Many of us believe that baptism in the New Testament was only for those who were old enough to believe that Jesus died and was raised from the dead for our sins. We believe that baptism was immersion, not sprinkling or pouring, b/c the Greek word baptizo meant immersion. We might disagree on whether someone is saved before baptism (Baptists for example) or after baptism (Church of Christ for example), but we agree that baptism is only immersion of believers. Many believe that baptism can be baptism of infants, either to cleanse the baby from original sin of Adam (Catholics for example) or maybe just a “christening”, committing the parents and church to raise the child in the faith. But many of us reject the doctrine that says that everyone is born with original sin and thus must be baptized to cleanse that original sin. We therefore do not believe in the necessity or practice of infant baptism.

Some are baptized as infants but then decide that they need to be baptized as believers. They then are “re-baptized” or just scripturally baptized for the first time as an adult. Most churches would accommodate that person, baptizing them by immersion if they so request. But can you imagine the federal government tracking you down and sentencing you to death b/c you got re-baptized as an adult? That’s crazy, you say, but that is exactly what happened to the ANABAPTISTS.

ANABAPTISTS: AI: “Anabaptists were 16th-century Radical Reformation Christians who believed in adult “believer’s baptism” rather than infant baptism, advocating for a voluntary church separate from the state. Emerging in Switzerland and Europe around 1525, they were pacifists, often persecuted by both Catholics and other Protestants, becoming spiritual ancestors to modern Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites. These Anabaptists groups, known for advocating believer’s baptism, pacifism, and separation of church and state, established the foundation for further denominations, including the Church of the Brethren, River Brethren, and the Bruderhof. Anabaptists were heavily persecuted and killed by both Roman Catholic and Magisterial Protestant authorities (such as Lutherans and Zwinglians) throughout 16th and 17th-century Europe. Between 4,000 and 5,000 Anabaptists were executed during the Reformation years. Considered dangerous radicals for rejecting infant baptism and advocating separation of church and state, they faced executions like drowning—ordered by Zwingli and King Ferdinand—beheading, and burning. King Ferdinand I ordered the execution of Anabaptists by framing them as dangerous radical heretics threatening religious uniformity, social order, and political stability, particularly after the 1529 Diet of Speyer authorized the death penalty for them. As a staunch defender of Catholicism, Ferdinand utilized the legal authority of the Holy Roman Empire to eliminate religious dissenters. The Zurich city council, in agreement with Huldreich Zwingli, executed key leader Felix Manz by drowning in 1527. He was executed by drowning in the Limmat River in Zurich on January 5, 1527, as a, “third baptism” for his rejection of infant baptism. His hands were tied and he was thrown into the water while his mother and brother watched. In Münster, 1535, a combined force of Catholic and Protestant princes suppressed the Anabaptist kingdom there. The union of church and state was, for Anabaptists, a “fall of the church”. They believed in a voluntary church, whereas magistrates believed a unified state church was necessary for social stability. Anabaptists were charged with heresy (re-baptizing adults) and sedition (refusing to bear arms or take oaths), which combined religious non-conformity with political rebellion in the eyes of the state. Anabaptists were present in the American colonies, primarily settling in Pennsylvania starting in the late 17th century to escape religious persecution in Europe. Groups included Mennonites, who established a settlement in Germantown in the 1690s, and Amish, who arrived in the 1730s–1770s. They were known for their pacifism,, and separation from society. These groups are still considered to be Anabaptists.”

That is so interesting and unbelievable! Catholics and Protestants were literally killing each other in religious wars in Europe in the 16th through 17th centuries, and yet they join together to kill Anabaptists. Several Catholic/Protestant wars.1) Catholic-Protestant wars in Europe (16th–17th centuries) were a series of violent conflicts triggered by the Reformation, starting around 1517 and peaking with the devastating Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) which caused roughly 4.5 to 8 million deaths from battles, famine, and disease, deeply dividing Central Europe. These wars involved religious, territorial, and political power struggles, resulting in massive casualties, with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia ultimately reshaping the continent’s sovereignty. 2) Eight brutal conflicts between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) in France (1562-1598), ending with the Edict of Nantes. 3) The German Peasants’ War (1524–1525), led by Thomas Muntzer, was an uprising within the Holy Roman Empire during the reformation movement that was supported by Zwingli but condemned by Luther. It led to 100,000 peasants being killed. During the German Peasants’ War (1524–1525), peasants aimed to end their feudal oppression by abolishing serfdom, reducing taxes, eliminating excessive tithes (church taxes), and securing rights to manage local resources like forests and water. Inspired by the Reformation, they sought greater local autonomy, including the right to elect their own pastors. Thomas Müntzer believed true faith came from direct, personal revelation from the Holy Spirit, not just the Bible, leading him to advocate for a radical, violent overthrow of corrupt earthly and church authorities to establish a theocratic, classless society, viewing the common people as God’s chosen instruments for this apocalyptic transformation, a view that contrasted sharply with Luther and ultimately led to his execution during the German Peasants’ War. Müntzer believed Christ’s Second Coming was imminent and required a forceful, violent cleansing of corrupt rulers and institutions to usher in God’s kingdom on Earth. 4) The Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648): Dutch Protestants fought against Catholic Spain for independence. Over 100,000 were killed in that war. 5) The English Civil War (1642–1651) included major religious divides between Calvinists, Anglicans, and Catholics which led to the execution of King Charles, the overthrow of the monarchy, and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England. The monarchy was eventually restored in 1660 but 200,000 died in the English Civil War.”

In spite of Catholics and Protestants fighting and killing one another, they joined together to hunt down and kill Anabaptists simply b/c the Anabaptists were choosing to be “re-baptized” as adults. Adult baptism was a serious crime in the 17th century, punishable by death. That death penalty would be enforced by the Roman Catholic Empire Church in Catholic countries. The Protestants under Zwingli were the first to persecute the Anabaptists, with Manz becoming the first Anabaptist martyr in 1527. Zwingli established a Protestant church-state model in Zurich, Switzerland during the 1520’s merging religious reform with civil government. So even the Protestants created governments that enforced religious laws in Protestant countries You can see why separation of church and state was one of the fundamental beliefs of the Anabaptists. They were also pacifists, refusing to fight in their Protestant/Catholic wars. In 17th-century Europe, pacifism was frequently treated as a criminal, seditious, or heretical act rather than a recognized right. During a period dominated by religious wars and the consolidation of absolute state power, the refusal to fight, take oaths, or support state violence was seen as a rejection of authority.” (AI)

Wow! Does that not make you appreciate our separation of church and state in the U.S.? We might disagree on the implementation of that but we all agree that we want that in our country. We don’t want the state (the government) making and enforcing religious laws like they did in Europe. We are inconsistent in that our coins say “In God we trust”, but we claim separation of church and state. We debate whether that separation means that our government can have any practices like prayer in schools or reading the Bible in schools, but we still respect separation of church and state. A citizen can even sign up as a “conscientious objector” to avoid being drafted into the military to fight in our country’s wars. “Desmond Doss (Hacksaw Ridge movie) was a conscientious objector due to his strong religious beliefs as a Seventh-Day Adventist, refusing to carry a weapon or kill, but he served as an unarmed combat medic in World War II and became the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions, saving dozens of lives during the Battle of Okinawa.”

I guess I would have been an Anabaptist back in Reformation Europe: what about you. But I wonder if I would have had enough courage and faith to be baptized by immersion as an adult back then, knowing that i would probably be tortured or maybe killed for doing that. I am just thankful for our religious freedom in the U.S., arent’t you?