Anabaptists And Anarchy

Based on my recent posts on Jesus For President, here are some thoughts on anarchism and the Anabaptists:

First, here is a brief sketch of some of Anabaptists beliefs from Wikipedia:

In the following points Anabaptists resembled the medieval dissenters:

Some followed Menno Simons in teaching that Jesus did not take the flesh from his mother, but either brought his body from heaven or had one made for him by the Word. Some even said that he passed through his mother, as water through a pipe, into the world. In pictures and sculptures of the 15th century and earlier, we often find represented this idea, originated by Marcion in the 2nd century. The Anabaptists were accused of denying the Incarnation of Christ: a charge that Menno Simons repeatedly rejected.
They condemned oaths, and also the reference of disputes between believers to law-courts.
The believer must not bear arms or offer forcible resistance to wrongdoers, nor wield the sword. No Christian has the jus gladii (the right of the sword).
Civil government (i.e. "Caesar") belongs to the world. The believer, who belongs to God's kingdom, must not fill any office, nor hold any rank under government, which is to be passively obeyed.
Sinners or unfaithful ones are to be excommunicated, and excluded from the sacraments and from intercourse with believers unless they repent, according to 1 Corinthians 6:1–11 and Matt.18:15 seq. But no force is to be used towards them.
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The Anabaptists were early promoters of a free church and freedom of religion (sometimes associated with separation of church and state).[9] When it was introduced by the Anabaptists in the 15th and 16th centuries, religious freedom independent of the state was unthinkable to both clerical and governmental leaders. Religious liberty was equated with anarchy; Kropotkin[10] traces the birth of anarchist thought in Europe to these early Anabaptist communities.

According to Estep,[11]

Where men believe in the freedom of religion, supported by a guarantee of separation of church and state, they have entered into that heritage. Where men have caught the Anabaptist vision of discipleship, they have become worthy of that heritage. Where corporate discipleship submits itself to the New Testament pattern of the church, the heir has then entered full possession of his legacy.

See also: Theology of Anabaptism and Christian anarchism.

Here is a quote from an early Anabaptist forerunner, Petr Chelčický: "The man who obeys God needs no other authority (over him)."

Secondly, check out these websites: http://propheticheretic.wordpress.com/?s=anabaptists, Jesus Radicals, Anabaptists and Anarchists- Potential conversation Partners, On Leaving Government and Here: "The Anabaptists of 16th century Europe are sometimes considered to be as religious forerunners of modern anarchism. Bertrand Russell, in his History of Western Philosophy, writes that the Anabaptists "repudiated all law, since they held that the good man will be guided at every moment by the Holy Spirit...[f]rom this premiss they arrive at communism....""



Thirdly, one of the reasons the Anabaptists were repudiated and persecuted by the Magisterial Reformers is because of their promotion of: "a free church and freedom of religion (sometimes associated with separation of church and state [or religious liberty])." The early Baptists retained these beliefs such as when Thomas Helwys said (concerning King James): "For we do freely profess that our lord the king has no more power over their consciences than over ours, and that is none at all. For our lord the king is but an earthly king, and he has no authority as a king but in earthly causes. And if the king’s people be obedient and true subjects, obeying all human laws made by the king, our lord the king can require no more. For men’s religion to God is between God and themselves. The king shall not answer for it. Neither may the king be judge between God and man. Let them be heretics, Turks, Jews, or whatsoever, it appertains not to the earthly power to punish them in the least measure. This is made evident to our lord the king by the scriptures" (53).---The Mystery Of Iniquity.
(See also: Thomas Helwys Against King James).

Last but not least check out: John Howard Yoder---the preeminent Anabaptist theologian of the 20th century.

Jesus For President---The Book

For those of you wondering where I got the phrase "Jesus For President: Long Live The Slaughtered Lamb" from in this post: TheoPoetic Musings: My Political Canidate---Jesus For President: Long Live The Slaughtered Lamb and what it's all about---here is the book that inspired it all: Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals.

