Anabaptist theology

Theological tradition reflecting the doctrine of the Anabaptist Churches From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anabaptist theology, also known as Anabaptist doctrine, is a theological tradition reflecting the doctrine of the Anabaptist Churches. The major branches of Anabaptist Christianity (inclusive of Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, Bruderhof, Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren and Apostolic Christians) agree on core doctrines but have nuances in practice. Rooted in the 16th-century Radical Reformation, it relies on foundational documents like the Schleitheim Confession and the Dordrecht Confession of Faith. While historically sustained as an implicit, lived theology emphasizing righteous living over abstract systematic theology, a formal academic tradition has also emerged, including influential texts widely used in catechesis.

Central to this tradition is a Christ-centered biblical hermeneutic that translates into a strong emphasis on practical discipleship and yielding to God's will. Soteriologically, Anabaptism affirms human free will, enabling grace, and a transformative understanding of atonement. Its ecclesiology defines the church as a voluntary, disciplined community separated from the state, visibly expressed through believer's baptism, the Lord's Supper and footwashing. Ethically, Anabaptist theology demands nonconformity to the world, characterized by strict church discipline, nonresistance, and traditional practices like plain dress and headcoverings.

Historical development and confessional sources

Important sources for Anabaptist doctrine are the Schleitheim Confession and the Dordrecht Confession of Faith, both of which have been held by many Anabaptist Churches throughout history.^[1] 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.^[2]^{[page needed]}

Anabaptist theology is the expression and communication of theological convictions that have sustained the ordinary life of faith communities. Alongside this ordinary Anabaptist theology, a more formal, academic version has developed.^[3]^{[page needed]} Early on, persecution and a theology of separation from the world meant few Anabaptists had access to higher education, except in the Netherlands where Mennonites established a seminary in 1735. In the 20th century, academic Anabaptist theology began to grow significantly.^[4]

John S. Oyer states that the Old Order Amish have an implicit theology that can be found in their biblical hermeneutics, but take little interest in explicit, formal, and systematic theology. It is easier to find out about their implicit theology in talking with them than reading written documents.^[5] According to Oyer, their implicit theology is practical, not theoretical.^[6] The most important written source of Amish theology, according to Oyer, is "1001 Questions and Answers on the Christian Life".^[7]

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.^[8]

Anabaptist theology is reflected in the prayer and worship of Anabaptists. A Devoted Christian's Prayer Book and Our Fervent Prayers are prayer books that are widely used in the devotional life of Anabaptists.^[9]

Practical discipleship and biblical authority

From its inception, Anabaptist practice has sought to emulate early Christianity.^[10]^[11]^[12] A strong theme among Anabaptists has been practical discipleship that turns the believer into a model of righteousness in the here and now. In the 1545 Kempen Confession, the Anabaptist authors stated their desire to seek salvation and the well-being of all.^[13] C. Arnold Snyder writes that following Jesus involves yielding to God's will and suffering rather than inflicting it.^[14]

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. Author C. Arnold Snyder describes their view as relying on the Holy Spirit for interpretation, while maintaining a practical approach that challenged the close church-state relationships taken for granted by the Protestant Reformers.^[15] Anabaptists hold that the entire Bible is the word of God, while insisting that the New Testament is the rule of faith and practice for the Church.^[16] Anabaptists Hans Denck and Ludwig Hätzer were responsible for the first translation of the Old Testament Prophets from Hebrew into the German language.

The Amish tradition of Anabaptist Christianity uses the Luther Bible, which contains the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament; Amish wedding ceremonies include the retelling of the marriage of Tobias and Sarah in the Apocrypha.^[7] The texts regarding the martyrdoms under Antiochus IV in the intertestamental section of the Bible containing 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees are held in high esteem by the Anabaptists, who faced persecution in their history.^[17]^{[page needed]}

Christology

Christology addresses the person and work of Jesus Christ, relative to his divinity, humanity, and work of salvation. Anabaptist Christology stresses the significance of Jesus as a moral example for humanity.^[18]

Twentieth-century Anabaptist scholars often assumed that sixteenth-century Anabaptist theology was broadly compatible with classical ecumenical creeds, although early leaders expressed their views in distinct ways.^[19]^[20] South German leader Hans Denck articulated a logos Christology centered on the presence of the inner Word within every person.^[21] While Austrian leader Pilgram Marpeck developed novel theological formulations to defend orthodox Chalcedonian understandings of Christ's humanity and divinity, Dutch leaders such as Melchior Hoffman, Menno Simons, and Dirk Philips taught the doctrine of the "celestial flesh."^[21]^[22] Under this doctrine, Christ's human flesh was conceived by the Holy Spirit from heavenly origin rather than derived from Mary's fallen substance, ensuring that the Savior was uncorrupted by original sin.^[23]

