Friday, October 19, 2007

With the Radical Reformation, we find a group that was disturbing not only to the Roman church, but to other reformers as well. The reforms initiated by men like Luther, Melanchthon, Martin Bucer, Zwingli, and Calvin are referred to as the "magisterial reformation," because they had the support of magistrates; that is, town councils in cities and princes in their states. The radicals had no such support, or at least not for more than brief intervals, and their ideas threatened everyone. The first thing to note is the nature of the term itself: "radical" encompasses a wide variety of people with a wide variety of beliefs.

• Why were these radicals perceived as a threat?
• What is the difference between the Augustinian and the Erasmian understandings of original sin?
• What is baptism according to Luther? According to the Anabaptists?
• What about Zwingli? What is the difference between a covenant and a testament?
• How did the Anabaptist movement get its start in Zurich?
• We've heard about the Donatists several times now. Who were they, and why are they important?

Turning to the Schleitheim Confession in Hillerbrand, consider the following:

• How do the Anabaptists understand the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist, according to the first and third articles?
• Looking at the sixth article, compare the Anabaptists' thinking on the Christian's relationship to secular authority with that of Luther.
• Why is their position regarding the swearing of oaths problematic?

The episode at Munster is one of the most bizarre moments in the history of the Reformation era. Two social reforms were particularly outrageous: the communal ownership of property, and polygamy. One of the main results of the short-lived reign of these radicals was the thorough discrediting of the Anabaptist movement.

I'm hoping that we can spare some time to discuss the ways in which these various groups of Protestant reformers understood the relationship between the church and the world, the spirit and the letter, the law and the gospel, the righteous and the unrighteous, the spirit and the flesh, and any other dualism I may have forgotten to mention.

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: October 17, 2007

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