). And
the "Articles" were so framed and so presented by the
leaders of the "Peasants" as to stand or fall with the
Bible. This fact needs to be taken into consideration
when one enumerates the causes which are supposed

12 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
to hare led to this uprising of the "Peasants". Their
oppressions beggar description ; the frauds which were
perpetrated against them were enough to arouse the
resentment of any one who was not closed to all sense
of human justice or hopelessly browbeaten; the in
fringements on the natural human rights of these peo
ple were often such as to make hatred, in its bitterest
forms, seem almost like the most natural reaction, and
the breaches of promise on the part of their masters
and rulers were so frequent and so heinous that con
fidence must needs be lost,- and yet these social condi
tions were not the only causes. Even among those
who took a direct part in the Peasants' War there was
a strata of religious feeling which helped to make that
war what it was. This religious factor made for justice
in the demands of the "Peasants" and prolonged the
time of the outbreak on the one hand and intensified
the breach, when it came, on the other hand. (See
Ersch and Gratoer, Bauernkrieg, p. 182, for "Twelve
Articles" and also Bax, Peasants' War, pp. 63-75, for
copy of complete text of these Articles.) This indicates
how the Munster uprising and kindred disturbances
should be related to the movement among the "Peas
ants". Whatever direct interplay there may have been
between the Munster uprising and any one or more
of the many revolts among the "Peasants" was prob
ably accidental rather than premeditated. Both were re
actions against intolerable oppressions. In the one the

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 13
social aspect shows up more prominently and in the
other religious, but in both there are traces of the
social and the religious elements. The Munster move
ment no doubt intensified the spirit of resistance
among the oppressed and in so far helped to aggravate
the trouble which the rulers had with the "Peasants,"
but there is no conclusive evidence that there was any
systematic co-operation between the two movements.
The Miinsterites used the methods which the Roman
Catholic Church had taught them thru practices, and
used them as oppressed people usually use such meth
ods when they come into power suddenly. While the
leaders of this movement held to some of the principles
of the Anabaptists, they also differed widely from
them on others and certainly stood in no recognized
organic relationship with the Anabaptists who were
merged into that portion of the movement later called
Mennonites. Furthermore, the attitude of prominent
Anabaptists toward the Munster movement shows
that the Miinsterites could not have allied themselves
closely with the Anabaptists unless they would have
changed their theories and practices so materially as
to have made impossible the historic Munster scandal.
In this connection it is well to consider briefly
that Miinzer, had been a Lutheran pastor and that
he had held his pastorate with the consent of Luther.
He was a restless spirit. His education made him
all the more dangerous when he once set out in the

14 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
work which has made him notorious. He denounc
ed the clergy of the Roman Catholic and also of the
Lutheran churches. In this he is comparable to many
of the Anabaptist leaders, but their methods of pro
cedure were very different. So long as he confin
ed his denunciations to the Roman Catholic clergy
he was welcome to remain in his pastorate, but when
he turned the same weapons against similar sins in
the ranks of the Lutheran clergy, his days were count
ed. This opposition provoked his fiery spirit to all
kinds of excesses. He became unreasonably icono
clastic, considered himself a prophet sent from God,
held his inspiration to be higher in authority than the
Bible and engaged in other similar extravagances.
There were enough similarities between the things
he preached and the beliefs of the peaceful Anabap
tists to confuse even some of their members, but he
was never a recognized Anabaptist.
It is also noteworthy that the Miinsterites were
made up of members of the various established
churches as well as of the Anabaptists. This fact
gives weight to the argument of those who would
make it appear that it was exclusively a social move
ment, which was merely intensified (by religious fan
aticism. There is no doubt that religious fervor entered
into this uprising very materially. The study of the
Bible showed one of its first effects in this tragic event
and one need not wonder that superficial students of

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 15
this period sometimes hastily conclude that it had been
better to have withheld the Bible from the hands of
the common people, when they see how its use influ
enced the leaders of the "Munster Kingdom". One
must not forget, however, that without the fearful
oppressions which they endured, these same people
doubtlessly might have become peaceful members of
society similar to those which the study of the Bible
made elsewhere, where the weight of oppression had
not quite so nearly reached the crushing point. The
Munster leaders turned to the Old Testament rather
than to the New because they had been reduced to a
condition where primitive conceptions of righteous
ness and the idea of self-preservation alone were left,
and these two combined by the force of bitter expe
riences and the examples found in the Old Testament
of how the God of Israel had meted out justice to the
wicked oppressors of old, naturally made these men
feel that there should be a return to such measures in
order that present oppressors might be dealt with as
they deserved.
The same conditions made it natural for them to
turn to the Chiliastic literature of the Bible. Condi
tions were so bad that there seemed to be no hope for
their betterment except in a cataclysmic event such as
the Apocalyptic literature of the Bible foreshadowed.
The danger of invasion on the part of the Turks made
the early occurrence of such an event seem all the

16 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
more probable and it was therefore not at all surpris
ing to find that, in the heat of intense fervor, born of
hatred resulting from bitter oppression and of the hope
of early relief, men are reported to have said that they
would support the Turks when they came.
This period was necessarily one in which one would
expect to find many things occurring which, at the
first glance appear like the grossest kind of inconsist
ency. A closer view makes it appear that some of
them were not fundamentally inconsistent and that
many more of them were inconsistencies which grew
out of conditions not under the control of those who
were the perpetrators of these acts. A careful consid
eration of this fact will make it easier to deal justly
with the leaders of all movements which played a
prominent part during the first half of the 16th cen
tury. The conditions of the time in question also gave an
opportunity to adventurous spirits, and these were not
lacking. They confused the situation and sometimes
the leaders who were honestly endeavoring to put mat
ters aright. These facts, no doubt, account for many
of the difficulties of such men as Luther and Zwingli.
They have both been charged with gross inconsisten
cies for which their friends have found various excuses
and on account of which their enemies have all too
often manifested a kind of "Schadenfreude". This is
not as it should be. We need a broader outlook upon

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 17
the times and the men of the Reformation Period if
we are to learn from that significant incident in history
the lessons which the same is capable of imparting.
It is not surprising that Luther should, as some one
has said, have succeeded in lighting the inflammable
material which had been prepared thru the occurences
before the beginning of his public work, without seeing
the consequences of his action clearly. He evidently
felt that this was the case, for he compares himself to
a blind horse being led up a hill. Such a frame of mind
is, however, not a reflection upon his character, or a
just cause for denouncing his work as a whole.
Luther had the misfortune of being a popular leader
at a time of great transition and it is not surprising
that he could not meet the expectations of any one
of the many exponents of the many trends of thot
prevailing at that time. Naturally enough everyone
of these expected Luther to emphasize those points of
conflict dearest to the exponents, and many of them
were bitterly disappointed. Giving vent to this dis
appointment was no encouragement to sweetness of
temper to a man of Luther's constitution, especially
when the pressure of the results of the affairs which he
had helped to bring about began to weigh heavily upon
him. It is therefore necessary, as Stevens says, in con
nection with some of Luther's controversies: "In ci
ting the opinions of Luther, some allowance
doubtless be made for his vehemence and/his rBet6r-

TrawSr!.'^ RefersncB t

18 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
ical extravagance." The present writer has no interest
in glossing over the errors or inconsistencies of Luth
er, but a sense of fair play makes him feel that one
sided criticism is so dangerous a thing that one may
well ward off the danger by entering sympathetically
into the psychological workings and problems of a
man with whom one cannot agree on many points, and
1 it is with an appeal to the same sense of fair play that
the writer suggests that it would be well to make some
allowances for the kind of replies which Luther's "ve
hemence and rhetorical extravagance" evoked from
those who were compelled by force of circumstance to
deal with Luther in matters which were of first im
portance to them and who often quailed under his "ve
hemence and rhetorical extravagance" to such an ex
tent that they either severed their relations with him
or repaid him in his own coin.
Luther was human and it may not be impossible
that he had, as Brons says (Ursprung, Entwickelung
und Schicksale usw. p. 391) : "Become so used to hav
ing people look to him that he could not endure other
leaders by his side." This may account for some of
his vehemence and may also have been the reason why
others were provoked to similar means of expressing
themselves. There was about Luther a conservatism which was
rather remarkable in some of its aspects. It made him
a man of unusual self-possession. This becomes espe-

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 19
daily apparent when one thinks of Luther's tempera
ment and the times in which he lived. He did not fully
break with the' Roman Catholic Church for ten years
after his declaration at Wittenberg, for we find that
two Franciscan monks and two Evangelical preachers
preached alternately in the Great Church (Grossen
Kirche) at Emden and in the Franciscan cloister ten
years after Luther is usually thot to have severed
all connections with the Roman Church. This could
hardly have occurred if Luther had been as radical as
he has sometimes been portrayed and it also suggests
why Luther was inclined to be impatient with and
even intolerant toward those who were not willing or
able to accommodate themselves as readily as he to
things of an established order, especially when the
time came that the established order was of his order
ing. As we shall see in succeeding chapters, there were
many who were keenly disappointed by Luther's con
servatism and felt that he had not carried the Reforma
tion far enough. Most of these, in the heat of the con
troversy, seem to have blamed him with unwillingness
or arbitrariness in the matter; others have suggested
that it was sheer inability to do the constructive work
necessary to carry the Reformation to a consistent
conclusion, e. g. Bax says: "Luther had known bow
to pull down an old house but not how to build up a
new one." (The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, p. 3.)

20 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Is it not possible that these intimations aim at secon
dary causes and that the prime cause was Luther's
conservatism? Unless we overestimate Luther's con
servatism, it made him unwilling to go farther than he
felt sure that things would work out well. Whatever
may have been the primary cause or causes, the fact
that Luther did act cautiously and showed intolerant
impatience with those who did not so act, in his esti
mation, led to endless misunderstandings and divi
sions. Luther's earlier expressions had led people to
expect him to go farther than his conservatism allowed
him to go after the movement had been fairly started.
This, on the one hand, is not strange, for grave respon
sibilities have made more than one man conservative
and have made his contemporaries impatient with him
on that account. It is probably in this direction thai
one should seek the explanation for the change of
front on the part of Luther who in 1516 wrote to
Spalatin in regard to Tauler, the famous mystic:
"Neither in the Latin nor in the German have I evei
found purer or more wholesome teaching, nor any that
so agrees with the Gospel," and his later attitude to
ward some of Tattler's most consistent disciples. This
may also account for the fact that during his earlier
public work he agreed, in his conception of the Church,
with those whom later he condemned and persecuted
for holding that same conception. Such changes of
front were very often considered just cause for com-

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 21
plaint and opposition, and they cannot always be satis
factorily explained. At best they were unfortunate,
especially because of the fact that, as time passed,
Luther seems to have become increasingly afraid to
entrust the Christianity which he had "rediscovered
as religion", as Loofs says, to the people in any but a
theological garb which tended to hide it from them
again. Even when one gives Luther the benefit of
every doubt as to his moral responsibility in the mat
ter, one can readily see how such unexplained changes
dogmatically insisted upon should have caused people
to lose confidence in his leadership, and it is also quite
readily conceivable that men thus disappointed would,
under the stress of circumstances in which they found
themselves, hardly do otherwise than react more or
less forcibly against the cause represented by a leader
like Luther.
What has been said concerning Luther also applies
largely to Zwingli. He, too, was afraid to grant others
the same rights which he had demanded from the
Roman Catholic Church. He wanted to safeguard
against a possible victory on the part of the Roman
hierachy by establishing a State Church. This makes
it evident why he wanted no schisms, even tho it
does not furnish a satisfactory excuse for the cruel
intolerance which he showed toward those whose prin
cipal desire was the establishment of a religious life in
which the practices were emphasized rather than the

22 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
doctrines. It can hardly be denied that Zwingli, in
his attempt to stamp out the Anabaptists, resorted to
measures of a nature which bordered upon treachery.
It is no wonder that the people eventually became sus
picious that they had simply fallen into the hands of a
new popedom and therefore became increasingly sym
pathetic toward those whom they were supposed to
help persecute. If this attitude on the part of the
common people had made Zwingli abate his hatred
toward the Anabaptists in the same measure in which
he ceased his threats, much of the tragic history of the
declining years of his life would probably have never
transpired. Naturally enough, those who felt his
wrath were not in position to consider fully the fact
that Zwingli was overworked, nor could they fully
realize how heavily his new responsibilities weighed
upon him and how sensitive he would be toward any
thing which increased his burdens, and especially
when, at the same time, it increased his fear of being
overwhelmed by the Roman hierarchy.
It was particularly unfortunate for the whole Refor
mation movement that Luther and Zwingli should
have become entangled in such a bitter feud. It is not
germane to the purposes of the present work to in
vestigate in just how far the one or the other, both or
neither, may have been blameworthy, but the fact that
they became thus engaged had its far-reaching in
fluence upon the counter-Reformation with which we

SURVEY OF THE TIMES 23
shall deal in later chapters. Bax is quite correct when,
speaking of this deplorable fact, he says : "Meanwhile
the effect of the continuous theological wrangling of
the Reformers amongst themselves, who showed them
selves only thoroughly united in their attack on Catho
licism and on certain Catholic usages, was to detach
large numbers of the non-learned classes from the pos
itive dogmatic system that the learned were endeavor
ing to set up in the place of the old Catholic theology."
(Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, p. 9.) Only he need
not have restricted it to "the non-learned" as we shall
see later.
This survey gives one an idea of the complexity of
the situation at the time when disorganized move
ments began to crystallize and also suggests some oi
the difficulties which would arise from such conditions.
These conditions were well adapted to make men won
der in how far the "Church" had a right to call itself
"Christian", or, in other words, in how far Christ had
anything to do with the history which was being made
by the Churches which called Him their Head.

CHAPTER II
CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS
"Anno 1524 and 1525 A. C. is God's Word and the
Gospel of Jesus Christ come into all Germany, after
the Peasants' War." (Geschichtsbiicher der Wieder-
taufer in Oesterreich Ungarn. Herausgegeben von J.
von Beck, II, pp. 11, 12, quoted from Bax, "Rise and
,Fall of the Anabaptists," p. 3.)
Sebastian Franck, in his Chronick, III, fol. 188, ob
serves respecting the spread of the new movement:
! "The course of the Anabaptists was so swift that their
doctrines soon overspread the whole land and they
obtained much following, baptized thousands and
drew many good hearts to them ; for they thought, as
it seemed, nothing but love, faith and endurance, show
ing themselves in much tribulation patient and hum
ble, etc."
Brons (pp. llff in "Ursprung, Entwicklung und
Schicksale", usw.) suggests that the Anabaptist move
ment was an echo of the principles laid down in the
Sermon on the Mount and of the practical and ethical
portion of the Apostolic letters. This suggests why
the letter of James was so highly esteemed by them

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 25
and may explain why Luther, in later controversies,
permitted himself to go so far in condemning that
letter. This movement arose principally from the broad
strata of the common people. Occasionally members
of the privileged classes allied themselves with this
movement. It is quite possible that this may have
been out of ulterior motives. Kautsky suggests that
wealthy men often united with the poor Christian par
ties to fight the Church and that they withdrew their
support just as quickly as they were no longer served
by such union, thus leaving these poor Christian par
ties to their doom of annihilation by the Church or to
endless splits among themselves. Be this as it may,
the fact remains that there was a profound and gener
al reaction among the masses of western Europe
against the abuses of the Church. This reaction sel
dom took the form of an organic separation from the
Church until persecution made such a step necessary.
This accounts for the difficulties, due to lack of prep
aration, for organized procedure among the dissenting
bodies. Thus it came about that men who were agreed
on the most fundamental points of doctrine differed on
the question as to whether they should leave the estab
lished Church. Those who did were early called Ana-
babtists, but later it occurred that all who criticised
the attitudes of the Roman hierarchy, the Lutheran or
the Zwinglian churches thru word or life, were brand-

26 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
ed as Anabaptists, even tho they had not formally
severed their connection with their Church.
The fact that political, social and economical as
well as religious factors came into play necessarily
produced a great deal of confusion among the dissent
ers themselves. The movement was essentially demo
cratic or even individualistic and the fact that local
conditions played such an important role in the man
ner in which the dissent often manifested itself, made
a general, unified uprising an impossibility. Hence it
seems best to consider the entire movement as a simul
taneous but unorganized reaction against the abuses of
those in power. The people consciously or uncon
sciously felt the need of democracy but the spirit of
the age was against it and their leaders had not yet
learned the methods of democratic leadership fully
enough to guide them in attaining to the desired free
dom quickly and successfully.
There were many lords and masters and hence
many degrees of abuse. This necessarily resulted in
a great variety of opinions as to just what was wrong
among those who felt the results of the maladjust
ments most keenly and, since neither the ruled nor the
rulers saw clearly just what were the causes for the
existing strain, it was natural for the former to lose
confidence in the latter and for the latter to consider
all those who did not fit themselves into existing con
ditions as mal-contents who needed to be subdued.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 27
The rulers had the advantage of combining and did not
miss their opportunity of using it. This fact may have
contributed to the naming of all kinds of "unruly"
subjects Anabaptists. This name suggests that the
rulers considered the movement a religious one, but
that does not necessarily imply that they thot of
it as a spiritual movement. For the purposes of this
thesis we shall confine ourselves to that part of the
movement which was religious in the spiritual sense.
The members of the so-called Anabaptist move
ment preferred to be called Apostolic Brethren, but
their preferences were consulted as little in this mat
ter as in that of their faith and their practices. They
have been known by many names: Wiedertaufer
(Anabaptists), Widertaufer (Katabaptists), Taufge-
sinnten (Baptist-minded), etc. Later that portion of
the movement in which we are more especially inter
ested came to be known by the names : Manisten, Men-
nisten, Mennoniten (Mennonites), or Protestant Men
nonite Church. (Martyrerspiegel, I, p. 14.) The latter
designations also came from the enemies of those so
named. (Rues, Simon Fr., Gegenwartiger Zustand der
Mennoniten, p. 1.) Also see Mennonite Year Book,
1899, p. 20.)
It has sometimes been inferred from the name that
the question of baptism was the sole cause of all the
tragic history which was made in connection with the
Anabaptist movement. This is not the case, however.

28 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Baptism came to the forefront because of the fact that
it was used as a sign of membership in the new move
ment. The fact that this new movement had been
started as a protest against the evil practices among
the powerful classes in both Church and State natur
ally made its ensign odious among the members of
these classes and it was they who advertised baptism
until it stood for all that was hateful to them and to
their colleagues.
At first there was little attempt on the part of the
people who desired a new emphasis on religion to
formulate their conceptions scientifically. They sim
ply stated their conviction and seem to have felt that
that should be sufficient to make the authorities, and
especially the preachers and the priests, take steps
which would correct the evils existing within the
Churches. The earliest confession of faith of which we have
any knowledge now was drawn up at Schleitheim, near
Schaffhausen in 1527. It was called "A Brotherly
Union of Some Children of God." The following is an
epitome of the points contained in this "Confession":
1. "Baptism. — Baptism shall be administered to all
who are taught repentance and a change of life, and
truly believe in the forgiveness of their sins through
Jesus Christ, and are willing to walk in newness of
life; all those shall be baptized when they desire it
and ask it by the decision of their own minds, which

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 29
excludes all infant baptism according to the Scriptures
and the practice of the Apostles."
2. "The Ban or Excommunication. — This shall be
practiced with all those who have given themselves to
the Lord, to follow His commandments, are baptized,
and call themselves brethren and sisters, and yet stum
ble and fall into sin, or are unexpectedly overtaken ;
these after admonition according to Matthew 18, if
they do not repent shall be excommunicated."
3. "Breaking of Bread. — All who wish to break
'one bread' in remembrance of the broken body of
Christ, and drink of 'one cup' in remembrance of His
shed blood, shall be united by baptism into one body
which is the congregation of God and of which Christ
is the Head."
4. "Separation from the World. — The Christian
must be separated from all the evil and wickedness
that Satan has planted into this world. According to
II Cor. 6:17, 18: 'We shall come out from among them
and be separate' ; se.parate from all Papistic works
and services, meetings and church-goings, drinking
houses and other things which the world highly es
teems." 5. "Ministers. — The ministers shall, according to
the teaching of Paul, be of good report of them that are
without. He shall teach, exhort, and help all the mem
bers to advance in their spiritual life. When he has
needs he shall be aided by the congregations which

30 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
chose him to his work. If he should be driven away,
or imprisoned, or killed, another minister shall at once
be put into his place."
6. "Taking the Sword. — The worldly governments
of the land are to use the sword, but in the perfect
congregation of Christ, excommunication is used, by
which no one suffers violence to his body. Peter says :
'Christ has suffered (not reigned) and has given us an
example that we should follow in His footstep's.'
Neither is it the Christian's work to have a part in civil
government, because the rulings of government are
according to the flesh, but the government of Christ is
according to the Spirit. The weapons of the world are
carnal, but the weapons of the Christian are spiritual
to the overcoming of the world and Satan."
7. "Oaths. — Christ, who taught the law in perfec
tion, forbade His disciples all oaths, whether true or
false. By this we understand that all swearing is for
bidden." (For a more complete statement of the foregoing
seven points see Appendix I of this work ; for a briefer
statement see Moeller, History of the Christian
Church, Reformation to 1648, pp. 89f.)
Men are sometimes struck by the simplicity of this
statement and wonder why it contains nothing of the
many things of which they had heard that Anabaptists
believed. One must not forget that "confessions"
were often wrung from adherents of the movement by

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 31
the use of cruel torture. Records were made of these
"confessions" and these formed the bases for state
ments concerning the beliefs of the Anabaptists. (For
a sample of such a record see Appendix II).
It is surprising that such procedure was able to
produce no more discrepancies among the things con
fessed. Another fruitful and more satisfactory source of
information concerning the beliefs of the Anabaptists
and early Mennonites are their hymns. These were
composed during times of persecution and were often
confessions of faith in rhyme. They were committed
and sung or recited as opportunity offered. For a long
time the value of these hymns was under-estimated,
but within recent years efforts have been made to
make use of this material. (Cf. Dr. Rudolph Wolkan,
Die Lieder der Wiedertaufer.) Their enemies report
that the Anabaptists had many such hymns describing
the deaths of those who were executed and that they
sang these according to popular melodies. (Cf. Wol
kan, Die Lieder der Wiedertaufer, pp. I and III of his
Vorrede for a discussion of the information given by
Erhard and by Fischer.) These enemies were scandal
ized at such conduct on the part of the Anabaptists.
Their own information, however, shows us of what
value these hymns were in disseminating the beliefs
of the Anabaptists. When men and women, driven
from their homes or places of secret abode, went about

12 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
singing or reciting the stories of their martyred breth
ren, exalting the faith and courage of these departed
ones, it was little wonder that the great mass of people,
groaning under the load of oppression, caught the
vision of a new hope. Such people naturally allied
themselves with the movement which furnished them
the new inspiration.
The emphasis of the Anabaptists was on life rather
than doctrine. They preached their message with con
viction because of this very fact. Bax says of them:
"The preaching of these people produced startling ef
fects. With a greeting of peace they would enter a
cottage and begin to expound the Bible to the in
mates." No wonder that the congregations sprang up
everywhere. Yet these people would have consented
to remain in the established churches if the gross im
moralities of the priests and preachers had not made
that impossible.
The Anabaptists were simple-minded people who
took the Bible literally, especially those portions of it
which deal with the ethical aspects of life. They felt
that if a man had confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord,
he was bound to live a Christ-like life. They felt sure
of the correctness of their position concerning this
point thru the conviction, born of an intuitional feel
ing as to the difference between right and wrong
rather than thru the conclusions reached by proc
ess of logic. This accounts for the fact that they were

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 33
loathe to frame dogmatic confessions and also sug
gests why so many of them mistrusted the learned
whose logic caused them so much discomfort and
whose evil lives made them under-estimate the value
of learning. Not all Anabaptists reacted thus, for some
of them valued learning very highly but they all de
plored that the learned, as a class, made such bad use
of their opportunities and in this they were not alone,
for Erasmus wrote to Capito in 1518: "I wish that
there could be an end to scholastic subtleties, or, if
not an end, they could be thrust into a second place
and Christ taught plainly and simply. The reading
of the Bible and the Early Fathers will have this ef
fect. Doctrines are taught now which have no affinity
with Christ, and only darken our eyes." If men like
Erasmus felt thus about the matter it is not surprising
that the Anabaptists reacted as they did, nor is it any
wonder that the unlearned masses lost all confidence
in learning, for, as Kautsky says : "A class or commu
nity which is in the process of decline, or hopelessly
trodden down by others, will oppose itself to the
knowledge of truth." (Communism in Central Europe,
p. 19.) As a result of their emphasis upon the ethical side
of Christianity, the Anabaptists were forced to the
position that no man had a right to consider himself a
member of the Church who was not even trying to live
according to the will of Christ. This position brought

34 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
them into conflict with all those churches which made
members of people before these, or any one else, could
tell what kind of lives they were going to live. An
investigation as to the Scriptural validity of infant
baptism followed and many reached the conclusion
that there was no Scriptural warrant for the same.
Luther, Zwingli and others later sacrificed this conclu
sion for their ideals of the Church, but the Anabaptists
concluded that they would drop infant baptism and
baptized each other on confession of faith. Hence
forth to them baptism meant that the recipient thereby
declared that he would be obedient to God and that he
had become a member of the real Church, the "Body
of Christ". This position led to the charge that they
considered only those members of the "Body of
Christ" who had been thus baptized. The evidence ad
duced in presenting these charges is convincing only
in so far as it applies to non-representative cases, how
ever. Besides it is well to remember that these charges
were brought by enemies who admit that they get the
statements upon which they based the charges from
those whom they were torturing. The representative
leaders of the Anabaptists stood for no such narrow
view. If a man gave evidence that he was a child of
God by the kind of life he lived, they considered him a
Christian and many of them deplored the fact that the
corruption of the leaders of the established churches
was such that they were compelled to form a new or-

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 35
ganization at all. It seems that they would have been
willing to remain in the Church and use the rite of
baptism simply as a sign of personal confession and
not as the sign of membership in a temporal organiza
tion, but this idea was soon suppressed by the perse
cutions which followed. They wanted no new organi
zation. The experiences of Luther and Zwingli were
no encouragement in the direction of starting new
organizations and besides the nature of their desires
was such as to make them want life and not more ma
chinery. They were mystically rather than politically
inclined. Finally, however, they acted under the slo
gan, "New wine in new skins," and thus gave expres
sion to the conviction that there was no longer any
use in trying to reform the established order of things.
The foregoing presentation of things does not leave
out of consideration the history made at Munster and
other places where similar, tho less notorious, things
transpired. No denomination now existing, which
took its root in the Anabaptist movement, finds
that its leaders and the leading spirits of the Munster
and kindred movements were of one mind sufficiently
to have remained long with one organization. The
Munster leaders differed widely from the representa
tive type of Anabaptists in many important points,
e. g. in their attitude toward war, toward the magis
tracy, in their chiliastic intepretations and their apoca
lyptic hopes, etc. That individual members of repre-

36 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
sentative Anabaptist communities were drawn into
this maelstrom of fanaticism, desperation and fatal
tragedy is true and, under the conditions, not surpris
ing, but it is also true that there were those, in no way
connected with the Anabaptists, who were drawn into
the Munster uprising. That the representative leaders
of the Anabaptists were not willing to recognize the
leaders of the Munster episode is now generally ad
mitted. In fact, they are sometimes blamed for not
having done so.
The Munster incident should be looked upon as a
natural fruit of the excessive oppressions of the lower
classes. Their leaders would probably have acted dif
ferently under less desperate circumstances. When
people become crazed by the bitterness of conditions
and are subjected to man's inhumanity to man as were
these people, one cannot expect them to act with great
deliberation. Schiller was quite right when he said
in his "Das Lied von der Glocke" :
"Gefahrlich ist's, den Leu zu wecken,
Verderblich ist des Tigers Zahn ;
Jedoch der schrecklichste der Schrecken,
Das ist der Mensch in seinem Wahn."
The most vivid portrayals of the things which the
frenzied people at Munster are supposed to have done
may not be overdrawn, but that does not make the
Anabaptist movement responsible for the history
which was made there. Those are responsible who