Soteriology

Generalities

While Anabaptism has a unique conceptualization of soteriology,^[24] its soteriological doctrines share similarities with those of Arminianism in certain respects.^[25] In particular, Mennonite soteriology has been historically consistent with Arminianism, whereas the doctrines of Calvinist soteriology have been rejected.^[26] Moreover, Anabaptism seems to have influenced Jacobus Arminius.^[25] At least, he was sympathetic to the Anabaptist point of view, and Anabaptists were commonly in attendance on his preaching.^[27]

Reconciliation with God

The Anabaptist tradition rejected a purely forensic understanding of atonement. While Anabaptists did not deny substitutionary language, they regarded the Anselmian satisfaction model as inadequate, since it reduced atonement to a passive change in humanity's legal status before God, independent of human response.^[28] For Pilgram Marpeck, atonement meant "at-one-ment" encompassing Christ's ministry, death, and resurrection as a comprehensive work of reconciliation rather than a legal transaction, while Balthasar Hubmaier held that neither reconciliation nor restoration is efficacious without human cooperation with divine grace.^[29] More broadly, Anabaptist understandings of atonement resist reduction to any single model, drawing simultaneously on moral influence, substitutionary, and Christus Victor motifs, a plurality of emphasis that persists in the tradition's contemporary theology.^[30] Among present-day Mennonite theologians, J. Denny Weaver and Thomas Finger have each developed the Christus Victor strand into an explicitly nonviolent doctrine of atonement, one they see as rooted in Anabaptism's own history.^[31]^[32]

Human's condition and calling

Anabaptist doctrine teaches that God desires all to be saved, inviting everyone to repentance without obstructing human will.^[33] The Dunkard Brethren Church, an Anabaptist denomination of the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, teaches that election enables belief and righteousness through God's mercy.^[34]^{[page needed]}

Early Anabaptist anthropology avoided doctrines of total depravity that claimed the capacity to respond to divine grace had been totally destroyed. Drawing on late medieval mystical thought, Anabaptists maintained that a vestige of the divine image or natural light survived the Fall, enabling human beings to respond when awakened by the Holy Spirit.^[35]^{[page needed]} In his 1526 treatise on theodicy, Hans Denck argued that humans possess genuine moral responsibility to accept or reject the divine call, affirming the reality of human free will enabled by grace.^[36]

Historically, certain Anabaptists, like Hut and Marpeck, rejected total depravity. 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. Denck and Sattler maintained that God restores human free will through prevenient grace prior to exposure to 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.^[37]

Conversion

Anabaptist doctrine teaches that true faith entails a spiritual rebirth by God's power.^[38] The Dunkard Brethren Church, a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, defines this as a change made in the soul.^[39]^{[page needed]}

The beginning of the Anabaptist path to salvation is marked by the entire process of repentance, self-denial, faith, rebirth, and obedience.^[40] In this framework, salvation is conceptualized as an ongoing synergistic process of "enabling grace" and sanctification, wherein inward spiritual transformation is verified by outward holy living within the community.^[41]^[42] After becoming a believer, Anabaptist theology emphasizes a faith that works.^[43] Anabaptist denominations teach salvation by faith through grace, emphasizing that such faith must bear visible fruit in a regenerated life.^[44]

Hans Denck wrote that true belief equates to obeying God's Word in absolute confidence.^[45] Obedience to Jesus and other New Testament teachings, loving one another and being at peace with others, and walking in holiness are seen as earmarks of the saved.^[46] Good works thus have an important role in the life of an Anabaptist believer,^[47] with the teaching that faith without works is a dead faith occupying a cornerstone in Anabaptist Christianity.^[48] Anabaptists do not teach faith and works, in the sense of two separate entities, are necessary for salvation, but rather that true faith will always produce good works. Balthasar Hubmaier wrote that faith cannot be considered true if it lacks the works of love.^[49]

Justification

Anabaptists dismissed the Lutheran doctrine of justification, labeling it a dead faith that was unable to produce Christian love and good works.^[50] Peter Riedemann wrote that so-called Christians who profess to love God while clinging to sinful practices are akin to the heathens who merely learned outward service to God.^[51]

Rather than a forensic justification that only gave a legal change of one's status before God, early Anabaptists taught that justification sparked a transformation in which the believer assumed the nature of Christ.^[52] Riedemann explained this ontological justification by stating that Christ redeems humanity from sin and dwells within to conquer it.^[53]

Preservation

Anabaptist theology traditionally teaches conditional security.^[54] However, in the 20th century, particularly in North America, some Mennonites, have adopted the doctrine of eternal security.^[55]

Loss of the Holy Spirit

The majority of Anabaptists have historically believed that a person can lose the Holy Spirit through willful sin and disobedience, as maintaining faith required an ongoing commitment to righteousness.^[56]

