ABSTRACT
To understand the Anabaptists, we will examine a fourth part of the Reformation, the so-called Radical Reformation. Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin were part of what has been called the Magisterial Reformation as their movements did not totally alienate the state. Indeed, many of the reformed churches were replacing the Catholic church as the approved state church and the followers of these non-Catholic churches often had some degree of protection from the state. The radical reformers, however, found themselves at odds with both the church and state. One of the early Anabaptist leaders was Menno Simons (Figure 17.1). Born in an area now part of the Netherlands, Simons was a son of poor dairy farmers. He studied to be a priest in the Catholic church, and was ordained into ministry in 1524. 1 In the 1520s a debate arose in Protestant circles regarding the question of baptism. Since Zwingli and others questioned the validity of the sacraments and tended to think in terms of symbolism rather then actual merit, the rite of baptism was fair game for debates. A growing number of Protestants were in favor of adult baptism as a conscious act of the will, engaged in by a believer who wished to publicly identify with the church.