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 37
drove them to such desperation and not the Anabap
tists who tried to dissuade them from their extreme
measures. We have too long allowed ourselves to be
blinded by the prejudiced reports of the responsible
parties in this matter.
The effects of the Munster uprising were a mis
fortune for the peaceful Anabaptists because of the
indiscriminate application of the name "Anabaptists"
to all "personna non grata". This tragic episode gave
to the ecclesiastical and the political authorities a, to
them, satisfactory occasion for taking more drastic (if
that were possible) steps to suppress and eradicate the
people whose lives were a condemnation of their own.
The fact that the Anabaptists professed no desire to
be anything but peaceful members of society, obeying
all authority so long as its demands were not contrary
to the will of God, counted for little with their persecu
tors. This only reminds us, however, that "revolution
is not made agreeable to men who hate it by the moral
excellence of those who would affect it" (Fairbairn,
Philosophy of the Christian Religion, p. 323). The
inhuman methods to which the persecutors resorted
make one feel with Brons that it is a wonder that
there were not more eccentricities. This is true, espe
cially after the vehemence of Luther and the fear-born
hatred of Zwingli were added to the intrigues of the
Roman Catholic leaders. Such attitudes on the part
of these leaders make one feel that they were not en-

38 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
tirely unselfish in their positions for, if cruelty and
deceit are at the bottom of selfishness because the de
velopment of any selfish passion leads to these, as Dr.
MacKenzie says, then these leaders, great as they may
have been in other respects, certainly showed them
selves to be the possessors of large capacities for self
ishness. They certainly showed themselves willing to
sacrifice others. They seemed to be little affected by
the fact that their victims admittedly led exemplary
lives (this very fact seems at times to have increased
their hatred against the Anabaptists) ; that others felt
obliged to raise their voices in protest because of the
inhumanities perpetrated in the name of religion and
that the killing of so many God-fearing people meant
irreparable loss to the domains in which these perse
cutions were waged. (For examples of estimates of
the character of the persecution and of the persecuted
and for examples of protests by Schwenkfeld, various
church and civil authorities and others, see Appendix
III.) In the presence of such facts one wonders what ec
centricities might have occurred at Munster if the
irony of fate had made the leaders of tbe persecution
into the leading spirits of the oppressed classes!
These persecutions robbed the Anabaptists of most
of their ablest leaders and unfitted many of the mem
bers for the new responsibilities which thus arose.
This condition of affairs reacted unfavorably upon the

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 39
work of education among the Anabaptists. It is re
markable that they accomplished as much as they did
for they maintained their own schools in secret even
during the times of persecution (Brons, p. 27) and
carried on their teaching vive voce when their schools
were made impossible. They taught their children
large portions of the Bible and they gave them the
opportunities coming from catechetical instruction.
During the earlier days of the persecution they had
many highly educated leaders but many of these were
killed and others were hindered from teaching or writ
ing and finally there came a time when there was a
great dearth of educational facilities. This was not as
the Anabaptists had wished it, for it led to conditions
which they and their successors have had much reason
to deplore (cf. e. g. Keller, Die Reformation und die
alteren Reformparteien, p. 477). It was among those
groups of the Anabaptists where education had been
suppressed that chiliastic hopes and interpretations
later found entrance, but these did not have a deciding
effect upon the development of the movement later
called Mennonites.
The few leaders who remained had learned the
lesson, taught by the excesses of the Munster uprising
so well that they persistently warned their followers
against anything which might lead to a repetition of
such occurrences. It is remarkable how, under the
conditions, they were able to make such constructive

40 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
use of the misfortune and the tragedies of their times.
Let us note for instance the following quotations from
the works of Menno Simon : "They (the children of
God) must in all misery, ignominy and trouble take
upon themselves the pressing cross and must follow
the rejected, outcast, bleeding and crucified Christ, as
He Himself said : 'If any man will come after Me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross and follow
Me.' " (Part I, p. 183.) "Persecutions will not cease
so long as there are righteous and unrighteous people
on earth." (Part I, p. 181.) He also composed a list
showing "how persecution serves for our good" of
which the following is an epitome :
1. It keeps from inclining toward earthly ease,
peace and prosperity which have so great a tendency
to ruin and undo us before our God and to render us
careless, refractory, lukewarm and drowsy.
2. It makes us lay aside the sins which so easily
beset us.
3. It keeps us from fleeting thot.
4. It puts us to a severe test, even such as Christ
experienced. 5. It gives us firmness of confidence, tranquility of
patience and vehement ardor of prayer.
At the close of this summary we may conclude that
whatever the detailed differences of opinion may have
been as to Christ's Headship of the Church, the vast-
ness of the Anabaptist movement shows that among

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANABAPTISTS 41
the masses there was a strong feeling that in the work
ing out of things Christ was no longer the Head of
the established churches ; and the means used by these
churches show that whatever their confessions may
have been about the Headship of Christ, in their anxi
ety for the success of their respective organizations
they preferred to lean upon the strong arm of the law
and to depend upon the arms of the human lords !
This brief summary of the conditions found among
the Anabaptists during the first half of the 16th cen
tury also leads us to conclude that we can not expect
to find statements concerning Christ's Headship of the
Church which were made as a result of scholarly re
search and formulated with scholarly nicety, but it
also shows us that these people were far from being
devoid of conceptions on this point. To them the
Church was the body of those who belonged to Christ
because they had chosen to accept Him as their Savior
and consistently followed Him as their Head. The
Anabaptists could not conceive of Christianity under
any other arrangement and reacted against anything
else called Christianity so powerfully that they were
willing to give up everything in defense of their con
viction.

CHAPTER III
REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS OF THE ANA
BAPTISTS AND EARLY MENNONITES.
We find many types of mind represented among
the Anabaptists and early Mennonite leaders. This is
not surprising when we take into consideration the
conditions under which they were brot together and
the fact that the movement was so little organized.
Then, too, the fact that so many of these leaders were
quickly removed by death leaves room for speculation
as to what they might have thot, said, written or
done if the cruel hand of persecution had not removed
them so early from the scene of action. As things are,
it happens that different denominations claim the same
men as their spiritual ancestors. This seems no se
rious condition of affairs to the present writer, espe
cially in view of the purpose of this work. The very
fact that these leaders were of one mind on such fun
damental questions as to make it possible for various
denominations to claim them legitimately is proof that
they are worthy of serious consideration on so far-
reaching a question as Christ's Headship of the
Church. Brief sketches of the lives of some of these leaders

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 43
are here presented for the purpose of becoming ac
quainted with the types of mind found among those
whose views are considered representative on the ques
tion under discussion and also to see under what cir
cumstances they gave expression to the thots and
views which are of interest to us.
A study of such lives is both profitable and pathet
ic. "Those who had this vision, and with it had 1he
power of restraint and the gifts of statesmanship to
see what would work and what would not work in the
world as it actually was then, became the leaders of
the Protestant Reformation and have their renown
in the pages of history. Those who had this vision
and who were resolved to make the world fit the vision,
with no shade of leveling down and no hair's breadth
of a compromise, became the leaders of Anabaptism,
risked everything for the cause they believed in, flung
out ideals which have been guiding stars for us ever
since, went to death in terrible fashions, and fell on
almost total obscurity. It is a story well worth telling
and quite worth reading." (Studies in Mystical Re
ligion, Dr. Rufus M. Jones, p. 371.)
A. Hans Denck.
"Christum vermag niemand wahrlich zu erkennen,
es sei denn, dass er ihm nachfolge im Leben." This
brief quotation from the writings of Hans Denck gives
us a deep insight into the kind of thinking which he

44 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
did. He was a man who lived but a short time but he
influenced many toward better thinking and, what
was of more concern to him, toward better living.
We know little of Denck's early life. Even the
place and date of his birth are unknown. Kessler calls
him a Bavarian and Vadian refers to him as a youth
at a time which makes it probable that Denck was
born near the close of the 15th century. He is charac
terized as a quiet, chaste youth who gained favor very
rapidly because of his personal charms and his gifts.
He was a teacher and was well versed in Latin, Greek
and Hebrew. Such men as Kessler and Capito re
garded him highly as a man altho they deplored very
much that he was affected by such "terrible here
sies". The same was true of Bucer who felt that Denck
had abused his gifts by using them for the cause of the
Anabaptists. He called Denck the Pope of the Ana
baptists. Urbanus Rhegius called him the Abbot of
the "Brethren". Berthold Haller, in writing to Zwingli
regarding Denck, calls him "the Apollo of the Ana
baptists". Johannes Bader refers to him as "the noted
Hans Denck with whom he would not dare to compare
himself". Peter Gyhraeus calls him "the Head of the
Anabaptists" and Bullinger calls him the "Rabbi"
among the Anabaptists. These estimates, coming
from such who were not in sympathy with the cause
which Denck had espoused, show that he was a per
sonality of no mean ability.

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 45
Denck studied at the University of Basel at the
time when Desiderius Erasmus wielded his influence
upon the German intellectual world. Denck did not
get his views from Erasmus, however. He received
the degree of Magister Liberalium Artium from the
University of Basel. He became a proof-reader in
Basel and continued his studies at the University dur
ing his spare time. The publishers of those days were
usually cultured men who stood high in the literary
world so that his work as well as his studies afforded
Denck cultural opportunities. During this time he
attended the lectures of Oecolampadius and even had
private conferences with him. For this he was later
accused but truthfully maintained that Oecolampadius
had not changed his views in regard to the Anabap
tist movement.
Denck owed very much to Tauler and one cannot
understand either the religious teachings or the con
duct of Denck unless one remembers that his views
and ideals were related with the activities of the
"Friends of God" and the "Children of God", e. g.
Heinrich Eckhart and Johannes Tauler. Denck also
was a mystic, but not of the hermit type. He believed
that God imparted Himself to His followers in a prac
tical way, as well as thru the Bible and thru the intel
lect. Luther and Zwingli had come under the same
mystical influence but reacted in a different way when
once they faced their life-work.

46 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
In 1523 Denck was made rector of the St. Sebaldus
School at Niirnberg, which was then the center of the
intellectual life of that portion of Europe.- This posi
tion came to him thru the influence of Oecolampadius.
Thru Osiander's influence the followers of Luther
had succeeded in getting the magistracy on their side
and thus practically introduced the Lutheran Refor
mation. There were many, however, who felt that the
situation was not satisfactory because there was no
more emphasis on moral living than there had been
under Roman Catholic rule. Hans Sachs made serious
charges against the conduct of the Lutheran leaders;
Uhlhorn admitted gross inconsistencies and even Osi
ander, who was considered by the followers of Luther*
as one of the leaders among the Reformers, made simi
lar charges. Such conditions naturally made a man
of Denck's temperament and character very thot-
ful. Little did he think, however, how soon these
things would mean persecution, separation from his
young wife, a few short years of very bitter experien
ces and then an untimely death for him. He soon felt
himself compelled to raise his voice in protest against
the evil practices within the Church. This brot him
into difficulties with Osiander who could not bear
to be opposed by any one. When Denck insisted upon
a life consistent with the confession Osiander began
to oppose him. A discussion on the Lord's Supper
led to serious differences and Osiander had him called

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 47
for a disputation. An enemy of Denck reported that
he answered so skillfully that it appeared useless to
dispute with him verbally any longer and he was or
dered to give his views in writing. This he did, as re
quested, on the Holy Scriptures, Sin, the Righteous
ness of God, the Law, the Gospel, Baptism and the
Lord's Supper. Osiander had promised him a written
answer but failed to keep his promise because "he
thought that it would not help Denck anyway" ! Denck
was ordered to leave the city on short notice and not
to come within ten miles of the same again. This he
did without remonstrance, altho the order came to him
as a painful surprise. He left Ntirnberg January 21,
1525, because "he had introduced and defended several
errors." Denck's life became one of much misery. He had
to leave his family and spend much of his time with
such who were much beneath him in ability and char
acter. His ability would have opened flattering posi
tions to him if he had been willing to compromise his
conscience in order to return to the party in power.
For such a step his nature was too fundamentally
truthful. He soon became the victim of base slanders
which unfortunately have been handed down as facts.
A man who could convince Hans Hut that the Miin
sterites were wrong in opposing the magistracy was
not the kind of character that the enemies of Denck
tried to make him appear. This resorting to slander

48 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
seems to have been a favorite means among persecu
tors at that time, but it was especially severe in
Denck's case and especially hard for him to bear be
cause of his temperament. His behavior under these
trying circumstances is characteristic of the man and
an honor to the conception of religion with which he
allied himself. "Ich bin dermassen von etlichen ver-
sagt und verklagt worden, dass es auch einem sanften
und demiitigen Herzen schwer moglich ist, sich im
Zaum zu halten. Es ist mir vieles unbillig zugemes-
sen worden . . . Gleichwohl tut es mir in meinem Her
zen wehe, dass ich mit manchem Menschen in Un-
einigkeit stehen soil, den ich doch nicht anders erken-
nen kann als meinen Bruder, dieweil er eben den Gott
anbetet, den ich anbete, und eben den Vater ehrt, den
ich ehre . . . Darum will ich (so Gott will) soviel an
mir liegt meinen Bruder nicht zu einem Widersacher
und meinen Vater nicht zu einem Richter haben, son-
dern mich inmittelst mit alien meinen Widersachern
versohnen . . . Ich bitte meine Feinde um Gottes wil-
len, dass sie mir verzeihen, was ich ohne mein Wissen
und ohne meinen Willen wider sie getan habe. Erbiete
mich auch daneben alien Unfug, Schaden oder Schan-
de, so mir etwa von ihnen widerfahren ware, nimmer-
mehr zu rachen." Such was the mind of the man who
was banned and persecuted because his life and his
opinions were a condemnation of the lives of those
who were in power.

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 49
During this time of exile Denck used every oppor
tunity for study and for writing. This made his ban
ishment easier for him and gave him an opportunity
to provide literature for the cause he represented.
For a while he found refuge at St. Gall, where he
published his first booklet, "Wer die Wahrheit wahr-
lich lieb hat, mag sich darin priifen, in Erkenntnis
seines Glaubens, und dass sich niemand in ihm selbst
erhebe, sondern wisse, von wem er Weisheit bitten
und empfangen soil." He was highly regarded at
St. Gall until he became intimate with the Anabaptists.
We next find him at Augsburg, where he was bap
tized by Hubmeier and thus formally joined the Ana
baptists. Influential friends secured a teaching posi
tion for him. He was the kind of man who was needed
at Augsburg for conditions were even worse there
than they had been at Niirnberg. Denck entered these
conditions with high ideals and with a keen desire to
help make them better. He was deeply moved by the
condition in which he found the poor people and he
did all he could for them. The addition of his influence
caused a very rapid increase in the number of the Ana
baptists. He succeeded in winning two monks, Sieg-
mund Salminger and Jacob Dachser. These seem to
have been able men for they were soon made deacons
of the community and both became the writers of
hymns.

50 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Most of the members continued to come from the
lower classes but the number from the upper classes
also increased with the acquisition of able leaders such
as Denck. Denck was not by nature adapted to be
the organizer of a new movement but he was a very
valuable member for the same because of his unusual
ability. This fact was also recognized by the enemies
of the Anabaptists and they were not slow in getting
rid of Denck. Urbanus Rhegius, one of Denck's worst
enemies, said of him : "Dencks Wirken hat bald um
sich gefressen wie der Krebs, zu vieler Seelen jammer-
lichen Schaden. Die Schlange hat sich im Paradiese
der neuen Kirche festgesetzt." Such an attitude on
the part of Rhegius and others soon made it necessary
for Denck to leave Augsburg and he went to Strass-
burg in the fall of 1526 because the Reformers at that
place took a more irenic attitude toward the Anabap
tists. At Strassburg, Denck found Capito and Bucer.
For a while these took a friendly attitude toward him,
but when his influence made even Lutheran leaders,
e. g. Matheus Zell, become intimate with the Anabap
tists, Bucer became suspicious and, following Zwing-
li's method, got the magistrates on his side. (For evi
dences of Zell's friendly attitude cf. Keller, Ein Apo-
stel der Wiedertaufer, p. 158.) Bucer ordered a dispu
tation with Denck. Denck readily followed the order
of the magistrate little suspecting that this was but a

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 51
ruse. On the next day he received his orders to leave
the city. Capito had been present at the disputation
but had said nothing. He soon afterward declared his
allegiance to Zwingly in a fashion very unbecoming to
a man in his position. (Cf. Keller, Ein Apostel der
Wiedertaufer, pp. 161 and 164ff.) Bucer had been a
Dominican monk and was well trained in such tactics.
Capito had shown more conscience but was weak, as
is shown by his practical betrayal of Denck toward
whom he had often shown such friendliness when
there was no danger involved. Denck was deeply
grieved by this attitude of Capito and seems to have
had quite a fight against utter discouragement as a re
sult of this fickleness on the part of a supposed friend,
but he rallied and met this new and crushing defeat
and banishment in a pathetically beautiful spirit. He
did not return evil for evil but in the dead of winter
set his face toward new wanderings and hardships.
He never replied to the cowardly accusations made
against him, but he did write soon after that such
treatment made it difficult for even a mild heart to
contain itself. These experiences no doubt had some
thing to do with his later tendency toward melan
choly. While men were writing calumnious warnings
against Denck he was writing an admonition to all
men to love every one, even their adversaries. The
contrast in these literary products, resulting from the

52 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
same historical facts, shows the difference in the char
acters of the authors.
Denck went to Worms where he found the Ana
baptists represented in such numbers that the magis
trates feared to act arbitrarily toward them. He used
his leisure by joining Ludwig Hetzer in a translation
of the prophetic books of the Old Testament into the
German. Their translation passed thru many editions
(15 in 13 years) and was freely used in later transla
tions. Luther praised it highly and probably used it,
until he found out its source, and then he condemned
it! Denck's leisure at Worms was of short duration.
The rapid growth of the Anabaptist movement led to
disputations which made it necessary for him to leave
Worms in June of 1527. In September of the same
year we find him at Augsburg where he presided over
the Synod of the Austrian Anabaptists. There were
about sixty present. Among these were Hut, Hetzer,
Faeber and Hubmaier. This synod did fundamental
work for the Anabaptists of Southern Germany. This
synod became known as the "Martyrs' Synod" because
a majority of the members later lost their lives for the
cause which they had represented at Augsburg.
After the adjournment of the synod the various
members were sent as emissaries to the different
churches. Denck was sent to Switzerland, but when
he reached Basel his constitution gave way under the

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 53
strain. The magistrates had but recently issued a de
cree forbidding the giving of any aid to the Anabap
tists. This placed the dying Denck into a predica
ment. In his straits he wrote to his former teacher,
Oecolampadius who nobly responded by a personal
visit and, seeing that Denck's days were counted,
cared for him. He also attempted to persuade Denck
to give up his views. Denck wrote a summary of his
beliefs which has frequently been treated as a refuta
tion of his former position, but the attending circum
stances make its validity as such appear rather doubt
ful to many careful writers.
Denck died before the end of the year, much com
forted in his declining days by his good conscience
and deeply grieved because of the deplorable condi
tions which he had seen in the world during his short
sojourn therein.
Hans Denck is now known principally among the
learned, but there was a time when he was the source
of supreme inspiration for the masses of whom his
influence made martyrs of the noblest type.
Keller thinks that Denck belongs to the movements
of Francke and Schwenkfeld rather than that of the
Anabaptists and Jones feels that Denck hardly belongs
to the Anabaptist movement, at least not when the
term Anabaptist is used in the loose sense in which it
is often used. (For the views here referred to cf.

54 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Keller, Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer, p. 3, and Jones,
Spiritual Reformers, pp. 17ff.) Such views are not
surprising. One cannot tell what turn Denck's rela
tions with the Anabaptists might have taken had he
lived. It is quite certain that he would not have sanc
tioned some of the things which happened in later,
Anabaptism, but this might be true of things which
have occurred in the ranks of other movements or
denominations which have been influenced by the
thinking of this man. His own statement: "Gott ist
mein Zeuge, dass ich nur einer Sekte, welche die Kir-
che der Heiligen ist, gut zu sein wiinsche, wo sie auch
sein mag", shows what was his attitude toward all
religious organizations. He was concerned with the
right relationship with God before he was anxious
about the organization. This is also shown in the
following statement: "Hart ist fur mich die Heimat-
losigkeit und driickend, aber mehr noch driickt mich
dies, dass meinem Eifer der Erfolg und die Friichte
so wenig entsprechen. Um keine andere Frucht ist es
mir zu tun (Gott weiss es), als dass recht viele eines
Herzens und Mundes Gott, den Vater unseres Herrn
Jesu Christi, riihmen, ob sie beschnitten oder getauft
sind, oder keins von beiden. Denn ich bin ganz ande-
rer Ansicht als die, welche das Reich Gottes allzusehr
an Zeremonien und die Elemente dieser Welt binden,
wer sie auch sein mogen." (Keller, Ein Apostel usw.,
p. 229.) The latter statement can be understood in

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 55
various ways, and has been so understood, but Denck
probably simply meant to emphasize the need of plac
ing the life before the ordinance and symbols.
The writer does not wish to be understood as tho
he desired to claim Denck for the Mennonites in the
sense that it should be accepted as a valid conclusion
that Denck would have become a Mennonite in name
if he had lived 25 to 30 years longer. Denck is inclu
ded in the present list because his life and works
wielded a definite influence upon portions of Anabap-
tism which were later known as Mennonites and be
cause he agreed with many of the fundamental beliefs
of the later Mennonite Church.
B. Michael Sattler.
The subject of this sketch is supposed to have been
the author of the Schleitheim Confession, issued in
1527. Little is known of Sattler except that he was a
learned man who had been a monk but had left the
Church in order to join the Anabaptist movement.
G. Bossert, writing in the "Realencyclopaedie fur pro-
testantische Theologie und Kirche", says that Sattler
was born at Stauffen sometime between 1490 and 1500
and that he studied at Freiburg and then entered the
cloister of St. Peter at the same place. Sattler began
to study the Epistles of Paul in the cloister and soon
found that the Way to Righteousness was another

it CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
than that which was indicated by the Church. He was
an earnest, moral man and loathed the immoral lives
of the priests and monks. He left the cloister and
married. Persecutions had arisen and he was forced
to leave his home. He went to Switzerland and then
to Zurich where he formally joined the Anabaptists.
Later he went to Strassburg where he met Hetzer.
Here he also met Capito and Bucer. They were
friendly but the three never came to an agreement
with each other. This was reason enough why he
should leave Strassburg and therefore he went to Aus
tria where Reublin was at work and helped him. It
was here that he wrote the seven articles which have
become known as the Schleitheim Confession. He sent
copies of these to the adherents of the movement at
various places. He also strove for a church which
should consist of converted people only. This brot
him into difficulties with the Swiss libertinism. He
organized his Church on such a basis that it might call
and dismiss its pastor. This gave the Church the con
trol of the situation at all times. This was especially
advantageous for the individual communities in times
of persecution when they were likely to lose their
leaders suddenly.
On his return from a trip Sattler was captured with
a number of others. Some of these escaped, but he
was incarcerated with his wife. Unfortunately the
authorities had also captured all of his correspondence.

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 57
They found it difficult to convict him and the means
which they used were attrocious in the highest degree.
He was finally tortured to death on May 21, 1527, and
his heroic wife was drowned in the Neckar two days
later. During his captivity he succeeded in sending
his "Trostbrief an die Gemeinde Gottes". (For a copy
of this cf. Martyrerspiegel, Part II, pp. 5ff. His Con
fession of Faith and the account of his trial and exe
cution are also to be found in the same work, pp. 3ff.)
The death of this man was a heavy loss to the
Anabaptists, especially because of his ability and his
character. These qualities were recognized even by
his enemies. Bucer called him "a dear friend of God
even though he was a prominent member of the Ana
baptists". Capito wrote the magistracy ten days after
Sattler's execution: "Obwohl Michael Sattler etwas
Irrung im Wort gehabt und die Unterweisung der
Pradikanten zu wenig beherzigt, da er bei denen, wel
che Christen sein wollten, ein argerliches Leben be-
fand, so hat er doch allemal einen trefflichen Eifer zur
Ehre Gottes und der Gemeinde Christi bewiesen, von
der er wollte, dass sie fromm, ehrbar, rein von Lastern,
unanstossig und den Draussenstehenden ein Vorbild
zur Besserung durch gottseligen Wandel sein sollte
usw." One wonders that these men made such confessions
after the almost indescribable treatment accorded by
their own people to the man whom they thus lauded.