However, the Lutheran Book of Concord claims that there were certain Anabaptists who taught that it was impossible for someone who had been justified to lose the Holy Spirit. The Concord condemned this view, asserting that those who have received the Holy Ghost may still fall from grace and depart from the divine favor of God.^[57]

Ecclesiology and non-resistance

With respect to ecclesiology, Anabaptist theology calls believers to gather in churches to deny worldly flesh and emulate their Master.^[58] The Church is viewed as a vessel tasked with leading souls to God, thus providing the faithful with clear guidelines on matters such as modesty.^[59]

Anabaptist ecclesiology is structured around four primary marks: believers' baptism, the ban (church discipline), the Lord's Supper, and mutual aid or the community of goods.^[60]^[61] Rooted in this ecclesiology is a radical "two kingdoms" theology that sharply distinguishes the church as the body of Christ from the fallen world governed by political coercion and the sword.^[62] While Swiss Anabaptism maintained a strict dualistic separation from civic governance, Dutch Mennonites developed a softer dualism that allowed for constructive engagement with society and defended the legitimacy of defensive civil governance.^[63]

Non-resistance

Most Anabaptist hold that violence is wrong, as is supporting violence though personal actions such as joining the military. This would also include opposition to abortion and capital punishment.^[64] Conservative Anabaptist denominations, such as the Dunkard Brethren Church, teach that scriptural directives strictly forbid warfare and mandate loving one's enemies.^[65]^{[page needed]}

In 1918, three Hutterite brothers, David, Joseph, and Michael Hofer, and Joseph's brother-in-law Jacob Wipf were imprisoned on Alcatraz for refusal to join the US military. Two of them, Joseph and Michael Hofer, died in late 1918 shortly after their transfer to a prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.^[66] The Bruderhof is another Anabaptist church that is strongly pacifist, believing that personal property is a form of injustice.^[67]

According to Harold S. Bender and several of his colleagues, the Anabaptists advocated for voluntary religious choice, a church free from state influence, and a nonresistant disciple's life.^[68]^{[page needed]}

Schwertler Anabaptists, such as Balthasar Hubmaier, were not nonresistant and supported the government; they even encouraged involvement in government.^[69]^[70] In light of this, they were not accepted by the mainstream of the Anabaptists as being true adherents of the faith.

Forgiveness

Anabaptist doctrine stresses practicing forgiveness.^[71]^[72] 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. In cases of accidents, Old Order Amish often are contacted by lawyers who encourage them to file lawsuits; the Old Order Amish reject these overtures as being in conflict with their Christian religious beliefs. Reflecting the principles of peace and nonresistance, Anabaptist religious beliefs do not permit the filing of lawsuits (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8).^[73]^[74] Representatives of the Old Order Amish community have said that they would rather face financial loss than file a lawsuit.

Church discipline

The Anabaptists practiced church discipline before any of the Reformers adopted it. Reformer Martin Bucer was influenced by them to introduce discipline into the church in Strassburg, though the attempt was not successful. Bucer convinced John Calvin of the idea, and he established church discipline in Geneva. Calvin read the Schleitheim Confession in 1544 and concluded that these believers had correctly gleaned certain teachings from Protestantism, though Calvin was only 18 years old and still a Catholic when the Schleitheim Confession was formed in 1527.^[75]

Christian ordinances

The Anabaptist view of the ordinances is generally one of being a remembrance, or a exterior sign/symbol of inward spiritual realities. This view can be summed up with the following statement taken from the 1577 Waterlander Confession which outlines that ordinances are visible signs pointing to divine grace.^[76] These exterior ordinances, when practiced in conjunction with the inward realities, bring believers into conformity with Christ, altering humanity to act in loving obedience.^[77]

In Anabaptist churches of the Conservative Mennonite tradition, seven ordinances are taught, including baptism, the Lord's Supper, feetwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the veiling of women.^[78]^{[page needed]} Within the Anabaptist churches of the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition and the River Brethren tradition, the Lovefeast is observed, which includes the ordinances of the holy kiss, footwashing and communion, in addition to the sharing of a communal meal.^[79]^[80]

Baptism

The Anabaptist view of baptism is one of its outstanding features. In their view, baptism was reserved for repentant believers who were aware that their sins had been forgiven, not unknowing infants. In this view they defied both the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformers. In addition, Anabaptists rejected all Roman Catholic and Magisterial Protestant baptism as invalid. They therefore re-baptized those whom they regarded as not having received any Christian initiation at all, and claimed that their baptism after profession of faith was the recipient's first legitimate baptism. Reportedly, one of the first adult baptisms of the Reformation was publicly performed in Zürich, Switzerland, in January 1525. According to the Schleitheim Confession (1527), baptism is strictly for those who have learned repentance, excluding the practice of infant baptism.^[81]^{[page needed]}