I am in the midst of reading the book at the moment---I only have 54 pages left, so look forward to many good quotes soon---but until then here are a few items to peruse:

Jesus For President: The Official Website

Book Review: Jesus for President (initial thoughts)

Book Review: Jesus for President (Part 1)

Jesus for President: Revolution in Jesusland

Jesus for President: An Ecumenical Campaign

Jesus for President: Long live the slaughtered Lamb!

And: Jesus for President, a Book Review for Atheists; Part 1, What is Shane Claiborne?.

I highly recommend this book so go out and pick up a copy or two from your local or church bookstore or order it from Amazon for you, your relatives and/or your friends today. It is well worth it and should inspire your Christian political imagination!

My Political Canidate---Jesus For President: Long Live The Slaughtered Lamb

For those of you as sick of bipartisan politics as I am and all the hate mongering and bigotry on both sides, here is a much needed alternative: Christarchy!

What is Christarchy! you may ask? Here is a brief definition from the above site:

Christarchy! is a growing network of people who want to put the ethical teachings of Jesus into practice (living simply, caring for the poor, practicing hospitality, making peace, etc.) Jesus calls us to a revolutionary way of life. He challenges the economic, political, social, and religious status quo. And we want to follow in his footsteps.

Also check out: Christarchy: Support groups for the Jesus revolution.

Here is a much more detailed explanation:

I much prefer the term “Christarchy” to anarchy. Christarchy is the combination of the words “Christ” and “anarchy”. The “an” in “anarchy” means “no”, but I do believe in a ruler, and that ruler is Christ, so the term “Christarchy” means much more sense. Christ is the ruler of all things. I am not an anarchist, but I do strive to be a Christarchist- someone fully under the rule of Christ.

The biggest outcomes of being a Christarchist in my life are resisting my impulses to collect power and instead trust that God is in control. My attempts to collect power is an attempt to gain control because I doubt that God is in control. In trusting God is in control, I also seek a society where power is shared, where no one is oppressed and everyone is seen as equal. Where we don’t try to power over each other but instead interact with each other in voluntary submission to one another. Letting go of power and submitting ourselves to others requires the power of Christ- and therefore is something I think the Church can attempt to do much more than the larger society.

Being a Christarchist also means a profound change in the ways I view politics. I used to put my hope in the government in making changes towards bringing about the kingdom of God, but I now see that that is false. Christ is the divine ruler, and my hope lies in Him, not in my government. The government may make some good and some bad decisions, but the kingdom of God can only come through Christ. I believe that Christ will use the Church to do his good work on earth. I have given up lobbying government, believing in politicians, and even in voting, and instead have put my belief in the ultimate rule of Christ. My hope is in Christ, through the Church, not in our government. The government will continue, and I will submit to it, but I will also subvert it. (Hopefully more about this in later posts.)

I think if the American Church embraces Christ as their true ruler, we will begin to step out of the American empire, (and yes, I believe that we are living under an empire, much like the early Church lived under the Roman empire) and we will begin building an alternate society, a new way, as a witness within the American empire that another way is possible. This is my biggest hope. That the Church can move out from the middle of the empire, to the margins where it belongs, and where it can once again become a prophetic witness to Christ and his kingdom. I think Christarchist ideas can help us get there. They can help us see that the empires of this world stand in opposition to the kingdom of God. Government policies, economic systems, and prevailing social and cultural values can be critiqued by the kingdom of God. If we take ourselves out from the rule of the world and put ourselves under the rule of Christ (Christarchy), we can begin seeing both the good and the bad, the beauty and depravity, of the worldly empires. We cannot see this as clearly when we are living under them and giving them authority in our lives.

If we rule out violent anarchism, there remains pacifist, antinationalist, anticapitalist, moral, and antidemocratic anarchism (i.e., that which is hostile to the falsified democracy of bourgeois states). There remains the anarchism which acts by means of persuasion, by the creation of small groups and networks, denouncing falsehood and oppression, aiming at a true overturning of authorities of all kinds as people at the bottom speak and organize themselves. -Jacques Ellul “Anarchy and Christianity”

Indeed, Jesus should be Lord in all areas of our lives including politics and economics.

See also: Make Affluence History.