Zwingli, Calvin, and the Anabaptists

 

 

Zwingli

 

• Zwingli moved to Zurich, where he learned Hebrew and began to study the Bible in its original form. He soon formed his own theology.
• He broke with the Church in 1516 (supposedly) but it is not recorded until 1520, as he still took his 50 gold salary from the pope. He broke over hiring the Swiss out as mercenaries.
• He had offenses against celibacy, but as he said it was only a common woman, it blew over. Soon appointed the People’s Priest of Zurich.

 

Zwingli’s Doctrine

 

• In manuscripts, he was unable to find any support for fasting as a Church-enforced ritual. This is his first real break from Catholic Church.
• He agreed with Luther that scripture only can be doctrine, but, unlike Luther, he said they had to be read literally—not allegories, stories, parables, etc.
• He gets rid of indulgences, penance, pilgrimage, extreme unction, etc.

 

Zurich seizes all Church property, gets rid of relics, art, etc., all valuables are minted down into coin, jewels, tokens, etc. Zwingli said that if the Old Testament doesn’t allow you to do it, you don’t do it. If it tells you to do something, then you MUST do it! Zurich imposes Zwingli’s doctrine on the city, and soon forces Bern to accept it as well.

 

The Bible now determines the Political, Moral, and Social laws of the city. All citizens should adhere to it uncritiqually.

 

Problems:

Peasants said nothing in Bible said we should pay taxes, rent, tithes, etc. They had to go into negotiations with the city and peasants to stop the rebellion.

 

He had people in Zurich and Bern who took his translation a bit too far; They did not believe in child baptism, and therefore became known as the Anabaptists.

 

Zwingli wanted religious freedom (well, only for them!) in order for them to worship as they pleased; He punished those who did not follow his beliefs (many Anabaptists drowned in the river as a result).

 

1529: he meets Martin Luther. He is described by many as being overbearing and insolent. He is essentially running Zurich at this point, and thinks he can get Luther to change his theology. The argumentative Luther soon reverts to name-calling, foul language, etc.

 

Zwingli decides remaining Swiss Catholic cantons should be overtaken. He leads troops to fight, but gets killed by the Catholics.

 

John Calvin

 

He is born, raised, and educated in France. He becomes a lawyer, and owns a benefice since age 12, so that when he becomes a priest he will be a bishop. His family is leaning towards Protestantism while he was growing up. He joined other Protestants and becomes a known supporter. He and one other person barely able to escape Paris’ round-up of Protestants. He goes to Strasbourg, Germany.

 

In Germany, he starts to write. In 1536, the city fathers of Geneva invite him to establish his the kind of Reform Church that he has been writing about. He imposes such a strict regiment on the city that he is thrown out 2 years later.

 

1540—There is a change in the Geneva government, and he is asked to return. Calvin agrees only when he is assured that he can run the city his way and only his way.

 

He will impose a biblical hierarchy (theocracy). The church is now the government.  This is based on priests, deacons, etc. So the Hierarchy of the Church = the Hierarchy of Geneva.  It is based on a strict literal reading of the Bible, and the Bible becomes the law of the state. This means no theater-going, no dancing, no drinking, no public revelry, etc. The only thing that is allowed is hymn singing. Geneva becomes very austere and strict.

 

Calvin does have distracters. In five years, 58 of them have been beheaded, and 1000s have been given prison terms. Soon, people buckle down and follow him unquestionably.

 

Calvin is responsible for the death of a Unitarian, Servetus. (Unitarians only believe in God, not the Triple Entity. They see Jesus as human and divinely inspired.) Servetus had some nasty things to say about Calvin, and he is arrested, tried, convicted, and burned at the stake.

 

What are Calvin’s “things?”

