March 7: Anabaptists

On March 7, 1526, the council of Zurich passed an edict that declared adult baptism to be punishable by death.

Zurich had been a center for religious reformation—a movement led by Ulrich Zwingli. This Swiss city had thrown off all ties to Roman Catholicism and embraced a new and vibrant form of Christianity. However, the Anabaptists chose to take this reformation a step farther.

They took the words of the Sermon on the Mount as literally as possible, holding each other to the highest standards of morality. They believed that it was wrong to kill or attack another person for any reason. Most controversial of all, the Anabaptists disliked the strong ties between the church and the state. They felt that true Christians were called to withdraw from the cares and activities of the world and to take part in an entirely new society. Infant baptism was, at the time, a mark of citizenship in the country. These bold reformers re-baptized themselves as adults to mark their new citizenship in a transcendent society—the kingdom of heaven.

Outraged by these radical beliefs, the Protestants and Catholics alike had no sympathy for the Anabaptists. On March 7, 1526, the reformed church in Switzerland took official action. In a cruel form of humour, the edict stated that anyone who would be re-baptized in water would be drowned in water.

This policy quickly spread throughout Europe, and throughout the following centuries, the passive, non-resistant Anabaptists were murdered on a massive scale. Many historians estimate this persecution to be more deadly than that of the Christians under the Romans. Despite the relentless persecution, the Anabaptist beliefs spread like dandelions. Many of their beliefs would come to be generally accepted by evangelicals. Today’s Mennonites trace their heritage back to this bold and conscientious group of Christians.

Verse of the day: Matthew 5:39
I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.