Are You An Anabaptist?

Added: 08/25/2006

It may appear to be an odd question whether or not you are an Anabaptist. Yet do not dismiss it too quickly! As a matter of fact, your affiliation may well lie with a certain denomination - or also a non-denominational congregation - and you could still be an Anabaptist. To learn more about this fascinating belief system as well as its historic roots, please be sure to read on.

The textbook definition of an Anabaptist is that of a Christian who believes that anyone who has previously undergone an infant baptism will need to be re-baptized as an adult. The same may be said for anyone who received a baptism that was not in harmony with the Scriptures - such any kind of baptism other than the baptism by complete immersion. During the time of the reformation in Germany, it is no surprise that this had the Catholic Church up in arms, since infant baptism is one of the major tenets of the Catholic faith. For this reason, it is no surprise that any Christian congregation that does not recognize infant baptism as a valid baptism before God is often referred to as being Anabaptist.

The earliest Anabaptist is said to be the Apostle Paul who re-baptized the believers in Ephesus who received the baptism of John - which was a baptism of repentance, but which took place before Christ's death - but not the baptism into the name of Christ, which is the participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the second century, proponents of infant baptism stated that there were indirect references to this practice in the New Testament, but it takes quite a bit of mental gymnastics to make that case. For this reason other writings, today known as apocryphal writings, were cited as support for infant baptism. Considering that the apocrypha is not part of the New Testament, and that some of its books have been condemned as being heretical in nature, it is not surprising that an Anabaptist will not take too much notice of them. In addition to the forgoing, it is important to remember that these writings did not come about until about 130 A.D., well past the time when the last of the apostles were laid to rest and with them the ability to add to the Holy Scriptures.

In the 16th century the theology of infant baptism was challenged openly for the first time, and it is no small wonder that during these times anyone who dared to oppose the religions understanding of the time was considered akin to a criminal and a heretic - thus often putting them in danger of being punished by death. In a somewhat tragic twist of fate, it is rather noteworthy that the denial of the validity of infant baptism rubbed both the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church the wrong way, and thus both offshoots of Christianity combined (albeit separately) efforts to persecute and prosecute anyone they saw as belonging to the group of re-baptizers. Executions, frequently by drowning, were commonplace, and it is said that thousands were killed in this form of heretic hunt.

It is not surprising that this kind of persecution spawned the immigration of large numbers of faith based communities into the United States. Consider that the Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites all came to America to escape punishment. Yet there are also other congregations that were formed in the United States that could be considered Anabaptist: the Baptists, Quakers, and International Churches of Christ, Seventh Day Adventists and the Brethren. As you can see, you may very well be an Anabaptist even today!

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