A Short History of the World by Geoffrey Blainey

Author:Geoffrey Blainey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
Published: 2002-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

WOE, WOE, WOE!

A far-reaching revolt against the Catholic church came from the sects called Anabaptists. Named after the Greek word for “rebaptized,” they were the militants of the Reformation. They first appeared in Zwickau, to the east of Wittenberg, and then surfaced in Zurich and hundreds of other towns in northern Europe. When driven from towns they were willing to worship in the fields in the warmer months and baptize adult converts by immersing them in running streams. They came in many varieties and nursed many beliefs. Most opposed the idea of infant baptism, believing that it was too precious a gift to be bestowed on day-old infants who were unable to make a conscious decision to live and die for Christ. More than any other protesting group, the Anabaptists were powerful amongst the poor. Most had a strong sense of community, viewing each other as brothers or sisters or even as comrades. Some of the sects were primitive socialists. The sects’ leaders, at risk to their life, were disposed to poke out their tongues at those who ruled.

The Anabaptists were denounced as mad or evil by Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and the preacher-heroes of the early Reformation. They were seen by many rulers as the scum of the Reformation. “Anabaptist” became a term of abuse. Notorious were the five female and seven male “strippers” who in Amsterdam in 1535, to emphasize that they preached only the naked truth, took off their clothes and ran along a street calling out “Woe! Woe! Woe!—the wrath of God.” The 12 Anabaptists were executed. Feared as opponents of the religious and social order, Anabaptists almost everywhere were persecuted. A legion of them bravely clung to their faith and many paid the price. In Holland and Friesland alone, some 30,000 were killed in the 10 years after 1535; and yet it was in this region that they survived.

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