Early Anabaptist theologians conceptualized baptism as a threefold reality: an inward baptism of the Spirit through repentance, an outward water baptism testifying to obedience and church incorporation, and a baptism of blood represented by suffering witness and martyrdom.^[82]

The Dordrecht Confession (1632) similarly established that only penitent believers who have experienced regeneration should be incorporated into the communion of saints via water baptism.^[83]^{[page needed]}

The concept of believers' baptism drew the main attention of 16th-century Continental Anabaptists, but the mode was also an issue. The majority appear to have taught and practiced baptism by pouring, while a minority practiced baptism by immersion. The writings of Menno Simons seem at times to promote immersion as the proper mode, but his practice was by pouring. 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. The mode of baptism was debated by the Hutterites and the Polish Brethren around the turn of the 17th century, and the arguments for immersion by Polish leader Christoph Ostorodt were incorporated into the Racovian Confession of Faith in 1604. Servetus made a strong case for immersion. The Mennonites, Swiss Brethren, South German Anabaptists, and Hutterites were not as concerned about mode, and, while not rejecting immersion, found pouring much more practical and believed it to be the Scriptural mode. As such, Anabaptist denominations such as the Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites use pouring as the mode to administer believer's baptism, whereas Anabaptists of the Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren and Apostolic Christian traditions baptize by immersion.^[84]^[85]

In the practice of the Apostolic Christian Church, after a seeker receives believer's baptism, the new believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.^[86]

Lord's supper

In the early Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession, breaking of bread is the term used for the Lord's Supper, also known as communion or eucharist. A Short Confession of Faith, articulated by the early Anabaptist theologian Hans de Ries, established that the Lord's Supper outwardly signifies the breaking of Christ's body for the remission of sins.^[87]

In Anabaptism, the corporate nature (fellowship, unity) of participation is emphasized to a greater degree than other Christian denominations. Pilgram Marpeck wrote, "As members of one body, we proclaim the death of Christ and bodily union attained by untainted brotherly love." Marpeck further wrote, "The true meaning of communion is mystified and obscured by the word sacrament." In connection with the Lord's supper, many Anabaptists stress the rite of feet washing. Anabaptists do not as much emphasize the presence of Jesus in the eucharistic elements themselves, but the mysterious communion with the living Christ that operates through the unified body of believers.^[88] As such, in celebrations of Holy Communion, Anabaptist congregations looked to the living Christ to transform their members into one united body.^[89]

Anabaptism sees itself as emulating the practice of early Christianity, returning to an unadorned faith.^[90] In the present day, a number of Anabaptist congregations have affirmed a theology of the real presence (such as the Chambersburg Christian Fellowship).^[91]

Marriage

Both the Bible and the teachings of the Church Fathers shape Anabaptist theology on the permanence of marriage.^[92] Mennonite theologian Daniel Kauffman wrote in Doctrines of the Bible that marriage is a divine ordinance designed for the preservation and purity of the human family.^[93]^{[page needed]} The teaching in the Church Polity of the Dunkard Brethren Church, a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, highlights marriage as an institution appointed by God to be a lifelong covenant of love.^[94]^{[page needed]}

Anabaptist denominations, such as the Mennonite Christian Fellowship, teach the sinfulness of remarriage after a divorce has occurred.^[95] The Biblical Mennonite Alliance holds that divorced and remarried persons are living in adultery and are therefore in an ongoing state of sin that can only be forgiven through separation.^[96]

Footwashing

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.^[97]^{[page needed]} After the death of the apostles or the end of the Apostolic Age, the practice was continued by the early church.^[98] Mennonite theologian J. C. Wenger stated that there are no valid exegetical considerations against observing feet washing that wouldn't also apply to baptism.^[99]

Anointing with oil

Anabaptists observe the ordinance of anointing of the sick in obedience to James 5:14–15.^[97]^{[page needed]} In a compendium of Anabaptist doctrine, Daniel Kauffman stated that the anointing oil is a symbol of God's grace applied to the sick in answer to the prayers of the righteous.^[100]^{[page needed]}

The Church Polity of the Dunkard Brethren Church, a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, teaches that the anointing of the sick was intended by the Lord to be perpetuated within His Church.^[101]^{[page needed]}

Holy kiss

Anabaptists greet one another with a holy kiss (especially during the Lovefeast), in obedience to the injunctions in the New Testament in 16:16, 16:20, 13:12, 5:26, and 5:14.^[97]^{[page needed]} This Apostolic ordinance was enjoined by the early Church Fathers, such as Tertullian who wrote that before leaving a house, Christians are to give the Holy Kiss and say "peace to this house"; the Holy Kiss was exchanged during worship as well.^[102]^{[page needed]} Mennonite theologian and bishop Daniel Kauffman taught that the Anabaptist ordinance of the Holy Kiss was emphasized five times in the Bible by the Apostles, who aimed to guide their followers to attain the highest degree of Christian perfection.^[103]^{[page needed]}

