Anabaptist theology

[1][2] Daniel Kauffman, a bishop of the Mennonite Church, codified Anabaptist beliefs in the influential text Doctrines of the Bible, which continues to be widely used in catechesis.

[5][6] The Hutterites possess an account of their belief written by Peter Riedemann (Rechenschafft unserer Religion, Leer und Glaubens) and theological tracts and letters by Hans Schlaffer, Leonhard Schiemer and Ambrosius Spittelmaier are extant.

"[11] C. Arnold Snyder writes that: In the Anabaptist understanding, Jesus Christ perfectly revealed, lived out, and marked the path back to God.

[12]Early Anabaptists held a high view of The Bible and insisted on the necessity of it being interpreted with the aid of the living Christ within.

So, for example, a spiritually enlightened peasant would be a more reliable interpreter of Scripture than was a professor of biblical languages who lacked the Spirit.

All the same, with the exception of a few prophetic spiritualists, the Anabaptists read and interpreted the text of the Bible itself in a decidedly practical, non-theological way ....

Others, shared views akin to Arminians: Hubmaier, Schiemer, and Philips affirmed total depravity and believed in the restoration of human libertarian free will through prevenient grace communicated through the Gospel.

Schiemer's perspective affirmed total depravity and the restoration of free will through prevenient grace given at birth and later experienced at the age of accountability.

"[23] The Dunkard Brethren Church, a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, defines this as follows:[24] The “new birth” is a change made in the soul of man by which the choices, the affections and the desires of the heart are changed from a love of things, worldly and fleshly, to a love of things, spiritual and heavenly.

"[25] Anabaptist denominations teach:[26] ... salvation by faith through grace, but such faith must bear “visible fruit in repentance, conversion, regeneration, obedience, and a new life dedicated to the love of God and the neighbor, by the power of the Holy Spirit.”[26]Hans Denck wrote: To believe is to obey God's Word—be it unto death or life—in the sure confidence that it leads to the best.

"[31] Anabaptists "dismissed the Lutheran doctrine of justification, a dead faith as they called it, which was unable to produce Christian love and good works.

"[32] Peter Riedemann wrote: These so-called Christians can be compared with the heathen who were led into the land of Israel by the Assyrian king and were settled in cities.

[37] With respect to ecclesiology, Anabaptist theology "calls people to churches, where disciples of Christ strive together to deny the flesh and the world and to pattern themselves into the perfect image of their Master.

[41] According to Harold S. Bender and several of his colleagues, the Anabaptists were "voluntaristic in religious choice, advocates of a church completely free from state influence, biblical literalists, non-participants in any government activity to avoid moral compromise, suffering servant disciples of Jesus who emphasized moral living and who were persecuted and martyred as Jesus had been, and restitutionists who tried to restore pre-Constantinian Christian primitivism".

[43] For example, in instances where drivers of automobiles get into accidents with horse-drawn buggies resulting in the deaths of Old Order Amish people, among other situations, their families forgive the perpetrator.

[48] The influential Mennonite bishop Daniel Kauffman, who codified the Anabaptist theological text Manual of Bible Doctrines, explains that there are two categories of humans: "(1) those that follow the 'lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life'—the world; (2) those that take Christ as their foundation, and allow their lives to be governed by principles of right—the body of Christ.

[49] They teach that the wearing of plain dress (without adornment) is scripturally commanded in 1 Timothy 2:9–10, 1 Peter 3:3–5, and 1 Corinthians 11:5–6,[49] in addition to being taught by the early Church Fathers.

[50] With the adjective kosmios (κόσμιος) meaning "modest", 1 Timothy 2:9–10 uses the Greek word catastola katastolé (καταστολῇ) for the apparel suitable for Christian females, and for this reason, women belonging to Conservative Anabaptist denominations often wear a cape dress with a headcovering; for example, ladies who are members of the Charity Christian Fellowship wear the cape dress with an opaque hanging veil as the denomination teaches that "the sisters are to wear a double layered garment as the Greek word 'catastola' describes.

[52]These exterior ordinances, when practiced in conjunction with the inward realities, "brought one into conformity with the truth of Jesus Christ, whose life, crucifixion, death, and resurrection had so fundamentally altered all of humanity and creation that human beings were now capable of works of loving obedience that revealed the indwelling presence of God in Christ in all people.

"[53] In Anabaptist churches of the Conservative Mennonite tradition, seven ordinances are taught, including "baptism, the Lord's Supper, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the veiling of women.

In addition, Anabaptists rejected all Roman Catholic and Magisterial Protestant (Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed) baptism as invalid.

28, Mark 16, Acts 2, 8, 16, 19.The Dordrecht Confession (1632) states, Concerning baptism we confess that all penitent believers, who, through faith, regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, are made one with God, and are written in heaven, must, upon such Scriptural confession of faith, and renewing of life, be baptized with water, in the most worthy name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, according to the command of Christ, and the teaching, example, and practice of the apostles, to the burying of their sins, and thus be incorporated into the communion of the saints; henceforth to learn to observe all things which the Son of God has taught, left, and commanded His disciples.The concept of believers' baptism drew the main attention of 16th-century Continental Anabaptists, but the mode was also an issue.

Bernhard Rothmann argued for immersion in his Bekentnisse, and Pilgram Marpeck copied this idea into his Vermanung, but weakened the position by accepting pouring or sprinkling as an alternate mode.

"[48] Many Anabaptist communities, with the Hutterites being a notable exception, practice footwashing in obedience of Jesus' command in John 13:1–17 for those who follow him "to wash one another's feet".

Pilgram Marpeck wrote, "As members of one body, we proclaim the death of Christ and bodily union attained by untainted brotherly love."

[65] Mennonite bishop and theologian Daniel Kauffman wrote in Doctrines of the Bible that "The ordinance [of marriage] is for the maintenance and purity of the human family (Mark 10:2-12).

A Conservative Anabaptist publication titled The Significance of the Christian Woman's Veiling, authored by Merle Ruth, teaches with regard to the continual wearing of the headcovering by believing women, that it is:[68] …worn to show that the wearer is in God's order.

[48] In a compendium of Anabaptist doctrine, Daniel Kauffman stated:[48] We incline to the belief, however, that the apostle intended that the oil should be applied as a religious rite, because: 1.

10:8)[24] Anabaptists hold that the Lord's Day should be commemorated through the attendance of church services, along with works of mercy such as "witnessing for God in one of many ways, visiting someone who is sick or discouraged, widows, orphans, or older people, spending time with the family, studying some subject of interest in the Bible that some are wondering about, reading upbuilding literature, etc.

"[71] In the view of Anabaptist Christianity, "worldly entertainment that would draw our minds away from Christ would be a poor way to commemorate His resurrection".