To Baptize Or Not To Baptize (Or When To Do It...Or Not To Do It)

(Church History Part II)

Despite Martin Luther and Henry VIII's falling out with Rome, many similarities between the Lutheran Church, the Church of England and the Catholic Church remained. One thing they all saw as a good idea was infant baptism. Pouring water on the head of a baby and baptizing that baby in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost secured the next generation for the Church, but more importantly, guaranteed the baby's entry into heaven. During centuries of high infant mortality rates, infant baptism seemed to be a spiritual no-brainer. Parents wanted their children to be assured of heaven...

...But wait, say some of the scripture-reading Protestants, the Bible doesn't mention anything about babies being baptized. Jesus is “presented” in the temple shortly after his birth, but the reason for the family being there is Mary's purification, as required by Jewish law, not any kind of infant baptism. Jesus is just along for the ride. John the Baptist preaches a baptism of repentance and baptizes adults. Jesus comes to John at the Jordan River and is also baptized...as an adult.

When the Haban split off from their Hutterite brethren, the issue of infant baptism was very much in the forefront of the conflict. I will eventually write in detail about that conflict between the Hutterites and the Jesuits, but for now I want to continue with another hopefully brief, very condensed timeline of church history, from the Protestant Reformation to the origins of the Hutterites.*

1520s - Huldrych Zwingli, a Swiss contemporary of Martin Luther, is reforming the church in Switzerland at the time Martin Luther is reforming the church in Germany. He is debating what to do about the Mass and infant baptism. He works with the local governing body on deciding if these formerly Catholic practices should go or stay. (There is no such thing as separation of church and state at this point in history. The relationship between the two has been intertwined for hundreds of years – the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire, and now the Protestant churches and the local magistrates.)

1525 – Conrad Grebel, a follower of Zwingli, decides Zwingli is moving too slowly on the reforms. Running with the “...But wait, the Bible doesn't mention anything about babies being baptized”, he does two radical things – he baptizes another follower, George Blaurock, an adult (!!) and then refuses to baptize his infant daughter Issabella (!!!). George Blaurock, in turn, starts baptizing other adults. Zwingli is not happy. The governing powers are not happy. Anabaptism – a derogatory name meaning rebaptism - is born and is promptly persecuted.

1525 – 1700s – Grebel's and Blaurock's Anabaptist followers are now referred to as the Swiss Brethren. Their views on baptism and their refusal to cultivate relationships with the civil government infuriates both Roman Catholics and Lutheran reformers alike. The Swiss Brethren, and any related Anabaptist splinter groups – and there are many - are persecuted and scattered throughout Europe, mostly in the lands that will become Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

1532-1535 – Münster, Westphalia (Germany), becomes the “New Jerusalem” of radical (read “fanatic”) Anabaptism. Chased and persecuted Anabaptists from the Netherlands and other northern European areas gather in Münster to catch their collective breaths and are lead by some wild and crazy guys. They blend some of the New Testament beliefs (such as community of goods) with some Old Testament customs (polygamy) and decide that an Anabaptist nonviolent commitment to peace at all costs is too costly. They lead a violent revolt, one that is promptly and brutally suppressed. Because the Münsterites shared some of the same beliefs as other Anabaptists, “Münsterites” and “Anabaptism” are now words firmly linked in the minds of Lutherans and Catholics alike. The hot persecution against any and all Anabaptists gets hotter.

1536 – Menno Simons, a Dutch priest, leaves the Catholic Church and joins the Anabaptist movement. Eventually the Swiss Brethren take his name and become known as Mennonites (Later, in 1693, Jakob Ammann attempts to reform the Swiss Brethren-now-Mennonite church. It does not go well. His splinter group of followers become known as the Amish...)

1533-1536 – Jakob Hutter, a Tyrolian (Austrian) convert to Anabaptism, works with Tyrolean (Austrian) Anabaptist groups, moving them to Moravia when things get too hot for them in Tyrol. He settles their disputes, wisely ministers to their physical and spiritual needs, and encourages true godly community. He proves himself to be such a great all-round leader that these former Swiss Brethren Anabaptists take their name from him and are now known as...yep...Hutterites. And here is where our Haban story really begins...

* Again, PLEASE, mercy from my seminary-educated readers...