Headcovering for women

Anabaptist Christianity traditionally calls for the wearing of a headcovering by women in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:1–16. A Conservative Anabaptist publication titled The Significance of the Christian Woman's Veiling, authored by Merle Ruth, teaches that the veiling must be worn continually to signify that the wearer respects God's order.^[104] Anabaptist expositor Daniel Willis cites the Early Church Father John Chrysostom's explication of Saint Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 as the basis for continual headcovering among women.^[105] Saint Paul's assertions regarding the angels specify that women being unveiled is dishonourable, meaning Christian women should cover their heads continually.^[106]

Ethics and daily living

Modest apparel

Anabaptist Christianity stresses the importance of modesty, with traditional Anabaptist communities practicing this in the form of plain dress. This practice is a reflection of the Anabaptist doctrine of the nonconformity to the world, which is derived from Romans 12:2.^[97]^{[page needed]} The influential Mennonite bishop Daniel Kauffman explains that there are two categories of humans: those that follow the world, and those that follow the body of Christ, who must avoid conforming to worldly standards.^[107]^{[page needed]} The transformation spoken of in Romans 12:2, according to Kauffman, involves a change of mind that leads to a change in all things subject to the mind.^[108]^{[page needed]} Furthermore, James 1:27 references being "unspotted from the world", which Kauffman references to explain that a Christian wearing worldly garb is as inconsistent as a soldier wearing enemy attire.^[109]^{[page needed]}

Anabaptist Christian denominations that observe the wearing of plain dress, such as the Schwarzenau Brethren Anabaptists, do so because Jesus condemned anxious thought for raiment in Matthew 6:25–33 and Luke 12:22–31.^[110] They teach that the wearing of plain dress is scripturally commanded in 1 Timothy 2:9–10, 1 Peter 3:3–5, and 1 Corinthians 11:5–6, in addition to being taught by the early Church Fathers. Indeed, in the early Christian manual Paedagogus, the injunction for clothing to extend past the knees was enjoined.^[111] 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 bound to wear a double-layered garment.^[112]^{[page needed]}

Lord's day

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, visiting the sick, or studying the Bible.^[113] In the view of Anabaptist Christianity, engaging in worldly entertainment distracts the mind from Christ and fails to properly honor His resurrection.^[114] The Statement of Faith and Practice of Salem Amish Mennonite Church, a Conservative Mennonite congregation in the Beachy Amish Mennonite tradition, asserts that Sunday burdens such as buying and selling must be avoided so God's people can gather in reverence.^[115] The Church Polity of the Dunkard Brethren Church, a Conservative Anabaptist denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, teaches that the first day of the week serves as the Christian Sabbath and is to be kept holy.^[116]

