CHURCH: History and Today Apr. 14

Dutch Anabaptism and Menno Simons

Last week we took a look at the Radical Anabaptism of Thomas Muntzer and the whole fiasco that took place in the city of Munster. While there was a lot of damage done, there were Anabaptists who did not agree with this violent apocalyptic radicalism. Today we will take a look at Anabaptism in the aftermath of Muntzer and Munster, especially looking at Menno Simons.

How do you think the nonviolent Anabaptists responded to the tragedy of Munster?

Very often history is a pendulum swing.

Anabaptism is a bit of a complicated story to tell. There are many major parts, different leaders and different areas. There’s the Swiss, the Northern German, the Southern German, and the Dutch Anabaptist movements, to name a few. Then there are all the spin-off movements, and all the groups that were influenced by Anabaptist ideas but never took that name, as well as the radicals that we talked about last week! This won’t help all that much with geography, but at least we can break down the timeline of Anabaptism into three major sections:

The First Anabaptists. These were the ones who took the first step in what became the footprint of later Anabaptism across Europe. This includes the first adult baptism, and the very early followers of this movement. The First Anabaptists found their start in January 1525. As Gonzalez writes: “Many of the first leaders of the movement were scholars, and almost all were pacifists.”

The Revolutionary Anabaptists. Gonzalez continues, “But soon that first generation succumbed to persecution. The movement then became increasingly radical, and became an expression of popular resentment that had earlier resulted in peasant rebellions. The original pacifism was then forgotten, and hopes of violent revolution took its place.” These revolutionary Anabaptists were men like John Matthys and John of Leiden, the leaders of the rebellion in the city of Munster. While there was some overlap (Thomas Muntzer lived during the time of the first Anabaptists), for the most part these Revolutionary Anabaptists appeared several years after the first baptisms in Zurich (1525), generally from 1530 to the mid 1540’s.

The Later Anabaptists. These are the Anabaptists that we as Mennonites trace our heritage from. Much of their teaching came in opposition to the events of Munster. They strongly disagreed with the violence, polygamy, and prophetic emphasis of that movement. Gonzalez once again says it well. “Soon the explanation given for the tragedy of Munster was the abandonment of pacifism. Like the first Anabaptists, the new leaders of the movement held that the reason why Christians are not willing to follow the precepts of the Sermon on the Mount is not that such precepts are impossible to obey but rather that they require great faith. Those who possess such faith will practice the love that Jesus taught, leaving the consequences in God’s hands.”

With this in mind, we’ll take a closer look at the Anabaptism that grew in the Netherlands. While this is not the only area to have an Anabaptist movement, much of what happened here reverberated across the Anabaptist movements in Switzerland, Germany and even England. Also, this is where some of the later Anabaptist leaders started their ministry, most importantly Menno Simons.

Dutch Anabaptism Pre-Menno Simons

Erasmus

To find the first influence on Anabaptism in the Netherlands, we go way back to an old but familiar name: Erasmus. If you remember, Erasmus was a Catholic scholar who created a new Greek New Testament based on the latest and most accurate texts. He was fluent in Biblical languages and Latin, and based on his studies he became quite critical of how the Catholic church was running things at the time. Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli were both heavily influenced by his research and writings.

He was born in 1466, and most of his work was done in the early 1500’s. He lived to see Luther’s Reformation and would have lived to see the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. So yes, he was most active one or two generations before Anabaptism really got started. But what makes him so important to Dutch Anabaptism is that he was born in the Netherlands. That’s right, Erasmus was a Dutch scholar. The Reformation was born out of Erasmus’ scholarship, translation work, and personal influence, and when you combine that with common roots in Dutch culture, you can see how he would have a strong influence.

Melchior Hoffman

From there, another strong influence was Melchior Hoffman. We mentioned Hoffman last week, when we talked about his apocalyptic views and that the Day of the Lord was coming, and it would start in Strasbourg. He prophesied that he would be imprisoned and then the end would come, but he died in prison. While he only visited the Dutch and then went back to Strasbourg, some of his followers stayed behind in the Netherlands. If you remember from last week, John Matthys, the leader of the Munster rebellion, was a Dutch baker. Some of the other Anabaptist leaders in the Netherlands, including Menno Simons, called the Melchiorites (as followers of Melchior Hoffman were called) “brothers,” even if they needed some straightening out in terms of their apocalyptic ideas. But that only lasted until their violence and prophecies led to rebellion. Pretty soon Menno completely rejected the Melchiorites. However, they still had a significant influence on Anabaptism in the area.

Is it OK to take ideas from shady sources like Hoffman and his followers?

Obbe and Dirk Philips

The Philips brothers were sons of a priest in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Obbe was a surgeon and a barber, and Dirk was likely a Franciscan monk, who also probably received some training in theology. Both of them were baptized as adults by apostles of John Matthys around Christmas of 1533, and Obbe was made an elder right away, giving him authority to ordain other leaders and take part in church responsibilities.

However, Obbe disagreed with the revolutionary teachings of John Matthys. He started a group that was focused on a more faithful study and practice of the Bible. They rejected the violence and prophecy that Matthys promoted. Even after the fall of Munster, Obbe worked hard to bring about order and unity, but “…he became increasingly disillusioned with the Anabaptist movement which had originally spawned Munster and now, in reaction, seemed to be becoming increasingly rigid and legalistic in its demands. Because of this he pulled back from the movement in 1539-40, having earlier, however, ordained his brother Dirk as well as David Joris and Menno Simons as leaders.” (Dyck, 101) Obbe’s brother Dirk also played a major part in the leadership of the Dutch Anabaptists. He worked with his brother in traveling, encouragement, and teaching, and may even have become the leader of the group if not for Menno Simons. While Simons became the key leader, his most important colleague was Dirk Philips.