58 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Surely there is nothing so strangely inexplicable as
the inconsistencies of man's inhumanity to man.
C. Ludwig Haetzer (Hetzer).
Ludwig Hetzer is justly looked upon as one of the
important Anabaptist leaders of Southern Germany.
His ancestors are said to have been Waldenses. He
had received a thoro training and had joined the
Anabaptists because the Reformation of Luther and
Zwingli did not satisfy him. He associated with Denck
and Sattler and shared his labors with them. He and
Denck made the translation of the Prophetic Books
to which reference was made in the Sketch on Denck.
These three men labored together in various places
and their work was crowned with almost phenomenal
success, and with bitter persecutions ! They advocated
a reformation on the basis of the Apostolic Church
and in doing so met with a hearty response on the
part of the common people, especially after they saw
that the organizations of Luther and Zwingli promised
to do little more than the Roman Church had done.
At Strassburg Jakob Gross had organized a church.
He taught that children should not be baptized and
that adults should be baptized only on confession of
faith ; that there should be no swearing of oaths ; that
the sword should not be used in matters of faith, either
against the magistracy or against a neighbor. Gross
was tried and testified that he would obey the magis-

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 59
tracy but would not kill any one as there was no com
mandment of God to that effect. (Cf. Brons, Ursprung
usw., pp. 408-9, for Hetzer's confessions before the au
thorities on the question of obedience to the magis
tracy.) Gross was banned from Strassburg and Sattler
took his place. Denck and Hetzer became his associ
ates and the three worked with such success that the
clergy became alarmed and demanded a disputation.
The results were never published but the three men
were banned from the city. (For a copy of the mandate
banning them cf. Brons, Ursprung usw., pp. 409-10.)
In accordance with their principles, to obey the magis
tracy in all things not contrary to the will of God, they
left the city and went to Worms without having re
belled against the established order of things or at
tempted to defend themselves.
At Worms Hetzer, Denck and Sattler spent their
leisure time in writing until Luther's jealousy and his
denunciations from the pulpit started new persecu
tions. One of the Lutheran clergy had joined the
Anabaptists (here usually called Apostolic Brethren,
as they preferred). This aroused such a storm of op
position to the Anabaptists that there was a schism
introduced into the ranks of the Evangelical Church.
The people would no longer stand for the radical meth
ods of the leaders. This condition of affairs gave the
Roman Catholics an opportunity and they were not
slow in making use of it. Luther appealed to the

60 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
magistrates for help and wreaked his vengeance upon
the Anabaptists, whom he blamed for the whole trou
ble, as usual. The three men who "caused him the
trouble" in this case soon ceased their activities for
Sattler was burned in 1527; Denck died a few months
later and Hetzer was killed in 1529.
Serious charges were preferred against Hetzer's
morality, but when one notes the sources and thinks
of his protracted association with men of the character
of Denck and Sattler, one is inclined to take these
charges with some moderation. Even tho it were true
that, for a time, he had been a child of his age or had
had his moral lapses, he certainly showed thru his
work as a translator and as an itinerant preacher-
pastor that he was also capable of better things and
that he was willing to suffer persecution and death
for the latter at a time when the temptations on the
other side must have been exceedingly great.
D. Melchior Hoffmann.
Melchior Hoffmann came from Suabia. He was
an imposing character and a morally clean man. By
trade he was a leather-dresser. His educational ad
vantages had probably been limited but he had a very
thoro knowledge of the Bible and knew how to use it
with great effect in public assemblies.
Hoffmann joined Zwingli's movement and re
mained with it for 6 years, altho Zwingli seems to have

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 61
disliked him and to have caused him to flee. Zwingli
referred to him as "Der Taugenichts, der Leder gerbt".
Hoffmann agreed with the Anabaptists on only a
few points, and on some of these only partly, but his
power over the masses helped to swell the ranks of
the new movement. In a way it was a misfortune for
the movement because he, perhaps unintentionally,
but really, played into the hands of the Munster move
ment and thus helped increase the hatred against any
thing, known as Anbaptism. This fact made some of
the Anabaptists return to the Reformed movement.
The same conditions which caused Denck, Sattler
and Hetzer to work constructively among the masses,
made this untutored man go into a kind of Apocalyptic
frenzy. A detailed study of Daniel 12 increased this
tendency. His exegesis of this chapter was quite er
ratic on the whole and yet, it contains a surprising
amount of valuable material. (Cf. Brons, Ursprung
usw., pp. 376-7.)
Hoffmann spent some time in Denmark where he
enjoyed the king's favor for a while. This aroused the
jealousy of the clergy and they succeeded in having
him driven out because he would not say that the.
"actual body of Christ" was in the Lord's Supper!
He went to Strassburg where he found favorable con
ditions for his kind of propaganda. There he met
Sebastian Franck and Kasper Schwenkfeld. He was
2

62 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
on friendly terms with these "noble and godly men"
and came to recognition thru them.
Bucer and Hoffmann agreed in their views on the
Lord's Supper but not on the magistracy, in which
the latter followed Denck, Sattler and Hetzer. This
so aroused Bucer's ire that Hoffmann had to flee to
Emden, which was then the only place in the Roman
Empire where "Anabaptists" were not persecuted.
Hoffmann had only recently been baptized and
thus formally joined the Anabaptist movement, but
he rose rapidly in the estimation of the Church at
Emden and seems to have been given a great deal of
liberty. He baptized 300 people within a short time.
Even the count came to hear him and was moved to
tears by his preaching. The count was so favorably
impressed that the opposition of the Lutheran clergy
against Hoffmann had no effect upon him until some
of Hoffmann's meetings had led to riots against the
latter's wishes, for he said: "Wer mit dem Schwert
ficht, wird mit dem Schwert gerichtet, wo sie nicht
mit herzlichem Leid wiederkehren ; denn der Christ.
welcher voll des Glaubens ist, thut niemand Boses, ist
auch kein Vergelter des Uebels: 'Mir gehort die Ra-
che, ich will vergelten Gutes und Boses'." This atti
tude is further emphasized by his statement concern
ing the Christian's attitude toward the magistracy:
"Soil man ihr nicht gehorsam sein? Du sollst sie

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 63
fiirchten, wenn du Boses thust, aber wenn du Gute**.
thust, nicht. Du sollst ihr auch im Guten, das nicht
wider Gott ist, gehorsam sein. Waren lauter Christen
in der Welt, so wiirde man des Schwerts nicht be-
dtirfen. Da aber das nicht ist, so muss das Schwert
Gottes Dienerin sein ; es soil aber allein bei den Uebel-
tatern gebraucht werden." (For further expressions
on the magistracy cf. Brons, Ursprung usw., pp. 399-
400.) Finally the enemies succeeded in getting the count
to issue a decree commanding "all Anabaptists to leave
his domains in East Friesland by March 2nd, or forfeit
life and property". This caused Hoffmann to return
to Strassburg, from whence he seems to have taken
occasional tours into various parts of Germany be
tween 1530 and 1533. Increasing pressure on the part
of the enemies seems to have intensified his Chiliastic
and Apocalyptic tendencies to a point where it became
an open question whether he was not temporarily in
sane, as Brons suggests. One can hardly account for
the sudden changes of view-point on any other suppo
sition. One is not surprised at this when the attending
circumstances are taken into account. The inhuman
cruelties and the kaleidoscopic disharmonies in al
most every sphere ; the natural calamities, e. g. floods,
forest fires, diseases, etc., made it very easy for the
people to conclude that the end of the world must be
near at hand and gave a man like Hoffmann both a

64 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
mighty influence and an occasion for becoming more
erratic. Hoffmann continued to agree with the Anabaptists
that one's faith must be proven by the Scriptures
rather than by creeds and in his conception of the
Church. He says : "Gottes Gemeinde weiss von kei-
nem andern Herrn und Fursten als Christum. Sie
kann keinen andern leiden, denn es ist ein Schwester-
und Bruderwerk. Die Lehrer haben kein Haupt, der
sie im Geiste regiert, als Christum. Die Lehrer und
Diener sind nicht Herren. Die Hirten haben nicht
mehr Gewalt denn Gottes Wort zu predigen und die
Siinde zu strafen. Ein Bischof soil aus der Gemeinde
gewahlt w'erden." He desired a spiritually independent
Church and said that he wished that it might be com
posed of members all of whom were spiritually far
enough advanced to be able to prophesy.
Some of Hoffmann's views were dangerous ma
terial in the hands of adventurous spirits and cast an
unfortunate reflection upon his character and upon the
Anabaptists. Strangely enough this very man was
able to build up a strong church in the midst of the
turmoil which surrounded him. There was a time
when he might have had a share of the property which
had belonged to the Roman Church, but he refused to
accept it, unlike those who later persecuted him.
Hoffmann seems to have been unfortunate in some
ways, e. g. in the selection of his successor and in the

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 65
way he expressed himself at times. When he said at
Kiel: "Wir mtissen uns einigen, sonst wird es viel
mehr Blut kosten, als es bereits gekostet hat," he
seems to have meant his statement as an argument for
closer union in order to prevent the Roman Catholics
from getting an undue opportunity and not as a Miin-
sterite threat, as was claimed by some.
Hoffmann's views on the Incarnation were at va
riance with those of the Anabaptists, as well as with
those of the Protestants. He taught that Christ had
passed thru Mary as the sun's rays pass thru glass.
His reason for this view seems to have been that he
could not conceive of Christ as the child of human
parentage because of original sin (Erbsiinde).
Hoffmann's career was interrupted by his imprison
ment in 1533. He had predicted his imprisonment as
a part of the Apocalyptic program which was about
to be enacted. The effect upon the masses was both
pitiful and tragic. His changes of attitude and many
of his expressions at this time indicate that his mind
had become unbalanced. This did not alter the result
of his influence which came to its fruitage in the Mun
ster uprising. He broke with the Anabaptists on very
salient points, e. g. the attitude toward the magistracy
and the taking up of arms on account of faith.
Before his death Hoffman made a "Confession" of
which Bucer made much use. Brons refuses to take

66 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
the "Confession" seriously because the original was
never produced.
Hoffmann's treatment while in prison was such
that Kasper Schwenkfeld wrote a very pointed letter
to Leo Judae about the matter. (For a copy cf. Brons,
Ursprung usw., pp. 404-5.) Schwenkfeld did not agree
with Hoffmann in many points, nor did he want to
slight Bucer, but a common human interest made it
necessary to protest very decidedly.
When Hoffmann heard of the fearful conditions at
Munster he probably felt as had Luther on the Wart-
burg. Not being able to go in person he wrote fiercely
against the oppressors. This only added fuel to the
flames of the persecution and odium to the name of
tne Anabaptists, altho he had practically broken with
the latter.
Hoffmann's life, in spite of his eccentricities, was
one of much importance to the Anabaptists. He helped
to crystallize the meaning of the movement in the
minds of both friend and foe. His eccentricities
showed to the leaders that a more definite organization
was necessary and the disapproval of these eccentrici
ties by representative leaders of the movement made
outsiders see more clearly that there was a real distinc
tion between "Anabaptists" and Anabaptists.
For the purposes of the present work the life and
work of Hoffmann are of value largely for the con-

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 67
trasts which they furnish and have been given so
much space for that reason.
E. Konrad Grebel.
Konrad Grebel was born at Zurich during the last
decade of the 15th century. His father was a man of
social rank and a member of the Zurich Council. Kon
rad was educated at the universities of Vienna and
Paris. He ranked high in scholarship but led a dissi
pated life.
Grebel was an ardent supporter of Zwingli until
they differed, apparently on the question of infant
baptism. Zwingli thot highly of him during the
period of their co-operation and described him as
"most studious, most candid, most learned". Grebel
was converted about 1522 and thereafter led a life of
"perfect rectitude and piety". He turned to a careful
study of the New Testament and got from this a new
conception of the purposes of the Church. Zwingli
opposed him on this point, altho there may have been
other reasons why he turned against young Grebel.
There seems to have been jealousy between the two
families. Perhaps because of Zwingli's lower rank
socially. This fact may also help to account for
Zwingli's inexcusable conduct toward the elder Grebel
whom he had beheaded on suspicion that he was ac
cepting a pension from the Roman Catholic authori
ties. This act caused Zwingli much trouble for it made

68 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
the people suspicious of the kind of justice they were
likely to get from such a judge. This made him at
tempt to justify his act in a letter to Oecolampadius,
Capito and other friends at Strassburg. He seems to
have feared that the act would harm his reputation.
He did not succeed very well with his justification
because the people knew that the Grebels were as
much opposed to the pensions as Zwingli professed
to be. The result was that a number of Zwingli's
own followers became decidedly dissatisfied on ac
count of his rash act.
The execution of his father so weakened young
Grebel, whose health had not been good for some time
anyway, that he died soon thereafter. He has often
been accused for having acted and spoken rashly.
This may be true and it would be surprising if he had
not done so. His enemies naturally made use of every
semblance of rashness on his part.
Grebel did not make any original contribution to the
Anabaptist creed. He accepted what he found and em
phasized it in his own way, tho with more intelligence
than a less tutored man would have done. He opposed
the defense of the Gospel with the sword and believed
that real Christians should be as sheep among wolves
rather than conduct themselves as did the Miinsterites.
This and other expressions of Grebel are found in his
letter to Thomas Munzer, written September 5, 1524.
(A copy of this letter is found in "Geschichte des Miin-

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 69
sterischen Aufruhrs, Zweites Buch, Die Wiedertaufer",
pp. 240-249.— C. A. Cornelius.) F. Felix Manz.
Felix Manz was called a first-rate Hebrew scholar.
He was a man of considerable evangelistic ability and
possessed a great deal of enthusiasm. He was the first
among the Swiss Anabaptists to suffer martyrdom for
their cause. He had brot hundreds, and perhaps thou
sands, into their ranks during the short time allotted
him for his labors. He worked much with Grebel and
Blaurock. They were frequently asked as to their
position and frankly confessed that they had begun
baptizing on confession of faith and were partaking
of the Lord's Supper in their Brotherhood ; that they
were opposed to the exactions of usury and the tithe
on the part of the authorities and that they considered
all war as not allowed for Christians. The latter point
was objected to by Zwingli, especially because he was
then preparing to wage war against some of his Cath
olic neighbors.
The three men were tried. Grebel soon died ;
Blaurock was whipped out of the city and Manz was
condemned to be drowned because he had baptized
"contrary to the Christian order (Ordnung)"; "had
solicited followers for his views; had denounced cap
ital punishment and had claimed specific revelations
for himself", thru all of which "he had disturbed

70 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
the brotherly unity". His possessions were confisca
ted by the government and on January 25, 1527, the
executioner rowed down the Limmat with this victim
of Protestant rule carried out in the spirit of Roman
Catholic heresy-hunting. A Reformed clergyman at
tempted to induce Manz to recant while his mother
and brothers were encouraging him from the receding
shores. After having prayed, "Domine, in manus tuas
commando spiritum meum," he disappeared beneath
the waves of the small lake which was surrounded by
such beautiful scenery, but by no means ideal condi
tions in the realm of spiritual matters. This execution
was but the beginning of a long list of atrocities com
mitted against those who wanted to live according to
the dictates of their consciences, guided by the Holy
Scriptures, a people who wanted to acknowledge Jesus
Christ as the Head of the Church thru life rather than
thru profession. These were persecuted by such who
made the profession but who wanted no stirring up of
their consciences on the question of living up to the
same. G. Georg Blaurock.
The subject of this sketch was also called Jacob of
Chur. He joined the Brethren (Anabaptists) in 1524
and soon proved that he was a strong accession to the
cause. He had a powerful control of speech and suc
ceeded in convincing both old and young. He was the

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 71
man who had actually introduced rebaptism by re
questing Grebel to baptize him. (For a complete ac
count of this transaction cf. Erbkam, "Geschichte der
protestantischen Sekten", p. 527 note.)
In spite of frequent imprisonment he continued
preaching with great power of conviction in such pla
ces as it seemed at all safe to do so. He was finally
captured again in Tyrol and was burned at Innsbruck
September 6, 1529.
In popular parlance he was known as "der starke
Joerg" and as "der zweite Paulus". His enthusiasm
and his power of language made him a strong leader of
the common people, especially since he was able to
perpetuate his influence thru the hymns which he
composed, as well as thru his public addresses. He
was much feared by the enemies because, when thor-
oly aroused he did not hesitate to let them feel his
sarcasm. Blaurock's contribution lay largely in the fact that
he sacrificed the positions which his ability would
have given him in order to throw his great strength
and whole heart into the cause of Anabaptism. Wedel
calls him "eine markige Gestalt". This was the kind
of material which the rough Alps furnished to the
Anabaptist movement. It was not always highly pol
ished, but effective and good at heart with a disposi
tion unalterably devoted to the Church of which Christ
was to be the Head in fact, as well as in name.

72 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
H. Wilhelm Reublin.
The name of this man appears in many forms, e. g.
Reublin, Reubel, Rublin, Rubli, Roeublin, Rouebli,
Reiblin, Raebl, Raebli, Raebel, etc.
Little is known of Reublin's early history. The
fact that he requested Ferdinand for permission to
avail himself of his inheritance at Rothenburg, is taken
as evidence that his parents were well-to-do.
He studied at the universities of Freiburg and Tu
bingen, but seems to have been ordained to the priest
hood before completing his course.
Reublin boldly attacked the prevailing corruptions
and superstitions. This brot him very large audi
ences and the enthusiastic support of the working
classes. He refused to carry relics in the processions
and carried the Bible instead because he considered
the Bible a truly sacred thing whereas the relics were
but "dead bones" to him. Such "heresy" caused him
to be banished but he continued preaching wherever
he found opportunity to do so. He broke his priestly
vows by marrying. His experiences led him to a closer
study of the Scriptures which resulted in his beginning
to doubt the validity of infant baptism. He persuaded
parents to withhold baptism from their infants, vali
antly defended his position at the Zurich disputation
on January 17, 1525, and was among the first to intro
duce believers' baptism. The resulting banishment

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 73
sent him from Zurich to Waldshut where he met and
baptized Dr. Balthassar Hubmaier and a number of
others. Reublin was widely known as "Pastor Wilhelm".
Much of his work was itinerant preaching. This
brot him into contact with most of the leaders of his
day. His persecutors finally made it necessary for him to
seek refuge among the anti-pedobaptist Communists
of Moravia where he spent miserable years because
he was not willing to place the emphasis, demanded
by his hosts, upon communism. His declining years
are pathetic because he was an able man without a
field of labor and, of necessity, an object of a kind of
charity which was none too sweet.
I. Pilgram Marbeck.
Pilgram Marbeck, engineer, author and preacher,
was born about the end of the 15th century and died in
or near Augsburg about 1547. He was brot up a
Roman Catholic but turned to Luther's Reformation
about 1523. From this he turned because "where
God's Word was preached in the Lutheran way a
fleshly freedom followed in its trail".
His skill as an engineer saved Marbeck from many
persecutions. His religious views were so pronounced,
however, that even his skill in practical affairs could
not stay the persecution, especially when he began to

74 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
persuade the clergy. The publication of two books
on his views landed him in prison. At his own request
he was admitted to a disputation with Bucer. A rec
ord of this disputation has been kept. Marbeck de
fended his position in 28 articles with rare skill and
logical acumen. But it was all useless. The council
was opposed to him and therefore he was banished.
He went to Ulm and then to Augsburg where he be
came the guiding spirit of the Anabaptist movement
of the entire region.
In 1542 he published another book: "Vermahnung,
auch ganz klarer, griindlicher und unwidersprechlicher
Bericht zu wahrer christlicher ewig bestandiger Brii-
der-Vereinigung." This contained an exposition of
his views on sin, hereditary sin, baptism, divine wor
ship, magistracy and the Lord's Supper.
The sending of a copy of this book to a follower
of Schwenkfeld led to a fruitless and acrimonious dis
pute with the latter on the question of water baptism.
Aside from this regrettable incident, Marbeck led a
highly respected life and, for his time, had an unusu
ally long career for an Anabaptist leader.
J. Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier.
Dr. Balthasar Hubmaeier was born of poor parents
near Augsburg about 1480. He studied at Augsburg
and at Freiburg under the famous Dr. Eck.
Hubmaier was reared in polemical surroundings

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 75
and showed the effect of his training. He possessed
a strong pulpit ability. After the completion of his
studies he held a professorship of theology at Ingol-
stadt and later the prorectorship in the same institu
tion. A year later he became pastor of the cathedral
at Regensburg, where he assisted in the uprising
against the Jews, who were hated because of the way
in which they exacted "usury". He was made priest
of the new chapel which was erected at this place.
This chapel became a place of pilgrimage because of
the supposed miracles wrot by the image of the Holy
Mary placed there. The nuisance arising in connec
tion with these "miracles" did not appeal to Hubmaier
and he protested. This action caused his removal to
Waldshut where he became priest, and he became a
popular priest because he remained a conscientious
Roman Catholic and performed his duties so faithfully.
There was a growing suspicion, however, on his part
that the Catholic doctrine was not the highest good.
He began reading the Bible, especially the Pauline
epistles, and found himself inclining to emphasize the
Holy Scriptures as the final authority and best guide.
He probably also learned to respect the cause of the
Reformers, especially as he continued his studies of
the Bible. When this conviction had once gained
ground in his thinking, it did not take long for Hub
maier to come out as an open reformer. He found
himself in agreement with Zwingli's earlier views on

76 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
baptism, etc., and seems to have remained loyal to him
until the latter changed his views for prudential rea
sons. The Roman Catholic authorities, both ecclesiastical
and civil, soon brot all their powers to bear upon
his destruction. After Waldshut went over to the
Reformers, Hubmaier practically became the dictator
of the religious and, to a large extent, the political
policies of the place.
About this time Hubmaier came into contact with
Anabaptist leaders such as Grebel, Manz and Reublin.
The latter baptized him on Easter day of 1525. This
aroused the animosity of Zwingli who succeeded in
getting control of the magistrate and thus forcing
Hubmaier out.
It seems quite possible that Hubmaier had permit
ted himself to be influenced unduly by Miinzer and
hence allowed himself to undertake matters which
cast unjust reflections upon the Anabaptist cause and
did unnecessary harm to his influence as a leader.
As a result of the controversy with Zwingli, Hub
maier wrote two books : "Von dem christlichen Tauf
der Glaubigen" and : "Ein Gesprach von der Kinder-
tauf." These were both published in 1526. "The es
sence of baptism," he maintained, "is the expression of
personal faith and of the obligation which that faith
imposes." He rejected the arguments deduced from

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 77
the New Testament in favor of infant baptism and
argued that "the practice was actually forbidden inas
much as it falls under Matt. 15 :13, which prohibits
idolatry. On the other hand the baptism that proceeds
from conscious and acknowledged faith is the neces
sary condition for the existence of a Christian commu
nity." Hubmaier was in the habit of closing his addresses
or paragraphs in his writings with, "The truth is im
mortal." He frequently offered to discuss with his
opponents questions on which they differed and al
ways showed himself willing to be fair-minded, e. g.
in a letter to Zwingli on the subject of Baptism he
writes: "If I err, I will gladly retract; if Master Ul-
rich errs, he should not be ashamed to forsake his
error, for the truth will ultimately conquer him." He
frankly admitted that he might err, being a man, but
declared that he could not be a heretic because he was
willing to be taught better by any one.
He sent repeated requests to the authorities. In
the third of these he admonished them to judge justly.
He maintained that all customs and traditions must
be subject to the Bible on this point and charged the
authorities with partisanship in meting out justice.
He intimated that the lack of confidence toward them
on the part of the common people is due to the fact
that their rule had too often forced the latter to deal
contrary to their consciences and pointed out that men

78 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
must and will continue to claim that one must obey
God more than man. (Die dritte Erbietung Balthasar
Hubmaiers an den Rat zu Schaffhausen. September,
1524. Signed, Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier von Fridberg,
Pfarrer zu Waldshut. For copy of this document cf.
Loserth, Dr. Balhasar Hubmaier, pp. 196-200.)
Hubmaier looked upon the Mosaic code as a kind of
court of final appeal.
His pleas that his former appeals be heeded are
pathetic and his protest that he is innocent in the mat
ter of the rebellion at Waldshut is fervent. He wanted
an opportunity of pleading for himself in public and
agreed not to ask more of his slanderers than that they
better themselves, altho he was willing to accept the
death penalty for himself if found to be in the wrong.
When Hubmaier was tried for his rejection of in
fant baptism, he confessed that his early doubts about
the Scriptural authority of this rite were confirmed
by Zwingli, Dr. Bastian, Oecolampadius and others.
This is a point of considerable interest for our present
purpose. We have had frequent traces of this fact
and will have occasion to refer to it again in connec
tion with the more specific discussion of the various
men as to their probable attitude on the question of
Christ's Headship of the Church.
Hubmaier, in some respects, reminds one of Sa-
vanarola, e. g. in his apparent inconsistencies when

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 79
subjected to great suffering. Under such circumstan
ces he seems to have yielded on all points except in his
attitude toward infant baptism and his position re
garding the sacraments which meant nothing to him.
This gave his enemies an opportunity to spread all
kinds of reports as to the "recantations", and yet made
them secretly very much dissatified with the results
which they had obtained and consequently put them
into a frame of mind which would make them ill-dis
posed toward any leniency with so troublesome a char
acter. Hubmaier was ahead of his time and, tho he seems
to have looked upon the situation philosophically for a
while, the time came when his endurance, and perhaps
also his patience, gave way and he became logically
inconsistent in some respects, but on the whole he
stood up heroically for the truth as he saw it, and he
saw it more clearly than most of his critics, at least,
he came more nearly living what he saw. He was one
of the most successful teachers of the Anabaptists so
far as the number of accessions to the movement is
concerned. His inconsistencies, real and apparent, are
to be deplored, altho they put him into a less unfavor
able light than Zwingli's cynical criticisms of them do
the latter. The burning of Hubmaier was another
blot on the name of the Church which professed to
be guided by the Christ whom Hubmaier tried to fol
low honestly, tho imperfectly.

80 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
K. Eitel Hans Langenmantel.
This man was a member of one of the oldest and
most distinguished patrician fathilies in Augsburg.
His father was one of the most illustrious citizens of
that city during the first half of the 16th century. He
seems to have had many educational advantages, in
cluding those of travel. After his return from abroad
he took up an enthusiastic defense of Zwingli's dec-
trine of the Lord's Supper.
In 1527 Langenmantel joined the Anabaptists and
was baptized by Hans Hut in March of that year. He
became one of the most influential leaders of the move
ment. This was probably due largely to his social
position. He had been a pupil of Denck but was not
the equal of his teacher, either in learning or in philo
sophical ability.
He rendered faithful services in the ministry to
which he was soon elected. His conception of faith
was : "Der Glaube ist ein geistig innerlich geschafti-
ges Regen der Seele — ein Leben derselben im Gottli-
chen, das uns fruchtbar macht in allerlei guten Wer-
ken." This conception did not coincide with those of
many leaders of the established churches, but Langen
mantel did not hesitate to publish it and others in
several pamphlets. He also reacted strongly against
the commercial tendencies of the Lutheran clergy. He
accused them of avarice and took the position that

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 81
ministers ought not to be paid at all. This was due
largely to the fact that sc many clergymen looked for
the best paying parish rather than the parish offering
the greater opportunity for service.
He opposed infant baptism because he considered
it an error either to impute faith to the infant or to
accept the faith of the parents for the child. He had
little patience with the theological slight-of-hand
which was often used in defense of infant baptism.
He demanded to know how one could baptize where
faith in the preached Gospel was impossible and where
there was no responsible mind to have the kind of faith
which Jesus demanded. He believed that infants were
saved by the grace of God.
Langenmantel wrote a number of hymns and ren
dered good services as an evangelist. The Church at
Augsburg grew rapidly under his leadership. He held
meetings whenever and wherever it was safe to do so
and never seems to have wanted for an audience. The
growth of the "Community" provoked persecution and
many of his members were imprisoned. In 1527 he
was also captured but the influence of his family se
cured his freedom on condition that he leave Augs
burg. This he did but was captured by a marauding
party in 1528 and was executed. (For the account of
his execution and for his last prayer cf. Martyrerspie-
gel, Part II, p. 14.) Thru his death the Anabaptists
of Southern Germany lost another of their best leaders

82 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
and it made many of the people give up hope while
others became desperate.
L. Dirk and Obbe Philipps.
These two men were brothers who were born at
Leuwarden, Friesland about the beginningof the 16th
century. Little is known of Obbe, sometimes also
written Ubbo, Ubbe, Olbe, etc., but he is supposed to
have been a mechanic. Thru the preaching of Mel
chior Hoffmann, who visited Friesland on his tours,
Obbe was converted from Romanism to the Anabap
tist cause and became a preacher. (For an estimate of
Obbe Philipps on Melchior Hoffmann see van der
Smissen, Geschichte und Glaubenslehre der Menno
niten, p. 40.) He did not share Hoffmann's extrava
gant views, however, nor did he sympathize with the
Munster movement. He actively opposed both. He
seems to have been of a quiet nature, disposed to fos
ter the growth of a new Church in which those who
were really in earnest about their Christianity might
live according to the dictates of their consciences. He
was instrumental in the conversion of his brother,
Dirk, and, according to some reports, ordained Menno
Simon to the ministry. Later he returned to the fold
of the Roman Catholic Church, or at least withdrew
himself sufficiently from the Anabaptist (then Menno
nite) cause to take no more than a middle position
between the two religious bodies. There is some dif-

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 83
ference of opinion as to just why Obbe Philipps took
this step. Vos (Menno Simons) thinks that Obbe was
disappointed in his expectations and discouraged with
conditions as they developed. Just why this was true
is not so evident, but the writer ventures to suggest
that Obbe's lack of preparation for the kind of work
and responsibility which arose with the development
of the new movement may have had something to do
with the taking of this step by him.
Dirk Philipps had quite a different career. He was
born in 1504. Where he received his education is not
known, but he had the reputation of being the "best
educated among the Baptist-minded of his day" and
he is known to have been well versed in Latin and
Greek. He, too, refused to ally himself with the Miin-
ster movement. He preferred to build up a quiet
Baptist-minded community.
Dirk Philipps became both an efficient co-laborer
and an intimate friend of Menno Simon. The two
seem to have complemented each other very nicely
both as to ability and temperament. Philipps was the
more scholarly of the two and was also Menno's supe
rior in the "knowledge of the sciences", but he lacked
Menno's practical insight. Philipps was a very earnest
and enthusiastic man and was inclined to be puritanic.
This tendency was happily counter-acted by Menno's
disposition toward greater mildness. This difference
of disposition showed itself most clearly in the vexing

84 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
question of excommunication. Menno succeeded in
holding Philipps in moderation as long as he lived.
After Menno's death Philipps did less satisfactory work
along this line because of an increased harshness on
his part. On the other hand, Philipps was a great help
to Menno in that he furnished the latter a great and
good-hearted friend whom Menno sorely needed in
times of persecution and discouragement.
Dirk Philipps was very effective in his work as an
itinerant pastor-preacher in many parts of Northwest
ern Germany. He added to the value of this work by
the writing of his Enchiridion (A Handbook of the
Christian Doctrine, etc.). This book seems to have
had a large influence and is of value today because of
the insight which it gives into the doctrines of the
early Mennonites. This book passed thru many
editions in Europe (1564, 1578, 1579, 1600 and 1627)
and has also been published in the United States.
M. Gillis von Aachen.
Gillis von Aachen, or Gillis van Acken, was also
born about the beginning of the 16th century. In 1525
he was appointed chaplain at Hoiningen (Haehning-
en) and began to preach for the Anabaptists at Lim-
burg in 1531. The Munster movement seems to have
had a fascination for him. While on his way to that
city he was captured but was released again and seems
to have worked as an itinerant preacher until 1542

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 85
when Menno Simon ordained him as an elder. Gillis
continued his work with much success, baptizing large
numbers of people. He is said to have baptized more
martyrs, whose records are found in the Martyrs'
Mirror, than any other elder of the Baptist-minded.
In 1552 Gillis was excommunicated on the charge
of immorality, but was reinstated two years later fol
lowing a confession which seems to have been sincere.
This reinstatement caused the Mennonites much trou
ble, however, because of their strenuous insistence
upon a consistent life.
In 1557 Gillis was captured while preaching. Fear
ing death he recanted, promising to take up the cause
of Roman Catholicism wherever he had been preach
ing. He did not keep this promise, however, and was
soon captured again and beheaded.
Tileman van Braght refused to enter the account
of Gillis' martyrdom in the Martyrs' Mirror because
of his recantation. N. Leonert Bouvens.
The subject of this sketch was also an ardent sup
porter of Menno Simon. He was elected Elder by the
Church at Emden. His wife objected to this election
because -she feared that his enthusiasm would cause
him to fall into the hands of the persecutors. She
wrote to Menno Simon imploring him to use his in-

86 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
fluence in altering the action of the Church. This
Menno declined to do. Bouvens accepted the call and
served the cause very enthusiastically and success
fully. Within a short time he had baptized more than
10,000 people. This fact has been discovered from rec
ords kept by himself, in which the names, places and
dates of the baptisms are given.
Bouvens strongly emphasized consistent Christian
living and therefore favored the use of the "ban" (ex
communication). At first he was moderate in his in
terpretation of the "ban", favoring it merely as a kind
of defense against the "Schwarmgeister" (probably
referring to the Miinsterites and kindred spirits) but
later he became very extreme in his position. He is
accused of having intimidated Menno Simon and Dirk
Philipps so that they also took a more extreme posi
tion than they were inclined to do at first. If this is
true, Bouvens was probably responsible for a serious
split in the Mennonite body in 1557. His ability and
enthusiasm were of great value to the cause which he
represented and it is to be deplored that he allowed
his experiences to increase his puritanical tendencies.
If he had remained with his original position that the
"ban" should be used as a fruit of the Gospel, to build
up, not to break down, and then against the "spoilt
members" rather than the weak, Bouvens might have
become one of the most powerful leaders of the early
Mennonite Church.