Notes and references

Citations

[1]
Hershberger 2001, p. 65. "The Schleitheim articles are Anabaptism's oldest confessional document."
[2]
Hartzler 2013, p. ?.
[3]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023. "Anabaptist theology is the expression and communication of theological convictions that have sustained the ordinary life of faith communities within the Anabaptist tradition of Christianity. Alongside this ordinary Anabaptist theology, a more formal, 'academic' version has developed since at least the eighteenth century."
[4]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023, ‌.
[5]
Oyer 1996, pp. 278–302.
[6]
Oyer 1996, p. 300.
[7]
Wesner 2010.
[8]
Deutsche Biographie 2025.
[9]
Bender 1990, p. 943.
[10]
Redekop & Beitzel 2019, p. 165.
[11]
Kraybill 2010, p. 107.
[12]
Hostetler 1993, p. 227.
[13]
Koop 2019, p. 97. "[W]e wish nothing but to seek alone the salvation of our souls, and like Christ, seek the well-being of the souls and lives of all people. Today we wish to follow Christ in all righteousness until death."
[14]
Snyder 2004, p. 138. "In the Anabaptist understanding, Jesus Christ perfectly revealed, lived out, and marked the path back to God. Christians are disciples who have committed themselves to following Christ on that path, yielding to God's will in all things as Jesus did [...] Following after Christ in life will occur in three areas [...] the desire to claim ownership of possessions, in the temptation to lie and dissimulate, and in the temptation to coerce by using violence."
[15]
Snyder 2004, p. 25. "In terms of the authority of Scripture, for example, Anabaptists insisted that the Holy Spirit had to be active in the interpretation of the letter. [...] 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 [...]"
[16]
Martin 2022a.
[17]
deSilva 2018, p. ?.
[18]
Choe 2023. "Anabaptist Christologies generally emphasize the significance of Jesus as our moral example."
[19]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023, § 3.3.1. "Twentieth-century Anabaptist scholars usually assumed that all sixteenth-century Anabaptist theology was compatible with classic creedal statements, with the caveat that Anabaptists preferred biblical rather than creedal language."
[20]
Finger 2004, p. 430.
[21]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023, § 3.3.1‌.
[22]
Weaver 2018.
[23]
Simons 1956, p. 432. "In the same manner the heavenly Seed, namely, the Word of God, was sown in Mary, and by her faith, being conceived in her by the Holy Ghost, became flesh."
[24]
González 2007.
[25]
Sutton 2012, p. 86.
[26]
Bender 1953. "Mennonites have been historically Arminian in their theology whether they distinctly espoused the Arminian viewpoint or not. They never accepted Calvinism either in the Swiss-South German branch or in the Dutch-North German wing. Nor did any Mennonite confession of faith in any country teach any of the five points of Calvinism."
[27]
Bangs 1985, p. 170.
[28]
Hiebert 2001, pp. 128–129. "The Anselmian 'satisfaction' or substitutionary model [...] was inadequate or insufficient. It concentrated chiefly on Christ's death and had been reduced to a passive or forensic doctrine which concerned only a change in humanity's legal status before God."
[29]
Hiebert 2001, p. 129. "Salvation, he stressed, does not take place without human cooperation. Therefore, Hubmaier does not emphasize a forensic interpretation of atonement, especially not in the penal substitutionary form."
[30]
Hiebert 2001, p. 133. "Anabaptist understandings of atonement overflow any and all of the three traditional theories, [Anselm, Abelard, and Christus Victor], and suggest a variety of angles from which to consider atonement."
[31]
Koryakin 2021, p. 8. "Coming from an Anabaptist-Mennonite background, J.D. Weaver naturally proposes a nonviolent paradigm for interpretation of the atonement."
[32]
Koryakin 2021, p. 8, ‌. "Thomas Finger for a long time argued that the Christus Victor view of the atonement is the most accurate representation of biblical teaching, and is consonant with the traditional Anabaptist understanding of redemption."
[33]
Martin 2025. "God is not willing that any should perish, but rather invites all to come to repentance and live (2 Peter 3:9). Through His atonement, Christ tasted death for the benefit of every man (Hebrews 2:9). [...] God's will does not obstruct the will of man in accepting Christ. Rather, God's will empowers our will to accept Christ so that by His power we can be born from above."
[34]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, p. ?. "Election is of the sovereign mercy of God, enabling us to believe the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit, so that we can choose a life of righteousness and service. (John 6:44; John 15:16; 1 Pet. 1:1-2; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4-6; 2 Pet. 1:10)."
[35]
Kennel 2017, p. ?.
[36]
Bauman 1991, pp. 72–117.
[37]
MacGregor 2023, p. 188.
[38]
Sheldrake 2005, p. 104. "True faith entails a new birth, a spiritual regeneration by God's grace and power; 'believers' are those who have become the spiritual children of God."
[39]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, p. ?, ‌. "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. This change is accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God. [...]"
[40]
Sheldrake 2005, p. 104, ‌. "The beginning of the Anabaptist path to salvation was thus marked not by a forensic understanding of salvation by 'faith alone', but by the entire process of repentance, self-denial, faith, rebirth and obedience. It was this process that was marked by the biblical sign of baptism."
[41]
Snyder 1995, p. 89.
[42]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023, § 3.5.1.
[43]
Roth 2004.
[44]
Batten 2018. "... 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.”"
[45]
Denck 1976, p. 89. "To believe is to obey God's Word be it unto death or life in the sure confidence that it leads to the best."
[46]
Fretz 2021.
[47]
Hauerwas 2015, p. 63.
[48]
Janzen 2009, p. 9.
[49]
Klassen 1981, p. 44. "[F]aith by itself alone is not worthy to be called faith, for there can be no true faith without the works of love."
