Grimmson
Puritan Board Sophomore
I am glad to see the thread reopened. I think Tim is correct in his assessment. I did want to clear an historical issue up that could be seen as misleading. In the context presented by Adam, polygamy wasn’t endorsed by at least one of the Anabaptist groups until about late-1534ish, long after Zwingli’s death. Therefore that should not have been added to Zwingli’s contextual reason against them. The Anabaptist were picking up steam in 1525, the rebellion, and 1526 was when Zwingli issued his drowning statement. We then need to remember that Luther, according to Peter Lillback’s audio series on church history, blamed Zwingli for the emergence of the Anabaptist. The added social church political pressure to religious schematic of the Anabaptist, topped with the rebellious nature against the State would have been reason enough for Zwingli’s declaration of a heretic’s death. The overall morality of Zwingli isn’t the issue here, and if one wants to discuss that I suggest starting another thread.
Calvin’s and the later Luther’s (after 1534 -6) context of the Anabaptist would be different because of the increased sinful behavior of the Anabaptist; in which Adam’s list of context would better fit. I have noticed Calvin attacking the Anabaptist on the issue of polygamy, and joining Luther against the charismatic view and practice of Anabaptist revelation. Some of the early Anabaptist, like the Zwickau prophets and Melchior Hofmann, gave ammunition to the early Reformers by giving what was later proven in a short amount of time to be false prophecies. This, especially in Luther’s mind, gave reason for their declaration as heretics, along with other observable factors in practiced behavior and formal emerging beliefs.
Calvin’s and the later Luther’s (after 1534 -6) context of the Anabaptist would be different because of the increased sinful behavior of the Anabaptist; in which Adam’s list of context would better fit. I have noticed Calvin attacking the Anabaptist on the issue of polygamy, and joining Luther against the charismatic view and practice of Anabaptist revelation. Some of the early Anabaptist, like the Zwickau prophets and Melchior Hofmann, gave ammunition to the early Reformers by giving what was later proven in a short amount of time to be false prophecies. This, especially in Luther’s mind, gave reason for their declaration as heretics, along with other observable factors in practiced behavior and formal emerging beliefs.
Last edited: