Anabaptists

Definition and Meaning

The name Anabaptist means "those who baptize again." In Korean the movement is also called by a name meaning "Re-immersionists." The name was given to the Anabaptists by the Reformers who opposed them. Because the Anabaptists themselves did not regard baptism received in infancy as true baptism, they did not consider the baptism they administered to be a "second" baptism. The Mennonites, a branch named after the Dutch leader Menno Simons, carry the Anabaptist tradition into the present day.

The teachings commonly emphasized by Anabaptists include the following:

• Baptism is given only to those who have professed faith (believer's baptism).
• Church and state must be separate.
• War and violence are rejected (pacifism).
• The life of following Christ, that is, discipleship, is emphasized.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Anabaptists maintained that Scripture nowhere commands infant baptism. They commonly cite Mark 16:16 as grounds for the view that faith precedes baptism, and passages from the Sermon on the Mount such as Matthew 5:39 as grounds for nonviolence.

The movement is generally dated to January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and others baptized one another in Zurich. They had originally taken part in the Zurich Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli but parted ways with him over the question of infant baptism. That same year Zwingli wrote a treatise defending infant baptism and refuting their position. The Zurich authorities banished the Anabaptist leaders, and Manz, who returned and continued teaching, was executed by drowning. Anabaptists were branded as heretics and rebels in both Roman Catholic and Protestant territories, and many were put to death.

The movement subsequently spread in several branches. The most prominent were the Swiss Brethren of Grebel's circle, the South German Anabaptists led by Balthasar Hubmaier, the Hutterites of Moravia, and the Mennonites of the Netherlands and northern Germany. The radical apocalyptic group that emerged in Münster, Germany, is usually distinguished from the other branches.

Assessment and Practice in the Korean Church

• Reformed and Presbyterian churches: Since Zwingli, the Reformed tradition has defended infant baptism on the basis of covenant theology and has criticized the Anabaptists. Korean Presbyterian media likewise include writings that present the Anabaptists as an "extreme" or "radical" Reformation.
• The Anabaptist perspective: Anabaptists understand their movement as a reform that sought to break free from the state-church system and to restore the New Testament community as a voluntary gathering of born-again believers.
• Relationship with Baptists: Because both traditions emphasize believer's baptism and the separation of church and state, they are often mentioned together. Scholars differ, however, on the extent to which the two are historically connected.

None of the major Protestant denominations in Korea belongs to the Anabaptist tradition. In Korea, Anabaptism has been introduced chiefly through church history courses and series on the Reformation in Christian media, and it is frequently mentioned in the infant baptism debate over the meaning of baptism.