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 87
O. Menno Simon.
The subject of this sketch was born at Witmarsum,
West Friesland, Holland. The exact date of his birth
is still a matter of conjecture and, as that question is
of little significance for the purposes of this thesis,
suffice it to say that Menno Simon was born sometime
during or near the year 1496.
His parents were probably farmers. He was edu
cated for the Roman priesthood and began serving at
Pingjum at the age of 28. Of the experiences in this
pastorate he writes: "Two other persons also officia
ted in the same station. The one was my pastor and
was well learned in part ; the other succeeded me ;
both had read the Scriptures partially, but I had not
touched them during my life, for I feared that if I
should read them they would mislead me. Behold,
such a stupid preacher was I for nearly two years. In
the first year thereafter the thought occurred to me,
as often as I handled the bread and wine in the mass,
that they were not the flesh and blood of the Lord.
I thought that it was the suggestion of the devil in
order that he might lead me away from faith. I con
fessed it often, sighed and prayed, yet I was unable to
free myself from the thought. At length I resolved
that I would examine the New Testament actively.
I had not proceeded far therein ere I discovered that
we had been deceived. My conscience, which was

88 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
troubled on account of the sacramental bread, afore
mentioned, was soon greatly relieved, without any
human aid or advice; though I was encouraged by
Luther in the belief that human authority cannot bind
to eternal death."
The death of one Sicke Snyder, who was beheaded
because he had been re-baptized, led to further think
ing on the part of Menno. He consulted in turn with
his Roman Catholic pastor, with Luther, with Bucer
and with Bullinger and received different answers
from them all on the question of infant baptism. He
says of this experience : "Having thus observed that
authors varied greatly among themselves, each fol
lowing his own opinion, I became convinced that we
were deceived in relation to infant baptism."
He next went to the village of his birth, Witmar
sum, where he labored with much display of enthusi
asm but with an inward unrest because, as he accused
himself afterward, he was acting the hypocrite.
Soon after this representatives of the Miinsterites
visited the vicinity and succeeded in gaining a num
ber of followers. Menno combatted them but admits
that he was weakened in his efforts because "he did
that which he knew was not right". His activities
against the Miinsterites soon gained for him the repu
tation, "dass er ihnen den Mund fein stopfen konne".
At one time Menno would have prided himself on such
a reputation, but at this time his conscience had been

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 89
awakened and therefore this praise became to him as
a thorn in the flesh. He had become conscious of sin
and began to pray fervently that God should keep him
from making himself the partaker of other men's sins.
When the Miinsterites had gained a considerable
following the authorities attacked about 300 of them
at Oude Klooster, near Witmarsum, and executed
most of them, including Menno's brother. The effect
of this may be seen from Menno's own words: "After
this had transpired, the blood of the slain, although it
was shed in error, grieved me so sorely that I could not
endure it. I could find no rest in my soul. I reflected
upon my carnal, sinful life, my hypocritical doctrine
and idolatry, in which I appeared daily under the ap
pearance of godliness. I saw that these zealous chil
dren willingly gave their lives and their estates, though
they were in error, for their doctrine and faith. And
I was one of those who had discovered some of their
abominations, and yet, I myself remained satisfied
with my unrestrained life and my known defilements.
I wished only to live comfortably and without the
cross of Christ. Thus reflecting upon these things my
soul was so grieved that I could no longer endure it.
I thought to myself — I, miserable man, what shall I
do? If I continue in this way and live not agreeably
to the Word of the Lord, according to the knowledge
of truth which I have obtained ; if I do not rebuke to
the best of my ability the hypocricy, the impenitent,

90 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
carnal life, the perverted baptism, the Lord's Supper
and false worship of God, which the learned teach ; if
I, through bodily fear, do not show them the true foun
dation of truth, neither use all my powers to direct the
wandering flock, who would gladly do their duty if
they knew it, to the true pastures of Christ — Oh, how
shall their shed blood, though shed in error, rise
against me at the judgment of the Almighty and pro
nounce sentence against my poor, miserable soul."
This experience led him to a deeper self-examination
and to an open renunciation of his former life and a
denunciation of the practices of the leaders who did
not teach the poor people the truth. He continued to
oppose the Miinsterites but not in the same spirit.
About a year later six to eight young men of high
character came to Menno while he was "secretly exer
cising himself in the Word of God" and appealed to
him to become their leader. The principal emphasis
of their plea was the need of spiritual leadership. This
call affected Menno deeply (cf. Works of Menno Si
mon, Part I, pp. 5, 6). After deep searching of soul he
finally accepted the call because of the great need and
took up his difficult task with an earnest determination
to serve the Lord faithfully, come what might.
He did not have to wait long for persecutions, but
seems to have met them heroically. The longer one
reads in his works the more one feels that Menno look
ed upon these persecutions as a kind of desert for his

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 91
former life. This caused a tinge of asceticism to ap
pear in his life which sometimes bordered on other
worldliness but it never affected him sufficiently to
entangle him in any Chiliastic or Apocalyptic allian
ces. By nature Menno seems to have been of a kindly
disposition. This was a good trait for a man in his
position. As it was, the bitterness of persecution and
the heartache, due to misunderstandings within the
movement, sometimes caused a certain gruffness to ap
pear in his attitude toward others. Ellenberger says
of Menno : "Fest und zahe wie sein Geburtsland, dort
in der Nahe der Nordsee, sehen wir ihn in seinem spa-
teren Leben." It was fortunate that he had such a
nature, and more fortunate that it was tempered with
the spirit of kindness in spite of the sore trials to
which he did not always succumb.
Six years after Menno left the Roman Church a de
cree was issued forbidding any one from helping him
and offering 100 Carolus Guilders for his capture.
After this Menno saw few days of safety.
The frugal and God-fearing lives of the Anabap
tists appealed so strongly to the Countess Anna that
she sheltered them. This helped Menno for a while,
but the authorities continually confused the peaceful
subjects of the Countess with the Miinsterites and
therefore forced her to persecute them.
The nature of the persecutions against the Ana-

92 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
baptists may be seen from the following summary of
orders issued by the authorities against the "Weder-
dooperen". No one was to ask pardon for them when
they had been condemned to death; any one leading
to the capture of Anabaptists was to receive one-third
of their possessions; no one might conceal things be
longing to them ; any one taken as an Anabaptist was
to be killed, even tho he confessed; all unbaptized
children were to be "baptized" and the names of the
parents given to the Roman Catholic priest of the
respective parish.
It does not take a very strong imagination to see
why these peace-loving people believed that the
Church, founded by Jesus Christ and named after
Him, should not be ruled by carnally-minded men who
made brute force and not the will of God their shibbo
leth !
Under these conditions Menno built so well that
the movement, which had been started in Southern
Germany and Switzerland and then carried down the
Rhine by fleeing members, was called after him. Tho
fiercely persecuted he lived to be over 60 years of age.
During the latter years of his life he and his family
were in misery and want much of the time; he was
often in danger for his life and sometimes came near
despairing, but he kept on working. He felt his hard
ships keenly but not so keenly as the sufferings caused
him by the serious misunderstandings within the

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 93
movement itself. This was due largely to the extreme
views which Leonert Bouvens held regarding excom
munication and was intensified by the fact that he suc
ceeded in getting Dirk Philipps and Menno to take his
part for the sake of peace. Their conciliatory attitude
was interpreted as an intimidation and they conse
quently lost their influence to a large degree.
Menno died January 13, 1559, at Wuestenfelde.
This place was later destroyed by the "Thirty Years'
War" and no one knows where the burial place of the
great leader is to be found. A memorial was erected
to him at Witmarsum in 1877 which bears. the inscrip
tion of his motto: "For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." I Cor.
3:11. Menno's doctrinal position was that of the move
ment of the quiet Baptist-minded as a whole, except
on two points, namely the incarnation and the "ban".
The latter, as we have seen, was influenced by the
radical position of Leonert Bouvens and the former
was probably due to impressions received from Mel
chior Hoffmann at a time when Menno was too little
grounded in the Scriptures to settle the matter calmly,
especially because his reaction from the practices of
the Roman Church came about the same time. He
believed that Jesus had simply passed thru Mary
without having received any of her properties. He
seems to have felt that in admitting the receipt of any-

94 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
thing from Mary there was danger of permitting a sug
gestion to enter that Jesus was sinful. Perhaps the
reaction from the crass practices of the Roman Church
may have influenced him also. Whatever may have
been the cause, he does not seem to have urged this
point very much and the movement as a whole cer
tainly never accepted it.
Menno did his best work as a preacher and a pas
tor. He was not primarily a theologian and entered
theological controversies with much hesitation. When
he had once begun, however, he carried them on with
considerable fervor. On occasion he expressed him
self with more force than elegance. In this he did not
exceed others whose names are more prominent in the
annals of history, but his followers are not proud of the
fact that their leader should have yielded to the "Zeit
geist" in this respect. His peculiar temptation seems
to have been on the question of baptism, which was
naturally a cause for provocation under existing con
ditions. Positively stated, his views on baptism were
that it is a sign and witness of an inner renewing,
which comes thru faith and, since this depends upon
the free decision of the individual, no one who has not
reached his years of discretion is ready for baptism.
His views on other points of doctrine will be treated
in a later chapter as their relation to his probable
views on Christ's Headship of the Church makes them
relevant.

REPRESENTATIVE LEADERS 95
If Menno could have written pastoral epistles in
stead of controversial pamphlets, the writer feels that
his contribution to the Church and the world would
have been much more acceptable and valuable. Never
theless Menno Simon has made no mean contribution
and his work has doubtlessly not come to its full recog
nition as yet. Portions of the Anabaptist movement
who turned from him on the question of the "ban",
later adopted his name and others, not of the denom
ination bearing his name, have become increasingly
interested in his work.
One of the striking features about this man was
the fact that he became so proficient in his knowledge
of the Scriptures, as his writings show. This was
characteristic of the members of the movement as a
whole and no doubt accounts for the persistency of
those who had once joined it and for the emphasis
which they placed upon consistently following Christ
in one's daily life. * * *
There may be room for considerable difference of
opinion as to the probable attitude which some of the
foregoing leaders might take on the various points
involved in a discussion on the question of Christ's
Headship of the Church, if they were living today, but
there can be no doubt as to the fact that they looked
upon Christ as the Head of the true Church. The
fact that they were possessed of this idea beyond the

96 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
point of mere theory or profession made them mis
fits in the established order of things but it also made
them willing to sacrifice their opportunities for world
ly gain and renown, and even the enjoyment of the
inalienable human rights.

CHAPTER IV
WAYS IN WHICH THE CONCEPTIONS OF
THESE LEADERS REGARDING CHRIST'S
HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH FOUND
EXPRESSION
In dealing with this wide-spread and growing long
ing for deep and personal communion with God we
have felt that men and women, who en masse were
usually looked upon with either pity or contempt by
the theological leaders of their day, were struggling
to give expression to large and noble conceptions. To
them "the real matter of the Reformation was not the
correction of views but the correction of real religion,
the practical relations between God and the soul."
(Forsythe, The Person and Place of Jesus Christ, p.
191.) This is why so many of them were dissatisfied
with the later attitudes of the leading Reformers and
turned away from those whom they had commenced
to follow so gladly and so hopefully. They cared for
no doctrine which could not be lived and consequently
were misunderstood in a day when the theological
leaders placed so much emphasis upon the verbal
statement of religious beliefs. They made religion
everything and took Christ seriously while" many of

98 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
their persecutors used religion as a convenient cloak
to be put on when occasion demanded it.
A time of such vast contrasts and of such porten-
tious transitions is naturally also a time of new begin
nings. This applies both to modes of thinking and to
expressions of the same. Owing to the degeneration
in the established churches, a new beginning had to
be made in many respects and hence it is not surpri
sing that many experiences of the Apostolic Church
were repeated during the decades immediately suc
ceeding the formal opening of the Reformation by
Luther in 1519. The Anabaptists and early Menno
nites were not ready for a system of theology at this
time. They were just having the experiential birth-
pangs of a new church life and needed all their
strength to survive this ordeal. Hence it is not strange
that we find statements which seem crude and un
scientific, especially when we remember that these
people were goaded to an expression of their views
by theologians who had had considerable training in
philosophical subtleties, but who lacked the spiritual
experience of their victims. For these reasons it is nec
essary to consider the lives of these people rather than
the verbal expressions on matters of doctrine, in order
to get at their real points of view. Let us remember
that these people belonged to a spiritual movement
which had re-apprehended Christian faith thru its
study of the Bible and its insistence upon a return to

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 99
the kind of life found in the Apostolic Church. "It
must be observed that in Christianity thus defined and
thus operative the person of Christ always stands forth
as unique, supreme, divine, redemptive, and directive.
'Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia' ". (Encyclop. of Rel. and
Ethics. Article, Jesus Christ, by W. Douglas Mac
Kenzie.) Hence we are not surprised to find a leader
like Menno Simon expressing himself as follows: "I
desire nothing else, before God, who created me, than
to deal plainly with the living voice before everyone
as one willing to be overcome by the Spirit of Christ,
or to overcome ; for my desire is that I and many with
me be saved ; hence it is unnecessary to use the sword
against me; if I have not the truth, I desire with all
my heart to be instructed in it ; but if I have, then you
do not persecute me but Him who is the truth, Christ
Jesus." (Complete Works of Menno Simon, I, p. 214.)
Such modes of expression received all too little atten
tion on the part of the leaders of the Church at that
time. That is why history has had to be written as it
has, but that is no reason for undervaluing such ex
pressions as an indication of where men stood on doc
trinal points.
The conscientious followers of the Sermon on
the Mount often failed to express themselves ex
actly as did the followers of the Nicene Creed, but
that fact does not give us the privilege to pass super
ficial judgments on what they really thot; it challen-

100 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
ges us to a deeper study of the underlying causes of
the apparent differences between the two classes of
followers. "It is impossible for any one, whether he
be a student of history or no, to fail to notice the dif
ference of both form and content between the Sermon
on the Mount and the Nicene Creed. The Sermon on
the Mount is the promulgation of a new law of con
duct ; it assumes beliefs rather than formulates them ;
the theological conceptions which underlie it belong
to the ethical rather than the speculative side of the
ology; metaphysics are wholly absent. The Nicene
Creed is a statement partly of historic facts and partly
of dogmatic inferences ; the metaphysical terms which
it contains would probably have been unintelligible to
the first disciples ; ethics have no place in it. The one
belongs to a world of Syrian peasants, the other to a
world of Greek philosophers." (Dr. Edwin Hatch,
The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the
Christian Church, p. 1.) The fundamental implications
of the foregoing contrast also apply to differences of
expression found at the time of the Reformation be
tween the theologians and the people who wanted a
religious conviction which could express itself in life.
It was not, at that time, a question as to whether Jesus
Christ had founded the Church (nominally at least all
would have agreed to that) ; it was rather a question
of why He had done so. The Anabaptists would have
answered the latter question by saying that Jesus

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 101
Christ had founded the Church in order to have a
Community (Gemeinde) of spiritually-minded men
and women ; their enemies answered the same ques
tion, in fact if not in theory, by maintaining that the
Church was founded to be a politico-religious world
power. Keeping in mind the facts pointed out in the fore
going, we are ready to trace out more specifically the
conceptions of the early Mennonite leaders and their
Anabaptist predecessors regarding Christ's Headship
of the church. This will be done under the following
general heads:
A. Thru their conceptions regarding Christ's
Person.
B. Thru their conceptions regarding Christ's
Work.
C. Thru their conceptions regarding the
Church.
A. Conceptions of Anabaptist Leaders Regarding
Christ's Person.
"As far as Christology is concerned, it is the grad
ual unfolding of the central fact that Jesus Christ is
from the first accepted by the Church as the incarnate
Son of God, the redeemer of man by the cross, the
ruler of our experience by His Spirit" (Dr. W. Doug
las MacKenzie). With such a plan in mind one may

102 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
say that these Anabaptist leaders looked upon Jesus
Christ as the Son of God who came into this world in
order to save men from sin. They conceived of Him
as having been with the Father before the beginning
of the world ; that He came into the world as the first
born son of Mary; that He was crucified and, having
died, He was raised again and did ascend into heaven
from whence He will come again as the Judge of the
whole world. They conceived of Him as still the same
who was with the Father from the beginning and then
lived upon the earth in order to carry out the will of
the Father regarding the redemption of man. (For a
copy of the original text upon which the foregoing
summary is based, taken from a book which was pub
lished in 1664, see Appendix IV.)
The question as to how such a transaction could be
possible was met by them by simply accepting the
Scriptural accounts without attempting to fathom the
mysteries which these accounts present or to solve the
problems which they raise. This need not surprise
us, however, for we have already reminded ourselves
that these men stood in a period of transitions and in
a time of new beginnings. Later Confessions of Faith
are greatly amplified, showing that the conceptions
which were obtained during and soon after the great
transition period of the Reformation were not suffi
cient to meet the questions which naturally arose from
a more highly organized condition of the Communities

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 103
(Gemeinden) and from the leisure to think, combined
with the rapidly rising educational facilities which
stimulated such thinking. The leaders with whom we
are concerned were not unmindful of the problems
which arose later. They were not ready to meet them
in such a definite way, however, as to give to their
posterity a clear or satisfying answer as to their solu
tion. The conditions surrounding them naturally bred
a kind of timidity which is not altogether to be con
demned because undue boldness is apt to play more
havoc in such delicate matters than an anxious hesi
tation even tho the latter provokes an impatience
which too often makes for divisions. We need not
wonder that these early leaders were careful, however,
when we learn that as late as 1763 Cornells Ris, who
had been requested to draw up a summary of all for
mer Confessions of Faith, was guided in this work by
very carefully formulated rules among which we find
the following : "Die dritte Regel : Behutsam von den
Geheimnissen sich auszudriicken, woriiber gutgesinnte
Gemiiter bisweilen Zweifel hegen." Then, referring to
the Trinity, he says : "Ich bin fur mich selber in der
Lehre von der heiligen Dreyeinigkeit wohl gegriindet,
und hege eine demiitige Ehrerbietung fur diese Wahr-
heit vom ersten Range; dennoch bin ich davon sehr
kurz, und habe so vorsichtig, und mit den Worten der
Heiligen Schrift so genau ubereinstimmend mich aus
zudriicken bestrebt, wie mir nur moglich gewesen;

104 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
weil ich aus eigner Erfahrung weiss, wie furchtsam
zarte Gemiiter, denen bey ihrer Erziehung oder sonsten
andere Grundsatze eingeflosset, in diesem Punkt sind,
und wie schwer es fallt, griindlich ihre Einwiirfe auf-
zulosen; imgleichen wie oft sie Anstoss nehmen an
einigen menschlichen Redensarten, durch die Unvor-
sichtigkeit solcher Personen, denen es an aufgeklarten
Begriffen fehlt." (Die Glaubenslehre der wahren Men
noniten oder Taufgesinnten aus deren offentlichen
Glaubensbekenntnissen zusammen gezogen durch Cor
nells Ris-) Lest we forget, such "Behutsamkeit" (cir
cumspection) has not become unknown, or perhaps
even unnecessary, lo, these many years since Cornelis
Ris wrote, to say nothing of the time which has elaps
ed since men, bent upon controversy, drew forth state
ments from other men who wanted to live their faith
rather than to argue about it ! This fact should make
us less critical because so little was produced and more
appreciative of the quality which that little was able
to show when occasion demanded.
In taking up the views of individual leaders we
find that they agree concerning those matters which
make for an accentuation of the application of Chris
tian truth and sometimes differ widely on purely specu
lative points.
Hans Denck says comparatively little about Jesus
Christ. For him the "inner voice" is of prime import-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 105
ance and therefore his expressions lead one to think
more definitely concerning the Holy Spirit. This does
not mean, however, that Denck did not emphasize
faith in Christ. For him "Christ has come from God
as a sunbeam from the sun . . . Christ is the Son of the
Highest and all good men are the children of God".
"Men are inclined toward sin, but there is also a 'some
thing' within me which opposes this tendency toward
sin. This 'something' is from God. This, and not the
so-called 'faith' which is nothing more than taking for
granted certain doctrines, is what leads me to a right
relationship with God. Hence I conclude that this
'something' in me is Christ, of whom the Scriptures
testify that He is the Son of the Highest." He also
said that he conceived of Jesus Christ as having lived
eternally and that He would remain the Mediator of
all men for all time. He also conceived of all true
Christians as being one with God in Christ, or, as he
says in another place, "God and man are individuals,
but they are bound together through Jesus Christ who
became man." Denck further maintained that "the
love of God could not have shown itself more clearly
than it did through Jesus of Nazareth". He also con
ceived of Christ as having been sinless, for he says:
"Christ never stumbled, He was never at variance with
God, although born in time according to the flesh, and
subjected to all of the weaknesses of men, except sin."
Denck, in speaking of salvation declared that "all

106 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
those who are saved must be saved through Christ."
Taken by themselves these statements suggest many
phases of a well developed system of theology, but
when one takes them with their context one finds that
in Denck's mind they are primarily suggestions of what
he thinks of Him upon whom he depends for power
to lead a consistent life and for light in thinking of
what he ought to be and do. Denck was a mystic, but
one who wanted the suggestions of the "inner voice"
to be converted into the kind of men and women who
would carry out the wishes of God as represented in
Jesus Christ. Hence we find Denck frequently refer
ring to the attitude of Jesus on certain points of dis
cussion, e. g- he says : "Christ, who was Love, said
nothing about church rules and ceremonies." This
settled the matter for Denck. Not that he was an
iconoclast in the strict sense of the word, but he felt
that a thing that Jesus Christ had said nothing about
was not of sufficient importance for the Church to lay
such emphasis on ; especially when the Church seemed
so anxious to make very little of a number of things
concerning which Christ had expressed Himself quite
clearly and even emphatically.
Denck was not by nature inclined to rebel and
therefore concerned himself comparatively little about
the idea of law, especially in the sense in which it was
used in the Roman Catholic Church of his day. He

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 107
believed that the teachings of Christ do not stand in
opposition to the law, but that they contain the higher
development of the same thot. This, to Denck, was
an inspiration to live near to Christ ; he felt as tho he
had risen to a new height thru Christ and that the
"observances" of former days had lost their import
ance. This does not mean that Denck thot himself
above these, as weak or carnally-minded men have
sometimes done. It was not license which he sought
but liberty in the higher sense and for him this liberty
came thru Christ, the Son of God, become man for a
definite purpose and now residing again with God as
the eternal Mediator of all men. This was a very real
matter for Denck and he had little time, and perhaps
as little inclination to worry himself about the specu
lative or metaphysical problems connected with such
conceptions. In fact, he seems to have had a kind of
suspicion that when men, in his day when there was
such a dire lack of Christ-like living, spent their time
and energies- with the merely speculative side of the
Christ, they were probably in need of a reminder that
that was not the most important side.
The two great words in Denck's theology were love
and faith, and they both centered in Christ. This is
quite important in an estimate of his Christology and
goes farther in giving us an idea of what Jesus Christ
meant to Hans Denck than a skillfully worked-out
statement of theology might.