Menno Simons

Menno Simons was born in the village of Witmarsum, in the Dutch province of Friesland in 1496. His parents were most likely poor peasant farmers, although little else is known about his early life. He studied to become a priest and was ordained in 1524 (remember that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in 1517). He was then assigned as a priest in the town of Pingjum.

“In his later recollections of these early years as a village priest he tells how he spent his time in “playing cards, drinking, and in diversions as, alas, is the fashion and usage of such useless people.” He did not engage in serious immoral activities but wasted away his time in careless living.” (Dyck, 103)

Being a priest in the Middle Ages was often associated with easy living, especially compared to the poverty in the peasant class. Simons ‘wasted away his time in careless living.’ How have we allowed our wealth and comfort in the Western world to pull us away from following Christ?

“Already in his first year as priest, however, he began to be troubled about the Roman Catholic doctrine of the physical presence of the flesh and blood of Christ in the bread and wine of the mass. It is likely that he had been influenced by the Sacramentarians, of whom there were many in the Netherlands. Since he could not rid himself of these doubts even through prayer and confession, he decided to turn to the Scriptures in his further search. In taking this step, he writes, he was influenced by Luther. This study of the Scriptures convinced him that the church was wrong in its teaching that Christ was physically present in the Lord’s Supper.

Soon he began to doubt in another area. To his amazement he heard that Sicke Freerks (Snijder), the apostle who had been sent to Leeuwarden, had been beheaded in that city for hiving himself rebaptized. This time Menno turned to the Scriptures immediately but was unable to fine support for the practice of infant baptism.” (Dyck, 103)

Here we see that as a priest he was starting to feel the influence of the Reformation that started almost 10 years earlier. He started looking into more of the writings of Luther and other reformers, even though he remained a priest and even got promoted to the priesthood of his hometown. There, in Witmarsum, he gained a reputation as an evangelical preacher. He was in close contact with the followers of Melchior Hoffman and called them ‘brothers.’ That being said, he disagreed with them about their apocalyptic visions and violent ways, and tried to correct these ideas with his public preaching.

Unfortunately, the turning point for Simons was in connection with the Munster rebellion. Here is another excerpt from Dyck’s Mennonite History.

“A band of about three hundred rallied to support Munster and took over a monastery called the Old Cloister near Witmarsum. They were beseiged, captured, and many of them were killed in battle or executed. It is believed that one of them, named Peter Simons, was Menno’s brother. This event, in any case, moved Menno to action.” (Dyck, 103-104)

At times there are things we may not agree with, but we may not do anything about it until it gets personal.

So, in January of 1536, he made a public statement about his new commitment to Christ, and went to join the peaceful Anabaptists in hiding. He spent the next year studying the Bible and writing about what he found. After the year was over, he was approached by a group of men who asked him to become the leader of their group. He hesitated at first, since this would mean leading a group that was being persecuted and forced into hiding. In the end he agreed and was ordained by Obbe Philips, who had also baptized him earlier.

Simons saw the implications that would come if he said yes to leading the Anabaptists, but did it anyway. Are we willing to say yes to something that we know will be difficult in service to Christ?

Leadership in Exile

Because of his decision to become the leader of the Anabaptists, Simons spent the next 25 years of his life in hiding, since he was, after all, a heretic! He traveled throughout the Netherlands and northern Germany, visiting, teaching, and encouraging the Anabaptists there. “His lot in life was to sift truth from half-truth, oppose error with clear teaching, encourage the persecuted, correct the misguided, and build the young church while himself being hunted as a heretic.” (Dyck, 105) Keep in mind that this is only a few years after the events of Munster. This means that not only was there a lot of persecution from the outside, but there was also a lot of confusion among the Anabaptists about what faith is and what is truth. Simons stepped into his role having to deal with both external and internal conflicts. On top of this there were also debates and conversations with Lutherans, Calvinists, and Zwinglians about what true faith is and what it means to follow Christ. Needless to say, they didn’t all agree with each other, since we’re still around! I’m not quite sure how he did it, but historians say that it is because of his leadership that Dutch Anabaptism didn’t disappear altogether or become another example of the violent radicalism that had shown up before. After 25 years of leading the Anabaptists, he died on January 31, 1561.

The Conversation in Question

While Simons was a skilled preacher and a gifted leader, there is one teaching in particular that has caused some debate, and that is Menno Simon’s view of the nature of Christ, or his Christology. This was one of the reasons that he was considered a heretic by some. Here’s a summary.

Menno Simons taught that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, which all reformers agreed on. But he added something to this. He taught that Jesus did not receive his flesh from Mary. God gave Jesus human flesh directly from heaven. It didn’t come from Adam, like our flesh did, but rather was flesh newly imported from heaven. Some claimed that if this was true, then Jesus wasn’t fully human, as the Bible clearly tells us. Simons would have denied this, but it does sound like he was leaning more in that direction than many other theologians.

What difference would this view of Christ make? Do you agree or disagree with him? Is it that important? How would this view impact how we think about living out our faith?

Conclusion

To close, I want to read a few verses from

Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:11–12 NIV

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.