[50]
Brewer 2021, p. 87. "[Anabaptists] dismissed the Lutheran doctrine of justification, a dead faith as they called it, which was unable to produce Christian love and good works."
[51]
Riedemann & Friesen 1999, p. 169. "These so-called Christians can be compared with the heathen who were led into the land of Israel [...] God was not pleased with their service, and their children followed in their footsteps. [...] That is just what can be seen in the so-called Christians of today, especially the Lutherans. They continually profess to love and serve God and will not give up evil, sinful practices[...]"
[52]
Dyck, Keeney & Beachy 1992, p. 40. "[J]ustification begun a dynamic process by which the believer partook of the nature of Christ and was so enabled to live increasingly like Jesus."
[53]
Riedemann & Friesen 1999, p. 74. "In the first place, we believe that we have salvation in Christ. We believe that Christ has redeemed us from the might and snare of the devil [...] By sinning we were serving the devil until Christ came to dwell in us by faith. Then through Christ's strength and work in us, our sin was weakened, quenched, put to death, and taken away from us, so that we could live for righteousness. [...]"
[54]
Eby 2020.
[55]
Bender 1953, ‌. "[...] [I]n the 20th century, particularly in North America, some Mennonites, having come under the influence of certain Bible institutes [...] have adopted the Calvinist doctrine of the perseverance of the saints or \"once in grace always in grace.\" In doing so, they have departed from the historic Arminianism of the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement."
[56]
Williams 1957, p. 122.
[57]
White 2002, p. 56. "The concern of this article was to condemn the Anabaptist doctrine that it was impossible, once justified, to lose the Holy Spirit."
[58]
Anderson & Anderson 2019, p. 302. "[Anabaptism] 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."
[59]
Anderson & Anderson 2019, p. 302, ‌. "[The Church is] a vessel charged with delivering souls to the throne of God[.]"
[60]
Snyder 1995, pp. 83–100.
[61]
Murray 2022, pp. 207–222.
[62]
Snyder 1995, p. 386.
[63]
Pitts & Tapia Rubio 2023, § 3.6.3.
[64]
Swartz 2016. "...Anabaptists generally follow a consistent-life ethic that opposes Christian participation in war, abortion, and the death penalty."
[65]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, p. ?, ‌‌. "We believe that the principle of non-resistance is clearly taught in the scriptures [...] In support of our position, we offer the following: Christ is the Prince of Peace [...] Learning the art of war and participating in carnal warfare or in any branch of the military establishment, at any time, is forbidden by the Scripture. [...]"
[66]
Plough 2017.
[67]
ChristLife 2017.
[68]
Bender 1944, p. ?. "[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 [...]"
[69]
Bender 1953, ‌‌.
[70]
Hubmaier 1527.
[71]
The Mercury News 2010. "We don't believe in taking advantage of someone and taking their money[.]"
[72]
LancasterPA 2021.
[73]
Caniglia 2015. "[We] would rather be short on the money[.]"
[74]
Third Way 2021.
[75]
Christianity Today 1985.
[76]
Koop 2019, p. 132. "We confess concerning the Supper of the Lord, that it is a sign of divine grace, a seal of the eternal covenant of God, a visible ordinance or ceremony, instituted by Jesus Christ in the congregation of God. [...] In receiving it, believing Christian members search themselves to find the true essence to which the Lord's Supper does point."
[77]
Volf & Volf 2001, p. 139. "[Ordinances] 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."
[78]
Hartzler 2013, p. ?, ‌. "[Ordinances include] baptism, the Lord's Supper, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the veiling of women."
[79]
Anabaptist Mennonite Network 1993.
[80]
Fieldhouse 2017, p. 9.
[81]
Schleitheim Confession 1527, p. ?. "Baptism shall be given to all those who have learned repentance and amendment of life, and who believe truly that their sins are taken away by Christ, and to all those who walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ [...] This excludes all infant baptism, the highest and chief abomination of the Pope."
[82]
Snyder 1995, p. 85.
[83]
Dordrecht Confession 1632, p. ?. "Concerning baptism we confess that all penitent believers, who, through faith, regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, are made one with God [...] must, upon such Scriptural confession of faith, and renewing of life, be baptized with water [...] to the burying of their sins, and thus be incorporated into the communion of the saints[...]"
[84]
Kraybill 2010, p. 23. "All Amish, Hutterites, and most Mennonites baptized by pouring or sprinkling."
[85]
Brackney 2012, p. 279. "The birthdate in 1708 marked the baptism by immersion of the group in the River Eder, thus believer's baptism became one of the primary tenets of The Brethren."
[86]
Apostolic Christian Church of America 2022, p. 2. "The believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This is acknowledged and symbolized in a prayer of consecration (following baptism) by the laying on of hands of the elder. As a member in the body of Christ, the believer experiences spiritual growth and edification within the church."
[87]
Grace 2015, pp. 161–162. "28. There are ... sacraments appointed by Christ, in his holy church, the administration whereof he hath assigned to the ministry of teaching, namely, the Holy Baptism and the Holy Supper. [...] 31. The Holy Supper, according to the institution of Christ, is to be administered to the baptized [...] 32. The whole dealing in the outward visible supper, setteth before the eye, witnesseth and signifyeth, that Christ's body was broken upon the cross and his holy blood spilt for the remission of our sins. [...]"
[88]
Snyder 2006. "[M]ystery of communion with the living Christ in his Supper [that] comes into being by the power of the Spirit, dwelling in and working through the collected members of Christ's Body."
[89]