108 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Dirk Philipps prefaces his chapter on the Incarna
tion (Enchiridion, pp. 100-125) with the following
quotations: "The Word became flesh, John 1:14a";
"That which was from the beginning, that which we
have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes,
that which we beheld, and our hands handled, con
cerning the Word of Life, and the Life was mani
fested, I John 1 :2a" and "Great is the mystery of
godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, I Tim.
3 :16b." These quotations suggest where he stood on
the fact of the incarnation. His quotations were evi
dently made with the purpose of making it clear to
the enemies that he believed in the incarnated Christ,
(for it was part of the mission of this confession to
refute the charges of enemies that the Mennonites did
not believe in Christ). The fact that the selection
seems somewhat strained and not in conformity with
all of the modern rules of exposition is of little concern
to us in this connection.
After a detailed exposition of their belief regarding
the incarnation of Christ, Philipps sums up the matter
as follows : "Darum so ist zum letzten unser Glauben
und herzgriindliche Bekenntnis vor Gott dem Herrn,
vor seinen Engeln, vor alien rechten Christen und vor
einem jeglichen, dass Jesus Christus ist der eigene na-
tiirliche, eingebohrene, erstgebohrene Sohn des leben-
digen Gottes, wahrhaftig GOtt und GOttes Sohn, (Joh.
l.a 3.c. Heb. l.a. Mich. 5.a.) ein wahrhaftiger Mensch

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 109
und des Menschen Sohn, GOtt und GOttes Sohn, von
Ewigkeit bey GOtt, und in GOtt, (von welchem er ge-
bohren ist) von Ewigkeit Rom. 8.a.) Aber ein Mensch
in der letzten Zeit nach der Verheissung des Vaters,
durch seine eigene gutwillige Gelassenheit, Gehor-
samkeit, Verkleinerung seiner selbst, Ablegung seiner
gottlichen Gestalt und Annehmung einer menschli-
chen und knechtlichen Gestalt, aus uberflussiger Liebe
geworden ; darum ist er auch der rechte einige Mittler
zwischen GOtt und den Menschen, denn er steht recht
in dem Mittel. II Tim. 2.b. Namlich er ist nicht allein
GOtt und GOttes Sohn, sondern er ist auch ein Mensch
und des Menschen Sohn ; dem Vater ist er gleich nach
seiner Gottheit, aber uns Menschen ist er gleich nach
seiner Menschheit, ausgenommen der Sunde und alle
siindliche und irdische Art unseres Fleisches ; denn er
ist der andere Adam (I Cor. 15. e), der Herr selber von
dem Himmel, sein Fleisch hat er fur uns in den Tod
gegeben und seinen Geist in die Hande seines Vaters
befohlen; ja, dass die Sonne in dem Tod Christi ver-
dunkelt (Marc 15.d. Matt. 27.e.) und doch nicht ver-
gangen ist, scheinet wohl zu bezeichnen, und mag
nicht unformlich darauf gedeutet werden (dieweil
doch GOtt in der Schrift durch die Sonne abgebildet,
und die Sonne genannt wird, Buch d. Weish. 5.a. Ps.
19.a), dass der Glanz der Herrlichkeit GOttes Jesus
Christus nach dem Fleisch gestorben ist (Offenb. l.d),
und gleichwohl nach dem Geist lebet, . als er selber

110 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
sagt: "Ich bin lebendig, und war todt, und siehe, ich
lebe von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit." Heb. l.a.
"Drey Stunden ist die Sonne verdunkelt gewesen
wider ihre Art, und doch nicht vergangen ; drey Tage
und drey Nachte ist Jonas im Wallfisch gewesen, und
doch lebendig geblieben fiber die Natur ; wiederum ist
er am dritten Tage von den Todten auferstanden, (1
Cor. 15. a) und nach dem Geist lebendig gemachet, fiber
die menschliche Natur : Also ist das edle Weizenkorn-
lein Jesus Christus in die Erde gefallen, (Joh. 12.c) und
hat durch sein Leiden und Tod viel seligmachende
Frucht gebracht, (Tit. 3.a) also hat der getreue und
einige gute Hirt Jesus Christus nach und aus dem Be-
fehl seines himmlischen Vaters, selber sein Leben von
ihm selbst gelassen, und wiederum zu ihm genommen.
Joh. lO.b. Also ist das unschuldige Lamm Gottes, Je
sus Christus, welches die Sunden der Welt hinweg-
nimmt, seinem himmlischen Vater zu einem siissen
Geruch, aber uns zur ewigen Seligkeit, an dem Kreuz
geopfert; denn solches hat er selber gewollt. Esai.
53.a. Joh. 2.c. 1. Pet. I.e. Eph. 5. a."
After this summary Philipps stated that they con
sidered any one who did not believe in the eternal
divinity (Gottheit) and the real humanity of Jesus
Christ, an anti-Christ. He also insists that it is not
sufficient to accept this as a fact merely. If it is to
have any value it must affect the life of the confessor

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 111
or he is no better than the devil who also believes that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and of man. Philipps
calls this real kind of faith in Christ the belief in Him
as the "Word". He makes a great deal of this ex
pression. His idea seems to be that Christ is an ex
pression of God's mind (Gemiit) in the form of a
Word-being (wesentliches Wort) and therefore dif
ferent from all other "Words" of God. As such a be
ing Christ was with the Father from the beginning.
He limited Himself, of His own volition, in order to
carry out the purposes of God on this earth and then
returned to the Father where He continues to exist as
He did before His sojourn upon earth. He is of the
same kind and nature with the Father (gleicher Art
und Natur).
Philipps seems also to have had difficulty in avoid
ing a conflict in his mind as to how Christ (Jesus)
could have received the substance of His body from
Mary and yet not partake of the inheritance of "Ad
am's sin". His solution was that God had created
the body of Jesus in Mary. His defense of his posi
tion clearly indicates that it was a reaction against the
crass interpretations of the "world" on this subject.
In his chapter "Von der rechten Erkenntnis Jesu
Christi" (Enchiridion pp. 127-158) Philipps reviews the
foregoing points in the light of Scripture and finds a
great many passages in both the Old and the New
Testaments bearing on the subject from his view-

112 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
point. The extreme literalness of interpretation and
the tendency to look for "proof texts" is quite in evi
dence but that is not surprising when we take into
consideration the time in which he wrote. He takes
it for granted that his readers are acquainted with the
Scriptures and he also maintains that the correct con
ception of Christ is a matter of faith rather than a
matter of intellectual understanding. He considers
the relation of Jesus Christ to the Father a mystery
which is of real significance to mankind as a matter of
life, both here on earth and in the world to come. He
admonishes his readers to believe this mystery and
admits significantly: "Aber das ist der Vernunft un-
begreiflich und muss allein mit dem Glauben gefasset
werden, dass Jesus Christus, der aus dem Vater ist
nach dem Fleisch, dass derselbige uberall GOtt ist,
gebenedeyet in Ewigkeit, darum sagt Paulus, dass dies
gottselige Geheimniss gross ist, namlich : Dass GOtt
geoffenbaret ist in dem Fleisch, fromm gemacht in
dem Geist, erschienen denen Engeln, geprediget denen
Heiden, beglaubet von der Welt, aufgenommen in die
Herrlichkeit. 2. Tim. 3.b. Diese Heimlichkeit konnte
der Apostel Thomas zum ersten nicht erkennen, aber
da er von Gott durch den Heiligen Geist erleuchtet und
durch die Erfahrung recht gelehret, und also recht
glaubig worden war, sprach er zu Christum: Mein
HErr und mein GOtt. (Joh. 20.d.) Welche Bekenntnis
Thoma nicht zu dem Vater, sondern zu Christo ge-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 113
sprochen ist, und darum nicht auf den Vater, sondern
auf Christum muss verstanden werden."
This emphasis on faith rather than on intellectua1
discernment was not, on the part of Philipps, a case of
evading a difficult problem. He and his associates
were so much concerned with the ethical application
of the principles of Christ that they could not sever
the practical from the purely theoretical. There were
such within the movement who reacted so strongly
from the intellectual subtleties and the evil lives of
many of the learned that they despised learning, but
this was not the case with Philipps. He got at the truth
of the Gospels by what Denney calls "a truly religious
way". He. and in this he was a type for the movement
as a whole, belongs to the class of people to whom
Denney refers (Jesus and the Gospel, p. 150) when
he says : "When a man who is morally in earnest, ab
sorbed in the effort to lead a spiritual life in the world
of nature, a life of freedom in the realm of necessity,
takes the Gospels into his hand and looks upon the
figure of Jesus, the last thing which will occur to him
is that this figure is unreal. There may be a great deal
in the Gospel narratives which puzzles him, which he
does not know what to do with, and for the present
must ignore ; but there is something also which is its
own evidence and which rises out of the narrative in
unquestionable reality — the spiritual life of Jesus".
For Philipps and his associates this was also true of Je-

114 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
sus Christ, both as the Son of God eternally with the
Father and as Jesus of Nazareth, in His relation to
and with the Father. They perused the Gospels and
found in them the reality of this Jesus Christ confront
ing them. Of this one thing they were sure and they
were content to let the matter rest there so far as in
tellectual discernment of details was concerned. They
believed it, and believing it, tried to live as tho it were
really true.
If, as Dr. MacKenzie says, "we must in our theol
ogy conceive of the person of Christ in relation to the
community whose very consciousness is that it lives in
Him," then Philipps and his associates give us a pretty
clear conception of the power of Christ's personality
over human beings. It was in this direction that they
gave the evidence of their conception of Him rather
than in the form of nicely balanced creeds. Without
considering the latter as of no value, they felt as Wedel
expresses himself (Meditationen, 168) : "Aber blosse
Ideen, Lehrsatze, Ansichten — und seien sie auch gut
und -schon, bilden kein haltbares Fundament religioser
Ueberzeugung." This does not mean that they did
not value thot, and especially devotional thot. A man
was to live in personal relationship with Christ, in a
real communion with Him, but this communion was
to bear fruitage in the way the man who professed to
have it conducted himself. Wedel says : "Religion ist
ihrem Tiefsinn nach Gemeinschaft mit Gott, so dass

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 115
der Mensch gottliche Kraftwirkungen in seinem Her-
zen erfahret." (Meditationen, p. 168.) It was this
working power in the hearts of men that these early
Mennonites were most concerned with and their posi
tion was what it was because of their conception of
Jesus Christ.
In this principal emphasis and central fact of their
position Menno Simon agreed with the rest. This was
what bound the movement so closely together that the
differences of opinion on minor matters could not pre
vent it from crystallizing into a denomination. What
was true of the leaders, was also true of the rank and
file of the movement. We repeatedly find that men
and women "were baptized on their faith in Christ in
order that they might rise with Him and walk with
Him in the new life".
It was only when these people were forced to give
expression, under pressure, to their beliefs that the
"peculiar views", which they were supposed to possess
came to the fore, and even then we do not find that
these "views" were more than an attempt to solve
problems in a realm in which they did not feel them
selves at home. For example, we find that Menno
contradicted himself in regard to his "view" of the
incarnation. In the heat of discussion he declared
himself as believing that Jesus had merely passed
thru Mary, but when he writes his exposition of the
25th Psalm he says: "O Lord! I am not ashamed

116 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
of my doctrine before Thee and Thine angels, much
less before this rebellious world ; for I know assuredly
that I teach Thy Word. I have taught throughout a
repentance, a dying unto our sinful flesh and the new
life that cometh from God. I have taught a true, sin
cere faith in Thee and Thy beloved Son, that it might
be made powerful through love. I have taught Jesus
Christ and Him crucified, very God and very man,
who, in an incomprehensible, inexpressible and inde
scribable manner, was born of Thee from all eternity,
the eternal Word and Wisdom, the brightness of Thy
glory and the express image of Thy person ; and that, in
fullness of time, through the power of Thy Holy Spirit,
He became in the womb of the unspotted virgin, Mary,
real flesh and blood, a visible, tangible and mortal man
like unto Adam and his posterity in all things, yet
without sin, born of the seed or lineage of Abraham
and David, dead and buried He rose again, ascended
into heaven and thus became before Thee our only and
eternal Advocate, Mediator, Intercessor and Redeem
er. If all prophets, apostles and evangelists have not
taught this with the greatest clearness from the be
ginning, I will gladly bear my shame and reproof."
(Exposition of Ps. 25:19.)
The writer has attempted to get at the real think
ing of these people by reading a large variety of au
thors on the Reformation Period and by reading wide
ly in the productions of the Anabaptist and early Men-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 117
nonite leaders. It seemed to him that only in this way
would it be possible to get at the probable conceptions
which these men possessed on the points involved in
a discussion of Christ's Headship of the Church. The
"proof text" method avails little in this undertaking
because of the inconsistencies due to the conditions of
unrest under which these men lived and labored.
The result of his study leads the writer to believe
that to the Anabaptist and early Mennonite leaders
Jesus Christ was the Son of God in a unique sense ;
that He had been with the Father from "the begin
ning"; that He came into this world voluntarily in
order to carry out purposes of the Father which could
be carried out in no other way; that He limited Him
self in order to take this step ; that He came as a man
(human being) and lived as a man, except that He
remained sinless ; that, having died the natural human
death on the cross, He was buried ; that He rose from
the dead ; that He ascended into heaven, which means,
that He has returned to the same position which He
held before He limited Himself in order to come onto
the earth.
Such was their working conception of the personal
ity of Jesus Christ. Some of the reasons why they
held such views regarding His personality will come
out more clearly in the next section of this chapter,
dealing with the work of Jesus Christ as these men
conceived of it.

118 ¦ CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
B. Conceptions of Anabaptist Leaders Regarding
Christ's Work.
According to these leaders, the work of Jesus
Christ is vitally connected with the fact of sin. They
thot of Him as having had a share in the creation
(based on Heb. 1 :2 and Eph. 3:9), it is true, but they
felt that His supreme work was the "re-creation" or
restoration of mankind, which was made necessary
thru the entrance of sin into the world.
They conceived of sin as selfish, willful disobe
dience. Thru the first act of disobedience on the
part of the parents of the race "sin with all its
sad consequences came into the world". This fact
had its far-reaching effects upon every relation of
men, "first of all, however, for our first parents (Rom.
5 :12-21). Through it they fell from their innocence and
were filled with shame ; in the place of their filial
reverence and open-heartedness came fear and pangs
of conscience (Gen. 3 :l-8) ; in place of the unrestrain
ed and intimate converse with God, a condition of anti
pathy- and estrangement from Him (John 3 :20) ; yea,
the wrath and severity of the holy and righteous Crea
tor (Eph. 2:3). Besides the peace with God they also
lost the peace with their surroundings, they must pass
under the sentence of death (Rom. 5), were driven
from the Garden of Eden, the way to the tree of life
was closed to them (Gen. 3:24), the earth itself was

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 119
cursed on their account, and they were doomed to
much pain and hard work (Gen. 3:16-19)."
"All this misery and wretchedness was passed as a
natural heritage upon all their posterity (I Cor. 15:21,
22), for how could they bring forth seed different from
themselves (Job 14:4; John 3:6), or how could they
transmit prerogatives which they themselves had
lost? Therefore we believe that they and all their pos
terity in, through and with them have become subject
to physical (Rom. 5:14; I Cor. 15:21, 22), spiritual
(Eph. 4:18; Jas. 1:15; Rom. 7:13), and eternal death
(Rom. 6:23), and utterly unable to be saved therefrom
either by their own efforts (Rom. 3 :23 ; Jer. 13 :23)
or through any creature (Ps. 49:7, 8). In this miser
able condition they would therefore have to remain
forever, if God had not come to them in His mercy.
Ezek. 16:5, 6." (Mennonite Articles of Faith, compiled
and stated by Cornelis Ris, Article VIII.)
The Anabaptists and early Mennonites believed
that God had foreseen this deplorable condition but
that He had not fore-willed it and that therefore He
was not responsible to man after the relationship be
tween them had been broken thru sin. They do not
seem to have taken into consideration the later prob
lems of whether God was not responsible if He fore
knew that man would sin, or whether God might
not have willed that man should sin, etc. They simply
reasoned that thru sin man had forfeited his rights

120 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
and that God had given man another chance thru an
act of grace on His part. This act of grace consisted
in sending His only begotten Son upon the earth for
the purpose of redeeming man. Here is where the
supreme work of Jesus Christ sets in for them. They
treated the subject in a rather general way and there
fore one does not always find the fine distinctions
which one might wish for in order to settle all ques
tions which arise in connection with this study. Their
method was a combination of literal verbalism and a
kind of practical agnosticism. In attempting to settle
difficult questions they looked for "proof-texts" in the
Bible and accepted these as authority. What these
did not make clear to the understanding was accepted
in suspended judgment, as it were. The foregoing
statement is not an adverse criticism on the efforts of
these honest leaders, they were not alone in the use
of it and were in a less advantageous position to
use better methods than were some of those who
used this same method. The statement was made in
order to show the difficulty of applying modern inter
pretations to their statements without taking into con
sideration attendant circumstances.
According to the conception of these leaders Adam
and Eve still had a capacity for a promise of God.
They had not lost everything. There was still a pos
sibility for a new start on the basis of deciding to ac
cept God's offer of grace. That is why we find so

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 121
much of the thinking of these leaders occupying itself
with freedom of will, responsibility, faith and love.
These were all considered as phases of the man-side
part in the reestablishment of a right relationship be
tween God and man and therefore will be treated more
fully in the next section of this chapter.
It was a part of the conception of the leaders in
question to believe that man had been misled and that
thru this misleading he had fallen, which meant that
he had lost his standing with God, not that he had
become "drowned in sin', as Luther expressed it. In
the face of this situation God acted. Wedel states the
matter thus: "Im Willen des Vaters ist der Mensch-
heit Heil begrundet, im Werk des Sohnes auf Erden
vollzogen ; durch das Wirken des Heiligen Geistes wird
es des Menschen Teil und Besitz." Thus the work of
the Christ was to execute the will of the Father upon
earth. This, in the minds of the Anabaptist leaders,
made Him the Chief Executive of God's work upon
earth and as such He would be the Head of whatever
following would result from His efforts in carrying
out the will of the Father. They made much of the
personal, intimate relationship between God and man
in Eden and carried that same idea over into the rela
tionship between men and Jesus Christ under the new
regime. This made Jesus Christ their Head in a prac
tical rather than an abstract sense as will be seen from
their conception of the Church. He came into this

122 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
world to carry out the will of the Father in helping
fallen mankind in the sense that He fully represented
the Father in the regime which was to be established
upon the earth under the new conditions which had
been brot about by the fall of man. In this sense
He was conceived of as King. Henceforth men had
to look to Jesus Christ for the conditions under which
they might enter into a right relationship with the
Father, i. e. become members of the kingdom of God.
It was to Him also that they would have to look for
the forgiveness of their sins by way of preparation for
entrance into that kingdom. This made Him the
Court of last Resort in all matters pertaining to the
relationship between God and any man, i. e. it made
Him the Judge of the race and of every individual in it.
Hence they looked upon anything which Jesus had
said as the utterance of the One in supreme authority.
As the Supreme Authority representing God, the
Father, in His grace, Jesus Christ was conceived of
as the final Lawgiver. His law was the law of love
and what He told men to do or not to do specifically
was told them in order that they might become more
proficient in that law of love. Hence, in a sense, He
was considered rather an administrator or a reinter-
pretator of the law of God, as formerly revealed. It
was in this sense that Hans Denck and Eitel Hans
Langenmantel thot of Jesus Christ in their interpre
tations of love. Most of the others emphasized this

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 123
point a little less but emphasized the other more,
namely the demands which Jesus makes upon His dis
ciples, i. e. any followers. His authority to do so was
not questioned. That was an essential part of the
conception of His work and any one who did not place
the demands of Christ first in the ordering of his life,
thereby gave evidence that he did not belong to the
discipleship of God's Plenipotentiary upon earth and
therefore not to God. To what situations this concep
tion of Christ's work and position led will be seen
more clearly under the discussion of their conception
of the Church.
The representatives of the Anabaptist movement
conceived of faith as being the supreme demand of
Christ upon His disciples. This was not a mere taking
for granted that what He had said about Himself was
true. It was an act of willing confidence on the part
of men. Without this attitude no one could be saved,
i. e. no one could accept the grace of God and get into
a right relationship with Him. In this sense their
faith was a reverent fear of God as seen in Jesus
Christ. They left no hope for the man who simply
believed, took for granted that what the Bible said
concerning Jesus Christ was true, but classed him with
the devils who also had such "faith". Hence it is clear
why they laid so much stress upon sincere repentance.
They took Mark. 1 :15, "Repent ye, and believe," very
literally. They believed the "imagination of a man's

124 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
heart is evil from his youth up" (Gen. 8:21) and
that therefore he needs to repent and to strive for the
betterment of his life, which can be accomplished thru
faith in Jesus Christ. Having repented and decided,
with the help of Christ, to lead a good life, he was to
be baptized and to partake of the Lord's Supper. In no
case was a man to think that these or any other cere
monies would help him unless he had repented and
believed on Christ. (Cf. Christliche Glaubens-Be-
kenntnis, T. T. V. S. pp. llff.) When a man had so
repented they took it for granted that he had received
pardon from God. On account of this pardon he was
recognized as a child of God and therefore eligible to
membership in the community. Having thus confessed
publicly that he believed with all his heart "other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ" (I Cor.3 :11), he was henceforth expected
to show by a consistent life that he continued to be
lieve this, for it was taken for granted that Christ's
demand for faith meant more than a mere oral pro
fession. The members were frequently reminded that
"where sincere and true faith is, which avails before
God, which is a gift from Him and comes from hearing
the Holy Word, through the blossoming tree of life, full
of all manner of precious fruits of righteousness, such
as the fear and love of God, mercy, friendship, chastity,
temperance, humility, candor, truth, peace and joy in
the Holy Ghost etc., there is a sincere, evangelical,

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 125
pious faith ; there also are the fruits of an evangelical
nature." Men were taught that they should submissive
ly believe and follow the Word of God, however he
retical and ridiculous it might appear to them, not mur
muring against the Lord because they did not under
stand why He had so commanded it. This was a very
serious matter with these people and we find many
references to it in the writings of the more prominent
leaders, e. g. Menno Simon says : "I testify the truth
to you in Christ and lie not. All who hear not the
voice of Christ, believe not His Holy Word, follow not
His pure, unblamable life, from the whole heart, in all
humility, patience, meekness, obedience and love,
have not the living faith of Moses, but are, after the
contents of his doctrine, already judged. O reader,
beware, neither money, name nor boasting will avail
you, but power and deeds, if you wish to be saved and
not condemned." (Cf. Menno Simon on Faith, Com
plete Works, pp. 118ff.)
This emphasis on faith was so strong because they
believed that Christ demanded it. This was not a
matter of mere slavish submission, however, for they
believed that this faith was possible because of God's
gracious willingness to help men and therefore it was
considered evidence of gross ingratitude toward God
not to accept the opportunity to have such faith and
to live accordingly.
There seems to have been no disposition to distin-
3

126 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
guish between faith in God and faith in Jesus Christ.
That was a question about which some may have
wondered now and then but does not seem to be one
which came up for very serious consideration at the
time with which we are especially concerned. These
leaders and their followers were too much concerned
with the emphasis on the ethical side of that which
was expected of them as followers of Christ. Besides
there was a tendency to consider the pondering of
metaphysical questions as dangerous. To them Jesus
Christ was one with the Father and fully represented
the latter. This was sufficient for them. The two
prime reasons for this attitude were probably the feel
ing of insecurity in undertaking the solution of meta
physical questions and the powerful reaction against
the learned theologians of their day who spent their
time and their powers in making subtle distinctions
and then lived as tho the facts of God and of Jesus
Christ were in no way connected with the lives of
people who knew about them.
Another demand of Jesus which was taken very
literally by these people was that of surrender. When
a man confessed to be a follower of Christ he thereby
gave evidence that he was willing to give up every
thing which He might require. This probably accounts
for the spirit of martyrdom which was so evident
among the members of this movement. They prayed
to God in Christ's name and they lived for God as

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 127
they knew Him thru Christ because they felt that they
could not be children of God aside from this attitude
toward Christ. They believed very literally that
"there is no limit to the sacrifice which the purity of
heart demands." For them, also "To be in Christ is
to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ... To
be in Christ means to realize and to try to fulfill one's
obligations to the various material and social relations
in which he is providentially placed." (The Christian
Doctrine of Salvation, Stevens, pp. 463-4.)
In this their attitude of complete surrender to
Christ they seemed to have felt that they were simply
complying with what He had a perfect right to expect
of any one who professed His lordship. In so doing
they implied their belief in the fact that Christ imposes
a test of character when He speaks of those who are
"worthy of Him". How strongly they insisted upon
a recognition of this fact will be shown more fully
in the section dealing with their conception of the
Church. Whatever conceptions these leaders expressed con
cerning the work of Christ found their center in the
fact that He had brot salvation to men by becom
ing the means of their redemption from sin. In regard
to this redemption (Wiederaufrichtung) and recon
ciliation (Versohnung) of men they believed that God
did not desire to reject (verwerfen) mankind entirely,
in spite of the fact that they had sinned and that they

128 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
possessed no means of redeeming themselves, but that
He called them again and comforted them, showing
that He still had means for their reconciliation, namely
the "unspotted Lamb of God", who was provided (ver-
sehen) before the beginning of the world and was
promised to them and to their descendants for their
comfort, redemption and salvation when they were
in Paradise, and who has since been given them thru
faith. "For this Promised One the forefathers longed
and looked for Him through faith that He should come
to redeem, make free and uplift (aufhelfen) mankind
from their guilt (Schuldt) and unrighteousness." (For
the complete text of this summary see Appendix IV.)
The foregoing shows, as they emphasized so often,
that these leaders believed the grace of God to be the
ground of salvation, but at the same time they placed
strong emphasis upon the fact that man must respond
to God's advances in order to make salvation effective.
They were accustomed to emphasize this double fact
with the statement that if people did not live in ac
cordance with what it implied that "the precious blood
of Christ had been shed in vain."
In attempting to solve the problem of salvation
they laid great stress upon the "prophecies concerning
the Christ." The following quotation from Stevens
(The Christian Doctrine of Salvation, p. 34) is a verv
suggestive approximation of their conclusions on this
point: "Let us now summarize the elements of pro-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 129
phetic teaching which approximate most closely to tbe
Christian doctrine of salvation. They are chiefly these :
(1) Salvation is not primarily a national or collective,
but an individual affair. (2) It is, above all, an ethical
process — the recovery of the life from sin to harmony
with God through moral likeness to Him. (3) The con
ditions on which this salvation must be realized are ac
cordingly moral. Man connot be set right before God
by any ceremony or transaction performed on his be
half. He must personally repent of his sin and forsake
it. (4) But in so doing man can never anticipate the
grace of God nor does he achieve his salvation without
the divine aid. (5) The experience of the righteous
bearing the sins of the unrighteous in Israel is adapted
to suggest the thought of a divine vicarious suffering
in which a greater than human love should take the
woes and burdens of sinful men upon itself." The
acknowledgment of this completed work of Christ they
conceived of as being equivalent to eternal life, for
instance Dirk Philipps says : "Dieses ist nun die rechte
Erkenntniss Christi Jesu, die auch das ewige Leben ist,
gleichwie Christus selber sagt : 'Das ist das ewige Le
ben, (o Vater) dass sie dich, der du allein wahrer Gott
bist, und den du gesandt hast, Jesum Christum, erken-
nen.' 1. Joh. 5.e ; Gal. 3.d; Joh. 17.a. (Enchiridion, p.
148.) He immediately adds, however: "Aber diese Er
kenntniss ist nicht eine historische Wissenschaft von
Christo, wie viele meinen, sondern ein lebendig und