• He says 2 sacraments, just like Luther and Zwingli
• He practices clerical marriage
• He agrees with Zwingli in a literal interpretation of the Bible as the only basis for church doctrine.
• Says God already knows who will be saved
• Says the Church is made up of living saints—these are the people God has chosen to be saved. The saved will not behave in sinful ways, so the people can tell the saved from the unsaved.
• Doctrine of the Elect: He believes in a Forensic Test—when able to convince the Church elders that you were one of the saved, then you will be allowed into the Church.
• Voluntary Associations become the basis for Protestant society and Church structure.
• Believes in the Priesthood of all Believers, and sees no need for hierarchy, but representatives are needed to decide church doctrine.

 

Geneva becomes the Rome of Protestantism while Calvin is there. By the 1550s, 1/3 of the population of Geneva is from somewhere else.

 

John Knox learns from Calvin, and will return to Scotland and establish the Presbyterian Church.

 

Calvin dies young (58), from poor health due to his frequent fasting, dieting, etc.

 

Anabaptists

 

This is the radical fringe of Protestantism. It is not a unified religion, but rather a catch-name for those whose ideas differed from Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli.

 

1. They insisted on Biblical authority for all matters of law and worship
2. Separation of Church and State. They would form separate, self-governing communities with no interactions with the State. “Assembly of the Redeemed”—wanted to be allowed to worship/live their way, separate from the state.
3. Freedom of Conscious – says the state has no right to punish those with different beliefs; they cannot persecute or kill them
4. Adult/Believer Baptism – no child baptism. This really put them against other beliefs.
5. Holiness of Life (obedience to Divine Standards) : “Faith without Works is Dead” (the Bible)

 

By 1534, Anabaptists come to Munster, become citizens, and preach against Lutherans who are in charge of the city.

 

Mathis is in charge, and Rothman esp. is preaching against Lutherans with Bernard Kipper. Dolig is helping him. Adjoined by Jon Bakelzu along with a group of former nuns. They take up arms and pull a coup on the government of Munster. Hold until Anabaptists declared legal citizens of Munster. Now all other persecuted Anabaptists come to Munster. Soon they have a majority. All Catholics and Lutherans are given 3 days to evacuate the city or convert. One bishop starts to raise $ to take back the city.

 

Anabaptists start a communal life (institutionalized communism). They work for nothing, and everyone shares everything. Gold, silver, and $ will have no meaning. Many are against this but are forced to change their minds. Those who continue to defy him were made an example of by being arrested and executed over days. (Ex: one blacksmith’s execution takes  6 days, and is finally shot in the stomach on the 6^th day)

 

Easter Sunday 1534 – Mathis said he is told by God to lead a charge outside the city defenses against the mercenary army that had been amassed by the bishop. His army is killed, and he is captured and beheaded. His head is set on a pike, his body cut into pieces, and his appendages stuck on pikes.

 

Bakelzu is now in charge. He and the elders publish a new code of law under strict military control, with sins punishable by death. The number of men dwindle, so polygamy comes into effect. Any woman of marriageable age is to be married, and if she is not, she must marry the 1^st man to ask her.

 

As king, Bakelzu ruled, then a blacksmith came and said God had talked to him and said Bakelzu is to be in charge of ALL kings, ALL countries, etc. He is to be one king over ALL. Those who oppose him are put down with extreme force. 48 people are hacked to death in the town square over 4 days by sword and axe, then thrown into a mass grave.

 

The Bishop’s army begins to grow…

 

1535—People begin to escape the city. They are executed and their bodies stuck on pikes as examples. 1500 captured and executed total. Only 2 are not—they were the military leaders who will switch sides and lead the bishop’s troops against the city. In 2 days, it is over. Only infants and pregnant women are allowed to live. The mercenaries slaughter everyone else.

 

Bakelzu and Dolig are sent on “tours” to Catholic and Protestant cities and interrogated. Both will recant, but after a year they are brought back to Munster and publicly executed.

 

Government: Anabaptists would not swear oaths, so they took no part in government, military, etc. They believed that the Bible is the ultimate source of political theory.