Snyder 2006, ‌. "Anabaptist congregations looked to the living Christ in their hearts and in their midst, who transformed members and elements together into a mysterious communion, creating his Body in many members, ground like grains and crushed like grapes, into one bread and one drink."
[90]
Pettegree 2000, p. 242. "Among the common characteristics of Anabaptists, therefore, was a return to early Christianity, to an unadorned faith and to a sincere commitment to Christ."
[91]
Martin 2022b.
[92]
Taylor 2008.
[93]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌‌. "The ordinance [of marriage] is for the maintenance and purity of the human family (Mark 10:2-12)."
[94]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, p. ?, ‌‌‌. "The marriage relation is of Divine appointment, being instituted by God, confirmed by Christ and taught by his Apostles. [...] Marriage is an institution of sacred importance, therefore, it should be entered into with an understanding of all the sacred obligations belonging to it. We believe marriage is appointed by God to be a lifelong covenant of love between one man and one woman. [...]"
[95]
Anderson 2012. "[...the] sinfulness of remarriage following divorce."
[96]
Roth 2021. "[...an] ongoing state of sin that can only be truly forgiven when divorced and remarried persons separate."
[97]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?.
[98]
Fahlbusch et al. 1999, p. 322. "In the early church, Tertullian indicates a knowledge of foot washing, noting that it was part of Christian worship (De cor. 8). Chrysostom encourages Christians to imitate the action of Jesus in John 13 (In Joh. hom. 70-71), as does Augustine (In Evange. Iohan. 55-57). Origen also advocates foot washing (In Gen. hom. 4.2). [...]"
[99]
Martin 2022a, ‌. "There is no exegetical consideration against the observance of feet washing, for example, which would not also bear against the observance of baptism."
[100]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌‌‌. "We incline to the belief, however, that the apostle intended that the oil should be applied as a religious rite, because: 1. The sick were commanded to send for the elders of the church. [...] 2. The apostle says: \"The prayer of faith shall save the sick.\" This leads us to the belief that he intended the oil (the natural use of which is to heal) to be used as a symbol of the grace of God[...]"
[101]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, p. ?, ‌‌‌‌. "We believe the anointing of the sick is an appointment of the Lord, and that it was intended to be perpetuated in His Church. At the request of an ill member, the Elders of the Church are contacted to do this work. [...]"
[102]
Stutzman 2011, p. ?.
[103]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌. "[The Apostles] aimed to teach their followers the way to attain to the highest degree of Christian perfection, and hence felt called upon to teach every thing that tended to accomplish this result."
[104]
Ruth 2022, p. 17. "…worn to show that the wearer is in God's order. A sister should wear the veiling primarily because she is a woman, not because she periodically prays of teaches. [...] Greek scholars have pointed out that the clause 'Let her be covered' is the present, active, imperative form, which gives the meaning, 'Let her continue to be veiled.'"
[105]
Willis 2022.
[106]
Schaff 1889, p. 152. "Well then: the man he compelleth not to be always uncovered, but only when he prays. [...] But the woman he commands to be at all times covered. [...] Wherefore also having said, \"Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head unveiled, dishonoureth her head,\" [...] He signifies that not at the time of prayer only but also continually, she ought to be covered. [...] To be covered he then only forbids, when a man is praying; but the wearing of long hair he discourages at all times."
[107]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌‌‌‌. "[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 [...] The simple admonition of our text to those that constitute the body of Christ is, 'Do not allow yourself to become like the world.'"
[108]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌‌‌‌‌. "Whenever there is a change of mind, there is a change in all things subject to the mind."
[109]
Kauffman 1898, p. ?, ‌‌‌‌‌‌. "Is there any more consistency in a Christian wearing the garb of the world, than a soldier wearing the garb of the enemy? The dividing line between two opposing armies is not [...] any more distinct than that which the Bible draws between the church and the world. [...] We call on all who have the love of God in their hearts to stand out boldly and show their colors. [...] The uniform of the church is plainness; that of the world is the fashion of the day."
[110]
Winger 1919, p. 218. "I. We examined prayerfully the scriptural grounds of Christian attire, and found that Jesus and the apostles taught modesty and simplicity of life and modesty in dress and manners. [...] II. Investigation shows that the early church fathers and our own church fathers taught strongly and uniformly against pride and superfluity in dress[...]"
[111]
Steinberg 2020, p. 197.
[112]
Scott 1996, p. ?. "[T]he sisters are to wear a double layered garment as the Greek word 'catastola' describes."
[113]
Wenger 2022. "[W]itnessing 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."
[114]
Wenger 2022, ‌. "[W]orldly entertainment that would draw our minds away from Christ would be a poor way to commemorate His resurrection[.]"
[115]
Salem Amish Mennonite Church 2012, p. 8. "The Lord's Day shall be observed in a godly way, with no unnecessary buying, selling or other Sunday burdens. Our children need to be taught to respect the Lord's Day. God's people must gather with the brethren in the spirit of reverence and worship before God. It is expected that all members are regularly present and participate in the services."
[116]
Dunkard Brethren Church 2021, pp. 6–8, 12. "The First Day of the week is the Christian Sabbath and is to be kept as a day of rest and worship. (Matt. 28:1; Acts 20:7; John 20:1; Mark 16:2)."

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