130 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
kraftiges Werk Gottes in dem Menschen, dadurch er
verandert neu aus Gott gebohren, und mit dem Heili
gen Geist erleuchtet und begabet wird, also dass er ge-
sinnet ist, wie Christus Jesus, dessen Bruder und Mit-
genosse er aus Gnaden durch den Glauben und die
neue Geburt geworden ist." This addition is signifi
cant because it is so characteristic of the movement in
that it shows that these people were more concerned
about the practical application of the work of Christ
than they were in an intellectually satisfactory con
ception of just how this work had been accomplished.
If one were to base his conclusions entirely upon
verbal quotations from the writings of these men one
might be inclined to think that they believed in a lit
eral transfer of the sins of men to Christ, but when
one has read widely in order to come to a fuller under
standing of their real thinking on this point, one hard
ly feels justified in maintaining too positively that they
believed in such a literal transfer.
They were too much disinclined toward ceremonies
to fall victims to the easy method of a literal transfer
of the sins of men to Christ. It is usually taken, and
to the writer it seems, rightly so, that for such who
retain strenuous moral ideas of religion this cannot be
a fully satisfactory method, however highly they may
appreciate the atoning work of Jesus Christ. To such
there still remains the responsibility of concentrating
their wills upon the kind of living which is in accord-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 131
ance with the will of Christ. Judged according to this
idea the writer is not inclined to believe that these
early writers were developing in the direction of any
belief concerning Christ's atonement which could in
any way be classified as crass literalism. Besides there
are also indications that they looked upon the suffer
ings of Christ as resulting from the products of sin
rather than from a literal transfer.
The language which they use in speaking of this
act of Christ illustrates rather than defines what it
meant to them, e. g. : "Jesus Christ the all-sufficient
and eternal offering" ; "The Propitiator and Mediator
of the New Testament" ; "The gracious Father be eter
nally praised that He has given ... us to know the
only and eternal offering of His Son, Jesus Christ,
who, according to the order of Melchizedek, is or
dained an eternal High Priest over the house of God ;
who, in the days of His flesh, offered up prayers and
supplications with strong crying and tears, unto Him
that was able to save from death, and was heard, be
cause He honored God. This One, I say, offered an
acceptable offering, a sweet smelling sacrifice, of eter
nal worth, whereby He appeases the Father's wrath,
reconciles the human race, opened heaven, closed hell ;
made peace between heaven and earth and sits now
and henceforth at the right hand of His Father till His
enemies be made His foot-stool ; yea, with this one
offering He has perfected forever all those who are

132 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
sanctified. This cannot be gainsayed, whether by em
peror or king, doctor or teacher, angel or devil. His
Word stands firm and immovable. He has with one
offering — I say, with one offering — perfected forever
those who are sanctified." "Christ, the true remedy
for sin"; "our only and eternal Mediator, Advocate,
High Priest, Propitiator and Intercessor, our Head and
Brother." "Thou didst send Thy beloved Son, the dear
pledge of Thy grace, who preached Thy Word, ful
filled Thy righteousness, accomplished Thy will, bore
our sins, blotted them out with His blood, and brought
about reconciliation, conquered the devil, hell, sin and
death and obtained grace, mercy, favor and peace for
all who truly believe on Him ; His command is eternal
life." "Christ was given to us and died for us." "He
bore all our sins upon the cross in His own body and
our debt He blotted out by His blood." "O ever living
God, through the mercies of Thy Son and through the
riches of Thy grace we receive the remission of our
sins; yea, through His blood Thou didst reconcile all
upon earth and in heaven above." "Darnach so ist es
alien Christen notig zu bedenken und die Ursach zu er-
wagen, warum dass die Wahrheit Gottes, das Wort
Gottes, und der Sohn des Allerhochsten, sich also er-
niedriget hat, und ein Mensch worden ist, namlich,
zum ersten, unsere Stind hinweg zu nehmen."
Just as with Paul and other writers of the early
church, it is but fair to suppose that many of the terms

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 133
which they used had for them a practical and a re
ligious rather than a metaphysical meaning, so also
with the leaders during the Reformation Period. This
was especially true of such men who emphasized the
ethical and moral side of Christianity as did so many
of the Anabaptist and early Mennonite leaders.
"The faith of the church being an act of life's self-
committal and worship is more than a posthumous
impression left by Christ." (Forsythe, The Person and
Place of Jesus Christ, p. 151.) This was certainly true
of these Anabaptist and early Mennonite leaders. They
not only believed that Jesus Christ had died for the
sins of men but also that He had been raised from the
dead. They persistently emphasized the fact that "He
was delivered up for our tresspasses, and was raised
for our justification." Rom. 4:25. To them the resur
rection was "the Father's Amen to Jesus' 'It is fin
ished'." (Wedel, Meditationen, p. 162.) They con
ceived of Him as having risen from the dead, as victor
over sin and death, and as having returned to the Fa
ther, thus entering in "once for all into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption." Heb. 9:12. They
did not conceive this removal of Christ from the earth
as equivalent to His withdrawal from His active in
terest in men. Thru the ascension He became an Ad
vocate with the Father and continued His offices of
Prophet, High Priest and King.
As Prophet He was thot to continue His work of

134 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
teaching by means of His Holy Word and thru "the
Spirit according to His promise, both convincing and
winning the unbelieving and leading the believers into
all truth. John 16:13. In this work the Spirit never
contradicts the true meaning of the written Word
(Jas. 3:11; 1 :17), but enlightens the believer's mind to
a right understanding of the Word (Luke 24:45),
gives them assurance of its truth and brings to re
membrance the things that the Lord has spoken. John
14:26." (Ris, Die Glaubens-Lehre, Article 14.)
The work of Christ as High Priest is epitomized as
follows in the Mennonite catechisms : "He gave Him
self an offering; He intercedes for His people and
blesses His own." Eph. 5:2; Heb. 9:26; John 17;
Rom. 8:34; Luke 24:50; Eph. 1:3. Ris, in his Glau
bens-Lehre (Article 15), after speaking of Christ's
work as High Priest upon earth says : "Thereafter He
ascended into heaven as a triumphant victor (Eph. 4:8 ;
Col. 2:15) before the eyes of all His faithful apostles
(Luke 24:50-52) and sat down at the right hand of the
Father (Mark. 16:19) crowned with honor and glory.
Heb. 2:9; John 17:5.
"There, and thus clothed, He continues His holy
office as our high priest. Heb. 8:1. For as He is the
servant of the true tabernacle, He has entered not
through the blood of calves and goats, but through His
own blood, once into heaven itself (Heb. 9:11, 24) to
appear before the face of God in behalf of the believers.

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 135
Wherefore He is called of God a high priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedeck (Heb. 5 :10; Ps. 110*4)
to the great comfort of the believers in their infirmities.
Heb. 4:14-16. And as He has an everlasting priesthood,
since He abides forever, He is able to save to the utter
most them that come unto God through Him, seeing
that He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb.
7:24,25; I John 2:1, 2.
"Lastly. As it was the part of the high priest, after
completing the offering of atonement, to return to the
waiting and praying people to bless them, so Christ,
the great High Priest, is continually bestowing upon
His Own the fruit, the power, and the sufficiency of
His sacrifice that they may benefit by them. Acts 3 :26.
Having the power and the right to forgive sins (Mark
2:10; Matt. 28:18), He grants this blessing to the
penitent (Acts 5:31) ; through His blood of sprinkling
He purges the conscience from dead works (Heb. 9 :14)
and thus gives boldness and confidence to draw nigh
unto God. Eph. 3:12. He baptizes them with His
Spirit (John 1 :33), holds spiritual and intimate com
munion with them (Rev. 3:20; John 14:21-23), yea,
and He makes His holy and redeemed people them
selves to be a royal priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God. I Pet. 2 :5, 9.
"From all this follows self-evidently that the Levit-
ical priesthood (Heb. 10:5-9) and with it the cere
monial law, has been fulfilled, has come to an end, and

136 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
has been abolished. The law had only the shadow of
good things to come (Heb. 10:1) and it ended in Christ
(Rom. 10:4) to whom be glory forever. Amen!" (Ar
ticle XV.)
Since the foregoing quotations are based quite di
rectly upon the beliefs and conceptions of the earliest
Mennonite leaders they give us perhaps the clearest
insight into the conceptions of those leaders concern
ing Christ as High Priest. The same is also true of
their conceptions concerning His Kingship. Of this
the Mennonite catechisms say, "He gives commands
and laws; He governs His people; He puts all His
enemies under His feet; He protects and rewards His
own." John 13:34; Jer. 23:5; I Cor. 15:25; Matt. 25:
34. And Ris, in his Glaubens-Lehre, Article 16, says
of the kingly office of Christ : "The Lord Jesus Christ,
as the one promised and heavenly King of the new
covenant (Ps. 2:6; Jer. 23:5; Luke 1:32, 33), having
by His glorious resurrection proved Himself victor
over the devil, over death and the grave (Col. 2:15;
Luke 24:47), yet more especially when He ascended
on high (Eph. 4:8) entered into His glory (Luke 24:
26), and sat down on the right hand of His Father in
heaven (Heb. 1 :3) of which He gave the strongest
proof when on the day of Pentecost He poured forth
abundantly the Holy Spirit upon His apostles. (Acts
2 :33-36.

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 137
"Thenceforth the kingdom of God came with power
so that from that day on, through the instrumentality
of the apostles great numbers of believing and spiritu
ally-minded people were gathered (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:32,
33) Who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord to the
glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:9-11.
"The spiritual kingdom, generally called the king
dom of heaven, the Lord Jesus has committed in part
to His servants here on earth to administer according
to the spiritual laws of His kingdom. Eph. 4:11, 12;
I Pet. 5 :l-4. Yet, above all and in particular He Him
self administers the same direct from heaven. He
rules the hearts of His people through the Holy Spirit
(John 16:13; 14:26), in accordance with His Word,
with passionate love; He protects and shelters them
as under His wings, equips them with spiritual weap
ons against His and their enemies (Eph. 6:11-18) and
is to them a very present help in trouble so that in
Him they are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37) ; He
prepares for them a place in heaven (John 14:2) and
will, by grace, give victory and a crown of righteous
ness in the life eternal (II Tim. 4 :7, 8) to all who con
tinue faithful to Him in the spiritual conflict with sin
and Satan (Rev. 2:10; Matt. 24:J3), but His enemies
He will put under His feet. Matt. 22 :24."
Such was the nature of the work of which these
Anabaptist leaders considered Christ the Head and

138 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Author. Thru Him they saw God in His authority,
His holiness and His love supremely revealed so that
Christ stood in God's place for them, yet not so as to
displace God. Christ had become the point of contact,
as it were, between God and men. He had revealed to
men that God loved them infinitely more than they
thot possible and had shown them that they might get
much closer to the heart of God than they had dared
to hope. In the thinking of these men, Christ, the Prophet-
Teacher, taught men the truth as it had never been
taught before ; revealed to them the possibilities before
men as they had never been revealed before and sub
stantiated both His teachings and His revelations with
miraculous deeds. As High Priest He made a supreme
and all-sufficient offering of Himself so that in some
way He passed thru an experience for them and thus
made it possible for men to be saved from the doom
of eternal separation from God. In passing thru this
experience He in some way suffered for them or in
their stead; paid a price for them and gave up His
life for them. All of this made these leaders empha
size the need and the fitness of a grateful response to
God because of what He had done for mankind thru
Christ. As High Priest Christ was also conceived of
as continuing His work of intercession in behalf of
men before God. As King He had established a new
regime on earth. Of this He was and is the supreme

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 139
authority. This "kingdom" is spiritual and not "car
nal". This latter fact was very emphatically presented
as will be seen in the following section. It was in the
interpretation of this idea that their conception of
Christ's Headship of the Church was most clearly re
vealed because it touched more directly upon matters
uppermost in their lives.
C. Conceptions of Anabaptist and Early Mennonite
Leaders Regarding the Church.
These leaders saw in Jesus Christ, as did the Apos
tle Paul, the Head and Founder of a new spiritual
humanity; His life was the perfect type of God-like
living; He was the Captain of their salvation and the
Leader in whose foot-steps they strove to follow. He
had become the cause for such a conception on the
part of men before He left His earthly ministry and
had sent these men out into a world of spiritual mal
adjustments in order to bring His message as "Good
News" to that world. According to Ritschl, the aim
of Christ is realized thru the founding and the up
building of the kingdom of God on earth, which is
the community of the God-like, the fellowship of those
who share Christ's spirit in the life of conscious Son-
ship to God.
This work which Christ had started as an expres
sion of His aim with the world had progressed rapidly
for a few generations, but after the lapse of fifteen

140 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
centuries there was another case of mal-adjustment.
It was similar to that which Christ had found in the
Jewish Church when He began to establish His
Church upon earth. Again, it was not the enemies from
without, but the enemies from within who were ham
pering the work of God on earth. "The ancient Church
had turned its conclusions (dogmata) into weapons of
discipline, wielded by a centralized power." This con
dition of affairs was evidently satisfactory to those
who saw little or no connection between the Church
and spiritual life as it grows out of real and personal
fellowship with Jesus Christ, but there were those who
insisted upon such a connection and the result' was
the Reformation. "With the Reformation came a new
conception of the Christian life . . . Luther and the
other great reformers maintained that they were loyal
to the councils of the early Church. The Decree of
Chalcedon stood forth for them all as the supreme ut
terance of the Christological utterances of the Church.
But this loyalty to the councils was conditioned by
the idea that the councils simply explained the Scrip
ture, and were authoritative only in so far as Scripture
supported them. The reformers completely disowned
the notion that the official Church had power to de-
velope and enforce an authoritative theology. The
central fact for the reformers is that Christian faith
is a living experience, made possible by the full reve
lation of God in the historic Christ. Apart from Him

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 141
there is no saving knowledge in God." (Dr. MacKen
zie, Jesus Christ, Cyclopedia of Religion and Ethics,
p. 539.) Unfortunately Luther and other reformers left this
position when prudence seemed to dictate that they
should lean upon the same kind of external authority
which they had condemned in the Roman Church.
Until this occurred the Anabaptists remained with the
reformers, and they found it difficult to adjust them
selves to their new problems when they found that
the reformers had given up this position for which
they had risked so much in the beginning and which
was so dear to the hearts of the people, especially to
those wfio had become saturated with the truths of
the Bible. The latter studied the situation from a
new view-point, for they had rediscovered the Christ
who had been hidden from them by the ceremonies of
the Church of Rome. The result was that there was
a new Church arising as a protest against that which
hid the Christ, the Head of the true Church. This
protest, resulting from the study of the Bible, needs
to be distinguished from other protests of that time
arising from other causes. With the latter it was usu
ally a question of which human authority should be
accepted, but in the case of the spiritually-minded
Anabaptists it was a question as to whether any hu
man authority should continue to rule the Church or
whether Jesus Christ was to be recognized as the

142 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Head of the Church in fact as well as in theory. Their
protest was a reaction against the inconsistency which
Dr. MacKenzie points out when he says: "Constan
tine took the portentous step of summoning the Coun
cil, and, for the spiritual religion, the baneful step of
using the fleshly arm for enforcing its conclusions. It
must be remembered that these acts of Constantine
introduced a new principle into the organized life of
the Church of so potent a character that it took long
centuries to unfold its inner logic. Trust in the State
and trust in the ruling Spirit of Christ are principles
whose reconciliation is not yet achieved either at Rome
or at Berlin." (Jesus Christ, Cyclop, of Religion and
Ethics, p. 535.)
This suggestion is of special interest in view cf
recent developments and makes one appreciate the
attitude of these Anabaptist leaders all the more. In
spite of their contribution to the world men have con
tinued to allow themselves to be led astray by the
will-o'-the-wisp of a possible satisfactory fusion of
Church and State. Is it not worthy of our time and
effort that we should attempt to estimate the bearing
that their attitude might have had on the present
world situation if that attitude had been appreciated?
To be sure, such thinking will not change the effects
of wrong committed and of right neglected, but it
may stimulate the desire of those who would refrain
from passing down to posterity the kind of heritage

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 143
which the enemies of the Anabaptists have left to this
age. These people believed in a visible Church (Ge-
meine) of God consisting of those who had repented
fully, who had correct faith, had been baptized cor
rectly, are united with God and are members of the
community of saints on earth. These they considered
as the "elect", the "kingly priesthood", "a holy peo
ple", "the Bride of Christ" and the children and heirs
of eternal life; a tabernacle, a tent and "Wohnstadt"
of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, of which Christ Himself is the corner-stone.
(Cf. Christliches Glaubensbekenntnis, T. T. V. S.,
pp. 13ff.)
Back of this language, as seen thru the lives
which they lived, we see a deep conviction that in
spiritual matters Christ alone is and can be the real
Head. This conception of Christ finally influenced
their conceptions of all the agencies of religion and
even society with which they were brot into contact.
Because they failed to find this emphasis in any of the
established churches they began the difficult work of
starting a new organization. We must distinguish
here between the movement in general and the at
tempts to crystallize portions of it into permanent or
ganizations. The spread of the movement was a com
paratively spontaneous matter, but with the attempts

144 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
to organize there arose almost insurmountable diffi
culties because the position of the Anabaptists and
early Mennonites on the various questions aroused the
opposition of both the Church and the State against
them. The difficulties were especially acute because
of the close relationship between the established
Churches and the State. The insistence of the Ana
baptists on Christ as the supreme authority increased
their tendency to a literal interpretation of the Bible
and finally led to the conclusion which Zwingli had
reached earlier: "The Church must reject in doctrine
and practice everything not positively enjoined by
Scripture," but, as Schaff says, "the Zwinglian re
formers aimed to reform the old Church by the Bible;
the Anabaptists attempted to build a new Church
from the Bible." This difference of emphasis Was
anything but a matter of the use of different preposi
tions in those days. The spiritually-minded Anabap
tists were very much in earnest and when they finally
left the following of the reformers it meant that they
had done so after deep consideration and with great
determination. The more they saw of theological
subtleties and of affiliation of the Church with the
State the more they emphasized the need of with
drawing from both if one were going to remain a fol
lower of Jesus Christ. In how far they may have
been as fully justified in every case, as they thot they
were, is of less concern to us here than the fact that

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 145
they acted as they did because they believed so strenu
ously that Christ is and must remain the supreme au
thority of the Church. They believed that if Christ
had founded the Church it was He, and not selfish
men, who was to have the final word as to how that
Church was to be developed. The social, ethical and
spiritual conditions all pointed out the presence of
deep-seated mal-adjustrhents and the unwillingness, on
the part of those in power, to adjust matters, appeared
so impregnable that there seemed no other way left
for those who insisted so strongly upon the Rule of
Christ but to form a new organization, just as Jesus
had done when the Jewish nation faced Him in a simi
lar manner and spirit fifteen centuries before.
It has already been indicated that this question of
organization was no easy one. Not only did the oppo
sition from without afford many difficulties, but the
work was also much hampered by the very fact that
the movement had grown so large before any organi
zation was attempted. This was the difficulty tc
which Luther and Zwingli had fallen prey. Such a
popular movement is necessarily unwieldy and full of
many eddies which give the opposition from without
many opportunities for attack. Under such conditions
even the best of saints find out that they are still in
the world even tho they may no longer be of the world.
Under such conditions men either relax their prin
ciples or they restate them with new emphasis. The

146 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
great reformers had done the former, the Anabaptists,
did the latter.
They had neither the power nor the inclination to
control the world thru might, but they did set about
to produce within the world a Church which should be
characterized by the principles of faith, love and obe
dience towards God, and of mutual love and service
towards one another. They fully believed that in so
doing they were fulfilling the will of Christ in regard
to the Church. "In proportion as the religious life
feeds itself directly upon the deeds of God in Christ
and upon Christ's character, word and work, as the
embodiment and manifestation of those deeds, it be
comes aware again of its moral ideals and becomes
charged afresh with the faith and passion for their
fulfillment." (Dr. MacKenzie, Jesus Christ, Cyclop, of
Religion and Ethics, p. 528.) This is the secret which
must be learned before we can fully understand the
power which sustained the Anabaptists in the face of
the demonic persecutions which thinned their ranks
again and again during the 16th century.
It is true that in their ardour to make the times of
Jesus and the Apostles serve as a model for the new
Church, these people over-looked the fact that those
times could not be called back and that even if they
could it would be impossible for people to do just as
Jesus had, but, if they did fail in this direction now
and then, they made up for it in the kind of lives they

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 147
succeeded in producing and in the spiritual food which
they succeeded in offering to the masses hungry for
such. Mueller says in his "Die Bernischen Wieder
taufer" that Luther complained that he could not
find the people for an ideal Church. The Anabaptists
found them and it is not to the credit of Luther and
his followers that they scorned and persecuted the
people who had thus banded themselves together to
lead quiet and upright lives. They did not claim that
they had already attained to perfection, but they made
an honest effort to do so. That is what made their
services and their worship so attractive to the masses
in spite of the fact that so often circumstances had to
decide where and how these services might be held.
They were often held under the dome of God's clear
sky, in the woods, in caves or narrow valleys, on the
street and in many other unusual places. These very
conditions sometimes seemed to lend to the meetings
a beauty and a warmth which the meetings of Zwingli
and his followers, held in the large churches, cleared of
all their Roman Catholic paraphernalia, lacked. Many
of the people who were not adherents of the move
ment felt themselves drawn to the Anabaptist meet
ings because the iconoclastic proceedings of the
Zwinglians had destroyed for them the sacredness of
the old churches. Many more preferred the Anabap
tist meetings because of the wantonly immoral lives
of too many of the Protestant preachers. "Man lief

148 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
mit Fleiss und Ernst in Holz und Feld mit grossen
Scharen zu ihren Predigten." (Brons, Ursprung, Ent-
wicklung und Schicksale der alt-evangelischen Tauf-
gesinnten, p. 35.)
For a while the Anabaptist leaders hoped that the
leaders of the established churches might correct the
evils existing within them, but when they saw that
there was no use in hoping for this they set about
building up a Church which was to be free from these
evils. They did not so much maintain that they were
the Church of Christ as that there were none among
them who were not of the Church of Christ.
This attitude raised several very important ques
tions. The first of these was, can a person be a mem
ber of an organization, called a Church, when he gives
no evidence of being a conscientious follower of
Christ? This question struck at the conduct of those
who were considered members of any Church. All
of the established Churches made members of people
thru the rite of infant baptism. This meant that those
who became members were not in position to decide
whether they would become followers of Christ or not
and it also made it difficult to dispose of them in case
they did not decide to become His followers after they
were in position to decide in the matter. This condi
tion of affairs seemed all wrong to the Anabaptists.
They believed that if the Church was to be the body
of Christ that His Headship should be recognizable in

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 449
the way the body conducted itself. Therefore they
concluded that no one should become a member of the
Church except by his own decision. This meant that
he should not be baptized until he had for himself pro
fessed Christ. If the established Churches had been
willing to turn the rite of infant baptism into a form
of consecration the Anabaptists would not have ob
jected, but when it was insisted upon as a means of
salvation and a sign of membership in the "Body of
Christ", they refused to recognize it as valid. This
attitude made it necessary for the Anabaptists to give
a new definition for church membership. They were
soon ready with a working definition. They believed
that one is called to become a member when he hears
the Gospel; that he is to purify himself for the sake
of Christ who is the Head of the Church. "All they
know is Christ Jesus, their seeking is the pure Apos
tolic doctrine and the pious, unblamable life which is
from God." "Members of the Church are to behave
themselves in all things consistent with Christianity;
they are to fear God in all their ways and to praise
Him in all their works." "Christians should gird them
selves with the weapons of righteousness, declare
God's Word with freedom and neither shrink nor give
way." "Whoever boasts that he is a Christian, must
walk as Christ walked." "Christians must make up
their minds to both teach and suffer, expecting that
they will fare no better than the prophets of old."

150 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
"Those who know the Word of the Lord and do not
live according to it, reject the cross of Christ." "It is
in vain that we are called Christians, that Christ died,
that we were born in a day of grace and baptized with
water, if we do not walk according to His law, counsel
and admonition, will and command and are not obe
dient to His Word." "Men must walk as all true
children of God are commanded by His Word." I John
1 :6, 7.
The foregoing quotations suggest what confronted
the members of the Anabaptist movement when it had
once become more definitely organized. The growth
of the movement increased the difficulties of carrying
out these ideals, but the leaders did not become dis
couraged. They continued to go back to their funda
mental conception of Christ's Headship of the Church
and decided the problems on that basis. From the
midst of the turmoil, caused by persecution from with
out and by misunderstanding and dissension from
within we continue to hear: "The almighty, eternal
Father, through His eternal wisdom, Jesus Christ has
instituted and commanded all things in His kingdom,
that is, in His Church, relating to doctrines, sacra
ments and life, according to His divine council, will
and wisdom . . . Christ alone will be the Head of the
Church, the Teacher in His school, and He alone the
King who will judge His kingdom, not with the doc
trines and commands of men, nor with slaying and

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 151
murdering, but with His Holy Spirit, power, grace and
Word." (Menno Simon, in his Supplication to the
Magistracy.) Such reminders in the midst of the confusion
of that day had a tendency either to make men for
sake the new movement or to fill them with a mar
tyr spirit. The latter was the usual result. With this
there came an ever-increasing emphasis upon ethical
thinking and acting. The Sermon on the Mount and
other ethical literature of the New Testament was
read, committed and discussed until the people became
thoroly saturated with its teachings. Passages like
Mica 6:8 and II Cor. 5:15 were frequently used as
admonitions and reminders. Men became as serious
about their responsibilities in connection with the
building up of the kingdom of God on earth as they
had been about the forgiveness of their sins. "It is
clear indeed that Jesus views the establishment of the
kingdom as an act of grace, a miraculous and over
whelming revelation of God's power and glory most
certain and most real. Yet, He also sees that God's
act is not arbitrary, undetermined as to form and date
by anything on the human side, a predestined event
which is unrelated to man's conduct. On the contrary
Jesus views the coming of the kingdom as conditioned
by human historical acts and events." (Dr. MacKen
zie, Jesus Christ, Cycl. of Religion and Ethics, p. 512.)
If the foregoing statement is true then these people

152 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
were certainly making an honest effort to meet the
conditions which Christ had imposed. They had not
only emphasized the question of what Christ has done
for men but also made an honest effort to find out what
He could and would do in men. That is why they
emphasized love toward all ;. self-possession in the face
of injury and a willingness to suffer without limit.
In their study of the New Testament these leaders
came to realize that Jesus had early abolished all de
pendence on outward ceremony as a means of salva
tion. This raised the second important question of
those which grew out of the attitude of the Anabap
tists, namely: What is the value of "sacraments" and
"ceremonies"? They saw that all of the other Church
es placed great emphasis upon the value of these, but
they also saw that these did not agree among them
selves as to the things in which that value was sup
posed to consist. In fact, they saw that the doctrines
which were built up around the very ideas concerning
these supposed values were causing a great deal of un
christian discussion and conduct. Men were supposed
to believe doctrines which had been written in defense
of the positions of various leaders instead of being
urged to study the Bible and to live in accordance with
the spirit in which it was written. But what was even
worse was the fact that men whose lives were grossly
immoral were entrusted with these "sacraments" and
"ceremonies" which were supposed to be of special

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 153
value for the salvation of men. This was more than
the Anabaptists and other spiritually-minded people
could stand. Some of them reacted against the situa
tion so powerfully that they did away with all "cere
monies" and "sacraments", considering them of no
value at all. The Anabaptists did not go so far but
they maintained that there was no saving value in
these rites and ceremonies of themselves. They re
tained baptism and the Lord's Supper. The former
meant for them a confession on the part of the candi
date that he had perceived and acknowledged his sins ;
that he had received forgiveness for them thru his
faith in Jesus Christ and that he promised to lead a
consistent life as a follower of Jesus Christ, depending
on the power of God in so. doing. It also meant that
he was received as a member of the "Community" of
those who had similarly turned from the world and
were following Jesus Christ as their Head.
The Lord's Supper meant to them an act of com
memoration of the sufferings and death of Jesus
Christ; a sign of communion with Christ and an op
portunity of closer communion of the believers among
themselves. As is always the case in times of deep devotional
Bible study, so it was true in the case of the Ana
baptists ; they emphasized the meaning of the symbol
rather than the symbol. This attitude naturally brot
them into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church

