History Notes: Streams of Anabaptism (1)

One of the difficulties in Reformation history is that of the Anabaptists. They frequently get lumped together, and, worse, the term came to be applied as a simple pejorative even of those who weren’t Anabaptists at all. In our Baptist History class this term, Dr. Renihan did a unit on the Anabaptist Reformation, and he gave us some categories with which to work, well, three categories. These are based in W. R. Estep’s book, The Anabaptist Story.

The first is that of the Inspirationists.

The Inspirationists or Spiritualisten originated in Germany in 1522. They held that the Spirit is master over Scripture, that is, that the final appeal is not to Scripture, but to the Holy Spirit. They claimed the ability to read minds, receive visions, and immediate revelations from God. They were the mystics, the subjectivists. Notable Inspirationist Anabaptists included Thomas Münzer and Melchior Hoffman.

Münzer was originally a cohort of Luther, but his views developed in a much more radical direction. He was part of the Zwickau Prophets who looked to the Holy Spirit for inspiration and and guidance. He was instrumental in the Peasants’ Revolt and was eventually executed for his role therein.

Hoffman, too, was once a cohort of Luther. He became caught up in the millennial fervour and was told by an old Anabaptist that he would be imprisoned for six months only to be released as Elijah to prophesy on the return of Christ. Hoffman than instigated his own imprisonment, but he was kept in prison for 10 years, where he ultimately died. He was very popular and his preaching intensified the furor, especially in Münster.

Münster was easily the worst event of the Anabaptist Reformation. The Anabaptists took control of the city and chaos ensued. Those who did not submit to baptism were exiled and killed. A community of goods was instituted, as was polygamy. The city was besieged for a year by Protestant and Roman armies, and eventually the defenders were slaughtered, which put that incident to rest.

It seems to me that today when we speak of Anabaptists, we are frequently grouping them as though they were all Inspirationists, but there were two more groups: the Biblicists and the Rationalists.