154 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
from the start and with Luther and Zwingli and their
followers long before the movement had become well
organized. The conflict was long and often bitter.
There were expressions on both sides which need to
be read with the conditions and the times kept well in
mind. The writings of the leaders on all sides (for
there were more than two sides since those who con
demned the Anabaptists did not agree among them
selves) contain much that one wishes might be
stricken from the pages of church history because its
only contribution seems to have been to add fuel to the
flames of hatred. But back of all this one can find that
there was a real difference of view-point which made it
impossible to come to any satisfactory agreement. To
this fundamental difference of view-point as to the
purposes of the Church, the ideas concerning "cere
monies" and "sacraments" naturally became subsidi
ary. The Churches which strove for political power
wanted these rites as means to acquire and maintain
the kind of submission and loyalty which their con
ception demanded and therefore attached to them a
value which would appeal to the autocratically ruled.
On the other hand, those who saw in the Church a
"Community" of those who composed that section of
the kingdom of God which is upon earth, looked upon
these rites with a view to their spiritual significance.
The longer the Anabaptists viewed the practical re
sults of the positions, held by their opponents, the

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 155
more they felt inclined to increase their own emphasis
in regard to the matter of sacraments and ceremonies.
This fact accounts for a number of the eccentricities
which were found in the later Church, especially in
places where the persecution had done its worst work.
In connection with the discussions concerning the
purposes of the Church, its membership and its "cere
monies" and "sacraments", a third important question
was gradually but persistently brot into the fore
ground. This referred to the ministry in the Church.
The common people, who composed the larger portion
of the Anabaptist movement, had long had reasons to
feel uncomfortable in the presence of the learned. Now
the question arose whether a man should be allowed
to be a servant of the Church of Jesus Christ because
of his intellectual qualifications in case his spiritual
life and his moral conduct stood in opposition to the
principles of Jesus Christ. This was another result of
the study of the Bible by the common people but
might have been avoided if it had not been for the
gross immoralities which were practiced by too many
of the clergy in all of the established Churches. The
Anabaptists, not succeeding in improving conditions
in the established Churches, proceeded to make pro
visions against a repetition of such gross inconsisten
cies in their own "Communities". Even such men as
Melchior Hoffmann felt the responsibility of doing
constructive work toward the establishment of a more

156 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
spiritually-minded ministry. He says: "God's com
munity knows no head but Christ. No other can be
endured, for it is a brother and sisterhood. The teach
ers have none who rule them spiritually but Christ.
Teachers and ministers are not lords. The pastors
have no authority except to preach God's Word and
punish sins. A bishop must be elected out of his com
munity. Where a pastor has thus been taken and the
guidance committed to him and his deacon, a commu
nity should help to provide properly for those who
help to build the Lord's house. When teachers are
thus found, there is no fear that the communities will
suffer spiritual hunger. A true preacher would will
ingly see the whole community prophesy." This ex
pression shows a spirit of democracy which pervaded
this movement and also an emphasis on the spiritual
side to be taken into consideration in connection with
the ministry of the Church. This was perfectly in
accord with the conception that the Church is a "spirit
ual priesthood". Every member ought so to live that
he might be worthy of being a minister even tho he
should never be called to a church. This was the atti
tude which seems to have been uppermost in the mind*
of the Anabaptists. If they said of their membership,
"lieber kleiner und reiner," they insisted that in the
case of the ministers there should be none of the im
purities found in the Churches upon which they had
felt themselves compelled to turn their backs. Accord-

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 157
ing to one of the oldest confessions of faith they be
lieved that the welfare of the Church demanded the
election of ministers, in order that the work of the
Church might be performed in an orderly way. Thev
considered Jesus Christ the great Bishop (Oberhirte)
and believed that He had left an example in that He
sent forth men to preach the Gospel to others. Fur
thermore, the example of Paul in appointing "some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of
the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the
building up of the body of Christ," was taken quite
literally by them with special emphasis upon the pur
poses for which these were appointed and upon the
character of the appointees. This gave them preach
ers of great power. Sometimes the rules of conduct
which were laid down for them became very severe,
as is shown by the large number of even prominent
leaders who were excommunicated. (Cf. e. g. the long
list of these cited in Vos, Menno Simons, pp. 256-7.)
It also gave calumny an undue opportunity at times.
But, on the other hand, it reduced the opportunity
considerably to say of the Anabaptist and early Men
nonite preachers, as was so often said of the clergy of
the established Churches: "Die Pfaffen treiben des
Vormittags Gotzendienst und des Nachmittags Stind."
(Brons, Ursprung, usw., p. 422.) Menno Simon main
tained that preachers should be such "who are moved

158 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
by the Holy Ghost, who are pressed by love to God
and man, and urged by the Lord Himself, or by His
spotless Christian Church, or are called to the service
of the Lord by an unblamable, truly believing Chris
tian Church to rightly teach in the house of God, that
is, the Church of Jesus Christ, with sound doctrine and
with a pious and unblamable conduct, admonish, re
prove, rebuke and comfort them in paternal love ; to
set forth and administer the Lord's Supper in a right
manner; to reply diligently with God's Word all de
luding and false teachers ; to exclude all evil members
from the communion of the godly, etc." (Sending
Preachers.) It is interesting to see with what authority some
of these men preached or addressed themselves to
those in power. It reminds one of I Cor. 7:10: "I give
you charge, yet not I, but the Lord." In this they
much resembled the early apostles. The various ap
peals of some of these leaders to the clergy of the
established Churches and even to the civil authorities
speak of a courage which could hardly have been pos
sible without the conception of the office of the preach
er under which they had entered their work.
The application of these high ideals and strict
standards to membership in the "Communities" and to
the ministry led to an increased use of the "ban" or
excommunication. They believed in the exercise of
Church discipline and the use of the "ban" for those

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 159
who had joined the "Community" and then turned
again to sin wilfully and presumptuously (vermessen).
They took this step in order that the pure might be
separated from the impure and that sinners might be
brot to a realization of their position and to repent
ance, as well as serve as examples to those who might
be in danger of committing errors or of falling into
sin. They also felt that the "Community" should act
in such a case before the "world" had had an oppor
tunity of condemning the sinner. Their conception
of the Church as the body of the elect made such a
position logically necessary. Their idea was to keep
the "Community" free from "spot or wrinkle" and
they used the "ban" to this end. It seems to have
worked well except in those cases where it was exer
cised without the moderation for which the ablest
leaders stood. Their position was also in accord with
their conception in regard to the ethical duties of the
members. The "ban" thus became a pedagogical
means for the attainment to the high standard of the
"Community", as they conceived of it from their study
of the New Testament. Except in the cases of mis
applied emphasis, the latter reason seems to have been
the one uppermost in the minds of the more promi
nent leaders and its use was productive of much good.
In this sense the "ban" became the negative re-itera
tion of their positive teachings regarding a consistent
Christian life. The conditions of that day and espe-

160 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
cially the lack of experience on the part of so large a
proportion of the membership made it necessary to
use negative as well as positive means to secure the
desired end. There have been few groups in human
society where such has not been the case. The "ban"
came to have great disciplinary value and frequently
saved the "Communities" from the effects of slander
ous reports, for the authorities soon found out that the
"Communities" which used this means of discipline
might be trusted not to be guilty of the things which
were often found with others. The chief difficulty lay
in the limitations which necessarily accompanied its
use. These were not always studied with the breadth
of mind which makes for constructive development
and sometimes led to confusion, dissension and even
disruption. The tendency to take the Scriptures too
literally, combined with the spirit of democracy among
the people and the newness of the entire situation made
the lack of experience in matters of organization all the
more likely to lead to such errors of judgment and did
much to bring about the confusion and difficulties that
might otherwise have been avoided. Such passages
as I Cor. 5:11 and II Thess. 3:14, too literally inter
preted, became the source of trouble, especially when
the "shunning" was required of husband and wife.
The position advocated in the earlier confessions
and striven for under normal conditions was that the
exercise of the "ban" should be : "Mit solchem Masse

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 161
und in solcher christlichen Bescheidenheit, dass der-
selbe nicht zur Verderbung, sondern dem Sunder zur
Besserung moge gereichen und dienen." So long as
this principle was followed the results were good.
The position of the Anabaptists led to still another
problem by raising the question as to the attitude of
the Christian toward the civil authority. This prob
lem became all the more intricate because of the fact
that they stood for the absolute separation of Church
and State at a time when the leading Churches em
phasized the union of Church and State. The ideals
of the Anabaptists were thus made subject to the
danger of being interpreted as both heresy and trea
son. Either one of these charges was bad enough in
the 16th century, especially if it was directed against
any group of people who had little physical force at
their command, but to be subject to both at the same
time makes one wonder that there were any traces of
the movement left at all.
According to the older confessions of faith the
Anabaptists believed that God had ordained the magis
tracy to punish the bad, protect the good and to rule
the world so that there might be good order every
where. For these reasons they considered it necessary
that the magistracy should be obeyed and honored as
a servant of God ; that all taxes, excises, etc., should
be paid "according to the teachings of the Son of God".
Matt. 22 :21 and 17 :27. They considered such an atti-

162 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
tude necessary in order that men might enjoy the
fruits of good government. History shows that they
did not only confess these things but that they also
conscientiously observed them.
A literal interpretation of the words of Jesus and
a reaction from the abuses all about them made them
refuse to swear oaths and to go to war. They believed
that these things were forbidden by God and that
therefore it was their duty to obey God more than
men. These principles may have been too ideal for the
16th century (some people think they are too ideal for
today) as many writers would have us think, but the
logic of the Anabaptists was of a different type. They
believed that truthfulness was better than the swear
ing of oaths and therefore they spoke the truth and
refused to swear the oaths ; they believed that killing
another was wrong for the nation as well as for the
individual and therefore they refused to help the na
tion do what they would not want to do as individuals.
They also felt that if a thing was so fundamentally
right that it would be necessary before the consumma
tion of the kingdom of God on earth, then it was right
now and ought to be acted upon. There were few
cases in which the governments had any reason for
complaint against the members of this movement on
any other account than these two points and even in
the case of the swearing of oaths and the refusal to go
to war the rulers had more occasion to wish that all

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 163
of their subjects might be of this mind than such in
which they found their Anabaptist subjects a real
detriment to their government.
This problem was materially affected by the Miin-
ster outbreak. Men either did not see or refused to
see that if the Miinsterites had adhered to the princi
ples of the peaceful Anabaptists, the Munster uprising
would have been an impossibility. This unnecessarily
confused the issue to the detriment of the government,
as well as of the Anabaptist cause.
The spirit of jealousy so rife between the various
ruling parties of that day naturally bred the spirit of
revenge. Here again the Anabaptists met opposition,
for they frankly declared that no man had a right
to exercise revenge. This struck at the heart of the
ambition of most of the leaders, civil and ecclesiastical
of the day and resulted in an unfriendly attitude on
the part of these potentates toward those whose posi
tion was a reprimand for their own. It was simply
another case of vengeance smiting love.
The principle of the Anabaptist members was that
they must seek the welfare of all men; the policy of
the ambitious authorities was to seek their own end
and to crush everyone who stood in the way. The re
sult was inevitable. Might became right and in the
eyes of the world came out victorious. Men say today
that the Anabaptists appeared too early with their
ideals. Men told them that in their day and they re-

164 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
plied that these were not their ideals but the ideals of
Christ, the Head of the Church, and that He had pre
sented these same ideals fifteen centuries before. The
answer they received was calumny and persecution
to the point of near-extinction. The world congratula
ted itself on having gotten rid of such "heretics" and
even prided itself on its success. Today we are reap
ing the ripe fruits of that "success" while the princi
ples for which the Anabaptists lived and died are again
being trailed in the dust of human greed !
The Anabaptists believed that it is better to suffer
than to inflict suffering ; to do good than to do ill and
therefore interpreted the Golden Rule and Christ's
epitome of the law very literally. This brot them into
conflict with the civil authorities because they applied
it to governments as well as individuals and it brot
them into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities
because it branded the latter as non-Christian so long
as they did not recognize Jesus Christ as the supreme
Lord in life. This conflict was inevitable so long as
the Anabaptists adhered to their principles and the
authorities in question to their policies. It was a case
of principle and not of personality. Whether the Ana
baptists would have been spared their fate if they had
succeeded in satisfying the magistrates is an open
question, but the writer ventures to suggest that their
fate would have been little different for without the
hatred of the clergy who felt conscience-stricken and

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 165
condemned by the principles and the lives of these
people, the magistracy of the then existing govern
ments would probably have caused the Anabaptists
little trouble, but this very hatred would have found
other means of persuading the authorities to become
their tools in order to get rid of these supposed ene
mies of good government.
The Anabaptists saw this and therefore refused to
take any direct part in the official duties of the govern
ment. They could not have done otherwise and re
mained consistent with their conception of Christ as
the Head of the Church. If they had yielded they
would have become a party to a combination which
made the arm of the civil authority and not the will
of the Lord the mainstay of the Church.
The writer has looked at a number of summaries of
the "reasons why the Anabaptists failed" and has been
impressed with the fact that the estimates have always
been based on the fact that these people were nearly
exterminated. He is glad to find, however, that not
every one estimates thus the meaning of the lives and
the work of these people who tried so literally to live
out the fundamental principles of Jesus Christ. What
if their methods seem crude ! Were they any more so
for their day than ours are for today? They knew
less of Christology than we do, but did the actual
application of what they believed about the personal
ity of Jesus Christ stand lower in the sight of God

166 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF' THE CHURCH
than does ours? Their statements of the work which
Jesus Christ accomplished for mankind sometimes
grate on modern ears but are we sure that their state
ments did less honor to His work than do our own?
Their conception of the Church seems to many crude
and visionary, but are the modern Churches doing
more effective work in the kingdom of God than did
the simple "Communities" of the Anabaptists and ear
ly Mennonites when conditions and opportunities are
taken into consideration? The reaction of the Ana
baptists against the "sacraments" and the "ceremo
nies" of the established Churches of their day may
seem extreme, but whom shall we follow in this mat
ter, them or their adversaries, when the practices and
not the theories are assigned first place? Their re
quirements for membership in the "Community" may
seem too ideal, but what about the feeling of expe
rienced leaders of our own day who say that so much
"world" has gotten into the Church that the Church
has lost its grip on the world? Their ideals for the
ministry may have lacked much that is thot desirable
for one to possess who belongs to the "profession",
but what of the power of conviction which resulted
from the practical application of their ideals? And
how about their attitude on anti-militarism? "Jesus
believed implicitly in the triumph of meekness, gentle
ness and love. He knew that the greatest powers on
earth were not swords and armies. Despite the long

CONCEPTIONS OF THE LEADERS 167
history of human strife and blood-shed, despite the
sad story of man's inhumanity to man, Jesus knew
that there was a power in suffering love which could
conquer even human malignity and that the forces of
evil must at last break themselves upon His divine pa
tience. 'The meek shall inherit the earth', He had
dared to declare. In spite of the seeming dominion of
ambition and force it is, after all, humility and patience
which really subdue the hearts of men. To this prin
ciple of the real royalty of meekness and love Jesus
Christ committed Himself absolutely in life and in
death. He knew that the kingdom of God, founded
not on might, but on humility, service and helpfulness,
must yet give the law to all kingdoms and that this
kingdom, secure as the throne of the eternal Love,
would endure and flourish when all others had van
ished from the earth." (Stevens, The Christian Doc
trine of Salvation, p. 364). Such thots as these, com
bined with the deep conviction that a Christian must
live his profession and the intense desire to be con
sistent Christians made these simple Anabaptists
stand up for the principle of anti-militarism at a time
when such an attitude was considered sheer folly be
cause men were depending upon the force of their own
arms instead of the "Arm of the Lord", as they pro
fessed. Were these Anabaptists so far wrong in objecting
to the union of Church and State? Were they right or

168 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
wrong in their insistence that it is better to pray for
the government than to help the government prey
upon others? Was it really true that by actually tell
ing the truth and refusing to swear oaths they were
made worse citizens than those who swore the oaths,
all too often in order to cover up untruths ? Was Hans
Mueller a bad citizen when he stood before the magis
trates of Zurich and pled : "Do not lay a burden on my
conscience, for faith is a gift given freely by God and
is not common property. The mystery of God lies
hidden like the treasure in a field, which no one can
find but he to whom the Spirit shows it. So I beg you,
ye servants of God, let my faith stand free" ? Was the
only provision which these men made in their obe
dience, to temporal governments (we must obey God
more than men) a sign of treason? If so, then freedom
of conscience is treason. Then also Christ is not the
Head of the Church on earth. If Christ is the Head
of the Church, as these people believed absolutely,
then their sad history is another case of:
"Right forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne.
Yet, that scaffold sways the future
And behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above His own." — Lowell.

APPENDIX I
"DIE SIEBEN ARTIKEL VON SCHLATTEN AM
RANDEN"
Vereinbart den 24. Februar 1527. Aeltestes Bekenntnis der
Taufer. (Gekiirzt durch Dr. Beck).
Zum ersten: So merket von der Taufe: Die Taufe soil
alien denen gegeben werden, die belehret sind von der Busse
und Aenderung des Lebens und glauben in der Wahrheit,
dass ihre Sunden durch Christum hinweggenommen seien.
und alien denen, so in der Auferstehung Jesu Christi wan-
deln und mit ihm in den Tod begraben sein wollen, auf dass
sie mit ihm auferstehen mogen, und alien denen, so es in sol-
cher Meinung durch sich selbst von uns begehren und for-
dern. Damit wird ausgeschlossen alle Kindertaufe, solche
hat nicht Grund und Zeugnis in der Schrift und ist gegen den
Gebrauch der Apostel — dessen wollen wir uns einfaltiglich,
doch festiglich, halten und versichert sein.
Zum andern sind wir vereinigt worden von dem Bann
also: Der Bann soil gebraucht werden bei alien denen, so
sich dem Herrn ergeben und sich Bruder und Schwestern
lassen nennen und doch etwa straucheln (umschlipfen) und
fallen in ein Fehl und Siind und unwissentlich tibereilt wer
den. Dieselben sollen ermahnt werden, zum andernmal
heimlich, zum drittenmal offentlich vor aller Gemeine ge-
straft oder gebannt werden, nach dem Befehl Christi. Matth.
18. Solches soil aber geschehen nach der Ordnung des Gei-
stes Gottes vor dem Brotbrechen, damit wir einmiitiglich und
in einer Liebe von einem Brot brechen und essen mogen und
von einem Kelch trinken.
Zum dritten: In dem Brotbrechen sind wir eins gewor-
den und haben vereinbart, alk die ein Brot brechen wollen
zum Gedachtnis des (ge)brochenen Leibes Christi, und alle
die von -einem Trank trinken wollen, zu einem Gedachtnis

170 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
des vergossenen Blutes Christi, die sollen vorher vereinigt
sein in einem Leibe Christi, das ist in die Gemeine Gottes,
auf welchem Christus das Haupt ist, namlich durch die Taufe.
Denn, wie Paulus anzeigt, so mogen wir nicht auf einmal
teilhaftig (sein) des Herrn Tisch und des Teufels Tisch;
mogen auch nicht auf einmal teilhaftig sein und trinken von
des Herrn Kelch und des Teufels Kelch, das ist: alle, die
Gemeinschaft haben mit den todten Werken der Finsternis,
die haben kein Teil am Licht. Also auch, welcher nicht die
Berufung eines Gottes. zu einer Tauf, zu einem Geist, zu ei
nem Glauben, zu einem Leib mit alien Kindern Gottes ge-
mein hat, der mag auch nicht mit in ein Brot werden, wie
denn sein muss, wo man das Brot in der Wahrheit nach dem
Befehl Christi brechen will.
Zum vierten: Sind wir vereinigt worden, von der Abson-
derung von dem Bosen und vom Argen, das der Teufel in
der Welt gepflanzt hat, also dass wir nicht Gemeinschaft
mit ihnen haben, und mit ihnen (nicht) laufen in die Menge
ihrer Greuel. — Nun ist uns auch das Gebot des Herrn offen-
bar, in welchem er uns heisst abgesondert sein, wollen wir
seine Sonne und Tochter sein; weiter ermahnt er uns darum,
von Babylon und dem irdischen Egypten abzugehen, dass
wir nicht teilhaftig werden ihrer Qual und Leiden, so der
Herr iiber sie fuhren wird. Die Greuel, welche wir meiden
sollen — damit sind gemeint alle pabstlichen und widerpabst-
lichen Werke und Gottesdienste, Versammlungen, Kirchgang
und Hauser, Burgerschaften und Verpflichtungen des Un-
glaubens und andere mehr dergleichen, die dann die Welt
fur hoch halt — von diesem alien sollen wir abgesondert wer
den, und kein Teil mit solchem haben, denn es sind eitel
Greuel, die uns verhasst machen vor unserem Christo Jesu,
welcher uns entledigt hat von der Dienstbarkeit des Flei-
sches. Zum fiinften sind wir von wegen der Hirten in der Ge
meine Gottes also vereinigt worden: Der Hirt in der Ge
meine Gottes soil einer sein nach der Ordnung Pauli ganz
und gar, der ein gutes Zeugnis habe vor denen, die ausser
dem Glauben sind. Solches Amt soil sein: Lesen, Vermah-

APPENDIX 171
nen und Lehren, Strafen, Bannen in der Gemeine, und alien
Briidern und Schwestern zur Besserung vorbeten, das Brot
anheben zu brechen, und in alien Dingen des Leibes Christi
Acht haben, dass er gebaut und gebessert werde, und dem
Lasterer der Mund verstopfet werde — dieser aber soil erhalten
werden, wo er Mangel haben wird, von der Gemeine, welche
ihn erwahlet hat, damit, welcher dem Evangelio dienet, von
demselben auch lebe, wie der Herr verordnet hat; so aber ein
Hirt etwas handeln wiirde, das zu strafen ware, soil mit ihm
nichts gehandelt werden, ohne zwei bis drei Zeugen, und so
sie siindigen, sollen sie vor alien gestraft werden, damit die
andern Furcht haben. So aber dieser Hirt vertrieben, oder
durch das Kreuz dem Herrn hingefiihrt wird, soil von Stund
an ein anderer an die Statt verordnet werden, damit das Volk-
lein und das Hauflein Gottes nicht zerstort werde.
Zum sechsten sind wir vereinigt worden von dem
Schwert also: Das Schwert ist eine Gottes-Ordnung ausser-
halb der Vollkommenheit Christi, welches den Bosen straft
und todtet, und den Guten schiitzet und schirmt. — Dasselbige
zu gebrauchen sind die weltlichen Obrigkeiten geordnet. — In
der Vollkommenheit Christi aber wird der Bann alleine ge-
braucht, zu einer Mahnung und Ausschliessung des, der ge-
siindigt hat im Tod des Fleisches. Nun wir von vielen, die
nicht den Willen Christi gegen uns erkennen, gefragt, ob
auch ein Christ um des Guten Schutz und Schirm oder um
der Liebe willen moge oder solle das Schwert brauchen gegen
den Bosen. Die Antwort ist offenbar, einmiitiglich also:
Christus lehrt, dass wir von ihm lernen sollen, denn er sei
mild und von Herzen demiitiglich und so werden wir in Ruhe
finden unsere Seelen. (Hinweisung auf Christo und die Ehe-
brecherin.) Zum andern wird gefragt des Schwertes halber,
ob ein Christ soil Urteil sprechen in weltlichem Zank und
Spann, so die Unglaubigen miteinander haben, ist das die
einige Antwort: Christus hat nicht des Erbteils halben zwi-
schen Bruder und Bruder entscheiden wollen, sondern hat sich
stets desselben gewidert (geweigert); also sollen wir auch
tun. Zum dritten wird des Schwertes halben gefragt: Soil
das eine Obrigkeit sein, so einer dazu erwahlt wird? Dem

172 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
wird also geantwortet: Christus hat zu einem Konig gemacht
werden sollen, und er ist geflohen und hat nicht angesehen
die Ordnung seines Vaters, also sollen wir auch tun, so werden
wir nicht in der Finsternis wandeln. Auch verbietet er selbst
die Gewalt des Schwerts. Also sagt weiter Paulus: Welche
Gott versehen hat, die hat er auch verordnet, dass sie gleich-
burtig sein sollen dem Ebenbilde seines Sohnes. — Zuletzt
wird es gemerkt, dass es den Christen nicht ziemen mag, eine
Obrigkeit zu sein, (denn) der Oberen Regiment ist nach dem
Fleisch, der Christen nach dem Geist — ihre Streit- und
Kriegswaffen sind fleischlich — der Christen Wafren aber sind
geistlich wider die Befestung des Teufels; die Weltlichen
werden gewappnet mit Stachel und Eisen, die Christlichen
mit dem Harnisch Gottes, mit Wahrheit, mit Gerechtigkeit,
Friede, Glauben, Heil, in Summa: mit dem Worte Gottes.
Zum siebenten sind wir von dem Eid also eins geworden:
Der Eid ist eine Befestigung unter denen, die da zanken oder
verheissen, und ist im Gesetz geheissen worden, dass er soil
geschehen bei dem Namen Gottes, allein wahrhaftig und nicht
falsch. Christus, der die Vollkommenheit des Gesetzes leh-
ret, verbietet den Seinen alles Schworen, weder recht noch
falsch, weder beim Himmel, noch bei dem Erdreich, noch bei
Jerusalem, noch bei unserm Haupt, und das um der Ursache
willen, wie er bald nachher (Matth. 5) spricht. Sehet, darum
ist alles Schworen verboten.
Liebe Bruder und Schwestern, das sind die Artikel, die
etliche Bruder bisher irrig und nicht gleich verstanden haben
und (sind) damit viel schwache Gewissen verwirrt, darnach
der Name Gottes gar grasslich verlastert worden ist, darnach
es denn notig gewesen ist, dass wir im Herrn vereinigt wor
den sind. Gott sei Lob und Preis. (Copy found in Kurz-
gefasste Geschichte und Glaubenslehre der Altevangelischen
Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten, pp. 166-9, Carl H. A. van
der Smissen.)

APPENDIX 173

APPENDIX II
Wiedertaufer Artikl vom Jahr 1527, zusammengstellt
nach den Bekenntnissen der 1527 — 1528 in der Stadt Steyer
verhorten Wiedertaufer aus der Bruderschaft des Hans Hut.
1527. W. Taufer in Stadt Steier und Freynstadt.
Artigkl der gemainen urgichten vnnd bekhanntnussen
aller widergtaufften so befragt worden:
Der Tauff, so die Jungen khinder Emphahen, sey nis
nutz, auch khain Sacrament.
Nach der Ordnung Christi soil ainem zuvoran das wort
gotts verkundt vnd gepredigt werden, vnd so er dann dasselb
geglaubt, soil Er darnach getaufft werden.
Im selben Tauff erwillig ain yeder in Ir Bruderschafft.
Dieselbig Ir Bruderschafft sey die cristenlich gemaindt oder
die gemaindt gottes, vnd die andern ausserhalb Irer Bruder
schafft seyen die gottlossen.
Die bemelten Ire Gemainden Erwellen aus Inen ettlich,
die predigen, ander Bruder unnd Schwester aufnehmen und
Tauffen sollen.
Wann sy Tauffen, sogen sy: Ich tauf dich im Namen des
Vatters, Sons vnd heyligen geists vnnd bezeichnen den, der
sich Tauffen last, mit wasser an der Styrn.
Khainer soil eigens haben, sonder der alle Ding Inen
gemain sein.
Ir widertauff sey khain Sacrament, sonder ain zeichen,
dardurch Sy sich got Ergeben vnd Ir gemuret geb. Khunsst
vnnd der Gemaind gottes (sic).
Inen sey verpoten, in die kirchen zu geen, Mess, predig
oder anndere ampter dar Inn ze heren.
Auf pildnissen sey nichts zu halten.
Die Todten heiligen mugen nit furpitter sein, noch vnns
Erschiessen bey got. Die kbendigen Heiligen seyen die
Brudern vnnd Schwestern Iner Bruderschafft vnnd christenli-

174 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
chend Gemaind, die sollen und mugen wor fur ainander pit-
ten vnnd gnad erwerben.
Die peucht der Briester in der kirchen sey nichts, aber
ain yeder mag dem anndern sein sindt peuchten vnnd antzei-
gen, damit Er gott fur In bitt.
Christus sey mit seinem Leyb nit im Sacrament des
Altars, sonder im Himel vnnd kommbt nit herab bis an den
Jiingsten Tag.
Christus hat im Nachtmal seinen Jiingern alkin prot
vnnd wein zu essen vnnd Trinkhen gegeben vnnd nit sein
Leib. Zu Gedachtnis desselben halten Sy, so offt Sy aus ainer
versammlung voneinander geen, auch dasselbig nachtmal,
vnnd nyessen ain prot und wein, wo Sy es haben. — Das Sacra
ment sey auch allain prot vnnd wein vnnd weder plut noch
Fleisch noch der Leib Christi.
Sy halten auch nichts von den Siben Sacramenten.
Der Jiingst tag sey nachendt, assdann werden Sy mit
Christo Regiern auf erden.
Vnnd nyemand mag saelig werden, dann durch leyden, das
sey die Recht Tauf des pluts, darein Sy sich durch den Tauf
des wassers verwilligen.
"Die obgeschrieben Artigkl Glauben vnnd bekhennen Sy
allgemainicklich, doch mit aennderung etlicher wortt, die doch
kain andern sondern verstandt bringen," (So meint Khuenigl,
von dem die obige Zusammenstelling offenbar herriihrt).
(For further quotation from the original cf. Loserth, Dr.
Balthasar Hubmaier, pp. 208-10.)

APPENDIX III
PESECUTIONS AND THE PESECUTED
Estimates by Various Writers.
"But the persecution, with its peculiar atrocities, had
been acting in its usual way on the Anabaptists of the Nether
lands. They had been tortured on the rack, scourged, im
prisoned in dungeons, roasted to death before slow fires, and

APPENDIX 175
had seen their women drowned, buried alive, pressed into
coffins too small for their bodies till their ribs were broken,
others stamped into them by the feet of the executioners. Is
it to be wondered at that those who stood firm sometimes
gave way to hysterical excesses; that their leaders began to
preach another creed than that of passive resistance; that
the wild apocalyptic visions were reported and believed?"
(Lindsay, A History of the Reformation, — The Reformation
in Lands beyond Germany, p. 237.)
"Die Reformation war nur zu derjenigen Glaubens- und
Gewissensfreiheit gelangt, die man fiir sich fordert, aber noch
nicht zu derjenigen, die man andern gewahrt. Der Drang
der reformatorischen Arbeit erlaubte es nicht, den Kirchen-
begriff gehorig zu entwickeln. Mit dem damaligen Kirchen-
begriff war seit dem zwolften Jahrhundert die Theorie ver-
bunden, dass die Abweichung von der Kirchenkhre der per-
sonlichen Siindezuzuschreiben sei. An diesem von Thomas
von Aquino wissenschaftlich begriindeten Lehrsatz haben die
Protestanten noch lange nicht geriittelt, wiewohl sie selbst
die Opfer dieser Theorie waren. Sie haben ihn offenbar
vorderhand als notiges Uebel beibehalten, um ihn abzuschaf-
fen sobald sie selbst ihn nicht mehr notig hatten." (Mueller,
Geschichte der Bernischen Wiedertaufer, p. 14.)
"Zurkinden 1506-88; 1532, Verwalter der Teutschoidens-
compturei in Summiswald, 1534 Bernischer Stadtschreiber,
1537 Landvogt in Bonmont im Pays de Gex und 1544-47 in
Nyon. Aus seinen Briefen an Calvin teilt sein Biograph Dr.
A. von Gonzenbach im Berner Taschenbuch, 1877, Abschnitte
mit. (Cf. Mueller, Geschichte der Bernischen Wiedertaufer,
pp. 76ff.) Zurkinden holds that perfect agreement in doctrine is
not to be expected and that mercy is of greater importance
anyway. "Darf ich es Ihnen eingestehen, ehrwtirdiger Bru
der, dass ich, sei es aus Mangel an Einsicht, sei es aus
Aengstlichkeit, zu der Zahl derjenigen gehore, die da wiin-
schen, dass das Schwert immer seltener gebraucht werde, um
bewusste oder unbewusste Irrlehren, die dem christlichen
Glauben widerstreiten, zu unterdriicken . . Ich ziehe es vor,

176 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
die Regierung durch iibertriebene Milde, als durch iibertriebe-
ne Strenge fehlen zu sehen." As one of the reasons for this
position he tells of the burning of an eighty-year-old woman
and her daughter, the mother of six fatherless children, who
were tortured to death because of baptism.
"Der Mensch ist nun einmal so geartet, dass er der
Ueberzeugung lieber nachgibt als der Gewalt; mancher ist
dem Henker gegeniiber verstockt, der sanften Zureden nicht
widerstanden hatte . . Ein letztes Argument, das ich anfiihren
muss, besteht darin, dass wir den Papisten, deren Grausam-
keit wir mit Recht gebrandmarkt haben, durch nichts ange-
nehmer sein konnen, als wenn wir ihr Beispiel nachahmen,
und auch in unserer Kirche den Henker mit seinen Tortur-
werkzeugen wieder einfiihren. Nichts ware gehassiger! — Ich
wage es kaum, Ihnen ganz privatim davon zu sprechen, weil
ich keinen meiner Gedanken verbergen mag." (Ausfiihrli-
ches bei Dr. Oechsli, Quellenbuch zur Schweizergeschichte,
S. 347.) Even Kessler had to admit that the Anabaptists in "their
walk and conversation are throughout pious, holy and blame
less . . . They carry no weapons, neither sword nor dagger . . .
They swear not, nay, not even take they the civic oath to
any authority . . . They purge their members daily," etc.
(Cf. Bax, The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists, p. 56.)
"Wiewohl ich kein Wiedertaufer bin," schrieb Schwenk
feld am 24. September 1531 an Bader, "auch auf ihre Weise
nie getauft worden bin, kann ich doch aus Eurem Schreiben
spuren, dass ich bei Euch nicht ohne Verdacht bin. Sollen
aber alle die Wiedertaufer sein, die von der Kindertaufe
nichts halten, so sind jetzt iiberall viele Wiedertaufer und
werden mit der Zeit mehr werden, als ihrer zuvor gewesen.
Dass man mir aber etliche irrige Artikel der Wiedertaufer
wollte zumessen . . . das wiirde ich zur Errettung meines
christlichen Namens, sofern es dem Herrn gefallig, nicht un-
verantwortet lassen; denn Gott hat mir einen Glauben gege
ben, der sich wohl am Licht lasst ansehen. Die Wieder
taufer sind mir deshalb desto lieber, dass sie sich um gott-
liche Wahrheit etwas mehr denn um viele Gelehrten bekiim-

APPENDIX 177
mern.- Wer Gott sucht im Ernst, der wird ihn finden. Dass
Ihr sie blinde Wiedertaufer und des Teufels Martyrer nennt,
werdet Ihr vor Gott verantworten. Mir hat einer die Ant
wort darauf gegeben: Wo sie vor Euch und Euresgleichen
neuen Pabstlern und Schrifttyrannen offentlich mochten
Platz haben und sicher waren, so diirften sie nicht in die
Winkel kriechen. Sie wiissten auch niemand, der sie mar-
terte, denn der Teufel mit seinen Gliedern und Haufen . . .
Wie dem allem auch sei, mein Bruder Bader, so will ich Euch
noch zuletzt treulich ermahnt haben, Ihr wollet von solchem
schweren gefahrlichen Eifer, den Ihr wider diese armen
Leute habt, bei Zeiten abstehen . . . Ihr miisst dariiber vor
Gott eine ernste Busse tun, dass Ihr sie ausgeputzt als Gru-
benhaurer, Friedenbrecher und die, die Gottheit Christi ver-
leugnen, hingestellt, etc. Item Ihr vergleicht sie den aller-
ungehorsamsten Leuten, die das Erdreich je getragen hat,
die also billig vor der ganzen Welt durchachtet, verjagt, ge-
totet, erhangt und ertrankt wiirden; denn es ware unmoglich
nach natiirlicher Ehrbarkeit, dass das Erdreich einen solchen
abgottischen Orden leiden mochte usw. — Das habe ich Euch
miissen erinnern, ob Euch solches dermaleinst in Euer Herz
schliige, Gott um Vergebung und Gnade anzurufen; denn
heisst das nicht das Schwert gewetzt? . . . Von den Taufern
habe ich darum umso freier geredet, weil sie auch wider mich
ein Biichlein haben ausgehen lassen, deshalb ich jetzt, wo
man's glauben will, unparteiisch hierin befunden wfirde."
(Cf. Hege, Die Taufer in der Kurpfalz, pp. 18-19; also Cor
pus Schwenkfeldianorom, Part IV, pp. 240 and 257.) (Hege
took his quotations from Schwenkfeld's Epistolar, 2. Buch
des 2. Teils den 21. Sendbrief, p. 296—315.)

APPENDIX IV
"Articul III. Von der Wieder-auffrichtung und Ver-
stihnung des Menschlichen Geschlechts mit Gott.
"Was die Wieder-auffrichtung des ersten Menschen und
seiner Nachkommen betrifft / davon bekennen und glauben

178 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
wir / dass unangesehen diesen ihren Fall / iibertretung und
Sunde / und ob wollen ihnen gantzlich kein vermugen war /
Gott dennoch darumb sie nicht gantz und gar hat wollen ver-
werffen / noch ewig verlohren bleiben lassen / sondern dass
er sie wiederumb su sich geruffen / getrostet und gezeiget
hat / dass den ihm noch Mittel ihrer versiinung ware / nem-
lich das unbefleckte Lamb (oder Sohn) Gottes / welcher dazu
albereits vor der Welt Anfang versehen / und ihnen / als sie
noch im Paradeys waren / zu Trost / Erlosung und Seligkeit/
so wol fiir sie als ihre Nachkomlingen verheissen und zuge-
sagt / ja ihnen von der Zeit an durch den Glauben als eygen
gegeben und geschoncke ist / Wornach alien Frommen Alt-
vatteren hat verlanget / welchen diese verheissungen zum
offtern ist ernewert / die darnach geforschet / und durch den
Glauben von ferae nach ihm aussgesehen und auff die Er-
fiilling gewartet haben / dass / wenn er kommen wiirde / er
das gefallene Menschliche Geschlechte von ihren Siinden /
Schuldt und Ungerechtigkeit wiederumb erlosen / frey ma-
chen / und auffhelffen sollte." Joh. 1. vers. 29. I. Petri 1. vers.
19. Gen. 3. vers. 15. 1 Joh. 3. vers. 8. 1 Joh. 2. vers. 1. Hebr.
11. v. 19. 39. Gal. 4. v. 4. (Christliche Glaubens-Bekentnus,
T. T. V. S., pp. 5-6.)

APPENDIX V
"Articul IV. Von der Zukunfft unsers Erlosers und Selig-
machers Jesu Christi.
SO glauben und bekennen wir ferner / dass / als diese
Zeit der Verheissung / nach welcher alle fromme Alt-Vatter
so sehr verlanget und darauff gewartet haben / umb / und
erfullet war / dass damals dieser verheissene Messias / Er-
loser und Seligmacher von Gott aussgange / gesandt und
(nach der Weissagung der Propheten und Gezeugnisse der
Evangelisten) in die Welt / ja ins Fleisch kommen / geoffen-
bahret und das Wort selbst Fleisch und Mensch worden ist /
und dass er in der Jungfrawen Maria (die verlobet war mit
einem Manne / genant Joseph vom Hause Davids) ist emp-

APPENDIX 179
fangen / und dass sie denselben / als ihren Erst-geboren
Sohn / zu Bethlehem gebohren / in windelen gewickelt / und
in eine Krippen gelegt hat. (Joh. 4. vers. 25. Joh. 16. vers.
28. 1 Tim. 3. vers. 16. Joh. 1. vers. 14. Matth. 1. vers. 22.
Luc. 2. vers. 7. 21.)
Wir bekennen und glauben auch / dass dieser derselbige
ist / dessen Auszgang von Anfang und von Ewigkeit gewesen
ist / ohn anfang der Tagen / oder Ende des Lebens: Der
selber das A, und O, Anfang und Ende / der Erste und der
Letzte bezeuget wird zu seyn: Dass dieser auch derselbe ist
und kein ander / der auszersehen / verheissen / gesandt und
in die Welt kommen / und der Gottes eyniger / erster und
einiger Sohn / der vor Johannes dem Tauffer / vor Abraham /
ja Davids HERR und aller Welt Gott ist / der Erst-gebohrne
vor alien Creaturen / der in die Welt gebracht / und ihm ein
Leib bereitet ist / welchen er selber zu einem Opffer und
Gabe iibergeben hat / Gott zu einem siissen Geruch / ja zu
Trost / Erlosung und Seligkeit fur alle / und fur das gantze
Menschliche Geschlecht. (Mich. 5. vers. 2. Hebr. 7. vers. 3.
Apoc. 1. vers. 8. 18. Joh. 3. vers. 16. Hebr. 1. vers. 6. Rom. 8.
vers. 32. Matt. 22. vers. 41. Col. 1. vers. 15. Aebr. 10. vers. 5.)
Was aber anlanget / wie und auff was Weise dieser
wiirdiger Leib bereitet / und wie das Wort Fleisch / und er
selbst Mensch geworden ist / darinn sind wir verniiget mit
der erkliirung welche die heilige Evangelisten in ihrer be-
schreibung davon gethan und nachgelassen haben / nach
welcher wir sampt alien Heiligen ihn bekennen und halten
fiir den Sohn des Lebendigen Gottes / in welchem all unsere
Hoffnung / Trost / Erlosung und Seligkeit besteht / und dass
wir dieselbe auch in niemanden anders miigen noch sollen
suchen. (Luc. 1. vers. 31. 32. 33. Joh. 20. v. 30. 31. Matt. 16.
vers. 16.)
Weiter glauben und bekennen wir mit der Schrift / nach
dem er hier seinen Lauff vollendet / und das Werck / darumb
er gesandt und in die Welt kommen war / volbracht hatte /
dass er nach Gottes Fiirsehung ist iiberantwortet in die
hande der Ungerechten / und dass er unter dem Richter
Pontio Pilato gelitten hat / dass er gekreuziget / gestorben /

180 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
begraben / am dritten Tage vom Tode wiederaufferstanden
und gen Himmel gefahren ist / und dass er sitzt zur rechten
Handt Gottes der Majestat in der Hohe / von dannen er
kommen wird zu richten die Lebendigen und die Todten.
(Luc. 23. vers. 53. Luc. 23. vers. 1. Luc. 24. vers. 5. 6. Luc.
24. vers. 51.)
Und dass also der Sohne Gottes gestorben ist / fur alle
den Todt geschmecket / und seyn theurbar Blut vergossen
hat / und dass er dadurch der Schlangen den Kopff zertre-
ten / die Wercke des Teufels zerstohret / die Handschrifft zu
nicht gemacht / und vergebung der Siinden fur das gantze
Menschliche Geschlecht erworben hat / und dass er also ein
uhrsach der ewigen Seligkeit geworden ist fur alle die jenigen
(von Adam an bis an der Welt ende) deren ein jeder in seiner
Zeit an ihn glauben und gehorsam seyn wird. (Gen. 3. vers.
15. 1 Joh. 3. vers. 8. Coloss. 2. vers. 14. Rom. 5. vers. 18.)
(Christliche Glaubens-Bekentnus, T. T. V. S. pp. 6-9.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The search for the literature necessary for this under
taking has been a valuable experience for the writer. He
found little literature bearing directly upon his subject, but
much which was very suggestive, sometimes tantalizingly so,
especially when there was just enough suggestion to make
one feel quite sure that he was on the track of important
facts, but not enough to make one feel warranted in deciding
definitely as to which way the facts would effect the conclu
sions. The writer gratefully acknowledges the valuable assist
ance rendered him in his search by Drs. MacKenzie, Jacobus
and Geer of Hartford Theological Seminary, who offered
very helpful suggestions in personal conferences; by Rev. N.
B. Grubb of Philadelphia, Pa., who so kindly offered the
writer the use of his rare and valuable collection of Anabap
tist and Mennonite literature; by Rev. S. M. Grubb, the
fruits of whose research work in the library of the Pennsyl
vania German Society were so kindly offered to the writer;
by Rev. C. van der Smissen, who offered many valuable
suggestions as to literature; by the various members of the
staff of librarians in Hartford Theological Seminary, and by
a host of friends who so kindly and patiently answered letters
and rendered other valuable services.
The writer has not listed all of the literature examined
in order to find material because some of it imparted no
usable information and some of it contained nothing valuable
beyond the quotations taken from such works which were
used. The suggestions sometimes came from such books as
have not been listed and thus helped the writer in finding the
original. The writer also owes much to the valuable suggestions

182 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
which he received from courses taken under Drs. MacKenzie
and Geer, especially those in Dogmatics, Christology, Atone
ment and the Reformation Period.
A LIST OF LITERATURE USED
Anweisung zu der wahren Gottseligkeit, Lehr- und
Lebens-Uebung. (A very old book from which the
title page is gone.)
Arnolds, Gottfried, Kurzgefasste Kirchen-Historie des Alten
und Neuen Testaments.
Arnoldi, Gottfried, Wahre Abbildung der Ersten Christen im
Glauben und Leben.
Bartsch, J., Geschichte der Gemeinde Jesus Christus, das
heisst: der Altevangelischen und Mennoniten-Gemein-
den, von der Zeit der Apostel bis in die Gegenwart,
p. 207. Mennonite Publishing Co., Elkhart, Ind.
Bax, E. Belfort, German Society of the Middle Ages.
The Peasants War.
Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists.
Bericht von der ersten All-Mennoniten-Konvention in
Nord-Amerika, enthaltend das Protokoll und alk
Referate.
Bosworth, Edward I., The Teaching of Jesus and His Apos
tles.
Braght, Thielem J. v., Der blutige Schauplatz, oder Martyrer-
Spiegel der Tauf-Gesinnten oder Wehrlosen Christen,
die um des Zeugnisses Jesu, ihres Seligmachers, willen
gelitten haben und getotet worden sind von Christi Zeit
an bis auf das Jahr 1660. Enthaltend nebst ihrer Ge
schichte die Reden, Briefe und Bekenntnisse der seli-
gen Martyrer, sowie auch die Geschichte der christli
chen Taufe, von der Apostel Zeit an bis auf das Jahr
1600. Published by Shem Zook, near Lewiston, Mifflin
Co., Pa.
Brons, A., Ursprung, Entwickelung und Schicksale der alt
evangelischen Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten. Zweite
Auflage, 1891.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 183
Brown, J. Newton, The Life and Times of Menno.
Bundesbote-Kalender, Complete file from 1887 to 1915.
Cassel, Daniel K., Geschichte der Mennoniten von Menno
Simon's Austritt aus der romisch-katholischen Kirche
in 1536 bis zu deren Auswanderung nach Amerika in
1683.Copies of the different catechisms published in the
United States and Germany by different divisions of
the Mennonites.
Files of "Der Christliche Bundesbote."
T. T. V. S., Christliche Glaubens-Bekentnus. Der waffen-
losen und furnehmlich in den Niederlandern (unter
dem nahmen der Mennonisten) wohlbekanten Chri
sten; Wie auch Etliche Christliche Gebahte eben der-
selben Glaubens-bekenner; Wobei gefiigt sieben geist-
liche Lob und andere Gesange aus einer anzahl von 400
eines Gottseeligen Lehrers selbiger Bekentnus gezogen
und zur Probe anher gestellet; Als auch noch ein An-
hang zum unwidersprechlichen beweise dass gemelte
Glaubens-bekenner sich im Leben und lehren viel an-
ders befinden, als man bis anher durch unkunde von
ihnen urteilen wollen. 1664.
Cornelis, C. A., Geschichte des Munsterischen Aufruhrs, er-
stes und zweites Buch.
Cramer, A. M., Het Leven en de Verrigtingen van Menno
Simons, voorafgegaan dooveene Inleidende Verhande-
ling over den Corsprong en de Opkomst der Doopsge-
zinden, voornamelijk in de Nederlanden, pp. vi, 206.
Amsterdam, bij Johannes Mueller. 1837.
Denck, Hans, Von der wahren Liebe. This volume also
contains Auslegung des Vaterunser, by Hans Langen
mantel.Corpus Schwenkfeldianorum. Published under auspices
of the Schwenkfelder Church, Pennsylvania and of
Hartford Theological Seminary, Connecticut, U. S. A.
Denny, James, Jesus and the Gospel.

184 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Egli, Emil, Die Ziiricher Wiedertaufer zur Reformationszeit.
Nach den Quellen des Staatsarchivs. 1878.
Die St. Galkr Tauffer. 1887.
Elknberger, J., Bilder aus dem Pilgerkben. Gesammelt in
der Mennoniten-Gemeinde. Vol. I. Selbstverlag des
Verfassers. 1878.
Encyclopedia — Articles bearing on various phases of the sub
ject, especially those found in the following works:
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics.
Ersch and Gruber Encyclopedia.
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge.
The New International Encyclopedia.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical
Literature. McClintock and Strong.
Realencyclopadie fur protestantische Theologie und
Kirche.Herzog-Real-Encyklopadie fur protestantische Theo
logie. 1862.
Herzog und Plitt, Real-Encyklopadie fur protestanti
sche Theologie und Kirche. 1886.
Erbkam, H. W., Geschichte der protestantischen Sekten im
Zeitalter der Reformation. 1848.
Evans, John LL.D., A Sketch of the Denominations of
the Christian World. 1832.
Fairbairn, Andrew M., The Philosophy of the Christian
Religion.
Hase, Karl, Reich der Wiedertaufer.
Hast, J., Geschichte der Wiedertaufer von ihrem Entstehen
zu Zuricken in Sachsen bis auf ihren Sturz zu Munster
in Westphalen, p. 408.
Hege, C, Die Taufer in der Kurpfalz. 1908.
Kurzgefasste Geschichte der Mennoniten.
Horsch, J., Kurzgefasste Geschichte der Mennoniten-Ge-
meinden. Nebst einem Abriss der Grundsatze und
Lehren, sowie einem Verzeichnis der Literatur der
Taufgesinnten.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 185
Hulshof, A., Geschiednis van de Doopsgezinden de Staats-
burg van 1525-1557.
Hunzinger, Abraham, Religions-, Kirchen- und Schulwesen
der Mennoniten oder Taufgesinnten. 1862.
Forrest, D. W., The Christ of History and of Experience.
Forsyth, The Person and Place of Jesus Christ.
Francken, Sebastian, Germanie Chronicon.
Jehring, Joachim, Griindliche Historie von denen Begeben-
heiten, Streitigkeiten und Trennungen, so unter den
Taufgesinnten oder Mennonisten usw.
Jones, Rufus M., M.A., D.Litt., Spiritual Reformers in the
16th and 17th Centuries. 1914.
Studies in Mystical Religion. 1909.
Kadelbach, Oswald, Schwenkfeld und die Schwenkfelder.
Kautsky, Karl, Communism in Central Europe in the time
of the Reformation.
Keller, Ludwig, Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer.
Geschichte der Wiedertaufer.
Kerssenbroick, Hermann von, Geschichte der Wiedertaufer
zu Munster in Westphalen. 1771.
Krehbiel, H. P., History of the Mennonite General Confer
ence.
Lamprecht, Karl, Deutsche Geschichte.
Langenmantel, Hans, Auslegung des Vaterunser. (This vol
ume also contains "Von der wahren Liebe", by Hans
Denck.
Lindsey, Thomas M., A History of the Reformation. The
Reformation in Germany.
A History of the Reformation. The Reformation in
the Lands Beyond Germany.
Luther and the German Reformation.
Loserth, Johann, Doctor Balthasar Hubmaier und die An-
fange der Wiedertaufe in Mahren.
Mannhardt, J., Stimmen aus der Reformationszeit. Gedenk-
blatter zum dreihundertjahrigen Todestage Menno Sy-
mons, den 13. Januar 1861.

186 CHRIST'S HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH
Files of The Mennonite, published at Berne, Ind.
Complete file of the Mennonite Year Books, 1895-1915.
Forms of Service and Handbooks for Ministers, pub
lished by Mennonites.
Moeller, Wilh., Kirchengeschichte. Das Mittelalter. Vol. II.
Kirchengeschichte. Reformation und Gegenreforma-
tion. Vol. III.
Monatsblatter der Mennoniten-Gemeinde Crefeld, Ger
many. Files of 1905-06.
Mueller, Ernst, Geschichte der Bernischen Wiedertaufer.
Nach den Urkunden dargestellt, p. 411.
Neff, Christian (und Christian Hege), Mennonitisches Lexi-
kon. Lieferung 1 und 2.
Newman, A. H., History of Anti-Pedobaptism.
A Manual of Church History.
Pro Copia Instrumentum Publicum concerning that which
was considered in facti, by the Lord Commissioners
of the Palatine Electoral Prince in reference to the
Protestant Mennonites at Reijdt in the year 1694, and
what transpired.
Ris, Cornelis. Die Glaubens-Lehre der wahren Mennoniten
oder Tauf-Gesinnten aus deren offentlichen Glaubens-
bekenntnissen. (Later editions of this work may be
found in "Geschichte und Glaubenskhre der Taufge
sinnten oder Mennoniten" by van der Smissen, and
"Mennonite Articles of Faith", published by the Men
nonite Book Concern, Berne, Ind. 1904.
Roehrich, Timoth. Wilh., Zur Geschichte der strassburgi-
schen Wiedertaufer in den Jahren 1527 bis 1543.
Roosen, B. C, Geschichte der Mennoniten-Gemeinde zu
Hamburg und Altona. Erste Halfte. Hamburg 1886.
Zwei Predigten. Die erste gehalten am 13. Januar
1861, als am 300jahrigen Todestage Menno Simonis',
die andere gehalten am 20. Januar 1861.
Rues, Simon Fr., Gegenwartiger Zustand der Mennoniten
usw,
Simon, Menno, The Complete Works of Menno Simon, trans
lated from the original Dutch or Holland, Elkhart, Ind.,

BIBLIOGRAPHY 187
published by John F. Funk and Brother. 1871.
Simon, Menno, Ein Fundament und klare Anweisung von
der seligmachenden Lehre unsers Herrn Jesu Christi.
Smissen, Carl H. A. van der, Kurzgefasste Geschichte und
Glaubenslehre der Altevangelischen Taufgesinnten
oder Mennoniten.
Smith, Dr. C. Henry, Mennonites in History, p. 41. Published
by Mennonite Book and Tract Society, Scottdale, Pa.
1907.
The Mennonites of America.
Taffin, Johann, Kurtzer Unterricht wider die Irrtumb der
Wiedertauffer. 1597.
Ten Cate, S. Blaupot, Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in
Friesland. 1839.
Vedder, Henry C, Balthasar Hubmaier.
Short History of the Baptists.
Vos, K, Menno Simons.
Wedel, C. H., Kurzgefasste Kirchengeschichte fur Schulen
und Familien.
Abriss der Geschichte der Mennoniten. Vol. 1 und 2.
Meditationen zu den Fragen und Antworten unseres
Katechismus.
Winer, Dr. George Benedict, A Comparative View of the
Doctrines and Confessions of the Various Communi
ties of Christendom, with Illustrations from Their
Original Standards.
Wolkan, Dr. Rudolf, Die Lieder der Wiedertaufer.
Zezschwitz, Gerhard von, Die Katechismen der Waldenser
und Bohmischen Bruder. 1863.

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