The Mennonite Bodies

HISTORY.—The founders of the Mennonite organization came out of the Catholic Church. As this church voluntarily lost sight of the teachings of the Word of God, and for centuries was successful in enforcing a system of man-made laws, God moved upon devoted and earnest men to lead His people back to the Bible. The Reformation of the sixteenth cen­tury witnessed the noble work of such men as Luther, the German Reformer; and Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, who make up the back­ground to the Mennonite movement.

There are two different branches that enter into the formation of the Mennonite bodies. These are, first, the Swiss group, with Con­rad Grebel as a prominent leader ; and, second, the Dutch group, with Obbe Philips as its founder. The underlying cause for the develop­ment of the Mennonite bodies is the Anabap­tist belief with its emphasis on conversion and adult baptism.

Conrad Grebel, son of a wealthy iron mer­chant, with a university education, became dis­satisfied with his life of folly and sin. In his contact with Zwingli he was led to accept his teachings, and for a time was closely associ­ated with him in his efforts of reform.

However, to this zealous young disciple it seemed that Zwingli was moving with too much conservatism on points that he felt would bring about the desired church of apostolic times. Grebel and his associates—Felix Mantz, also a proficient student, and George Blaurock, a converted monk—wanted Zwingli to disentan­gle his followers from any connection with civil authorities, and start a church of converted be­lievers. They were especially distressed at the practice of infant baptism and the continua­tion of the mass. Zwingli had agreed that in­fant baptism was not in harmony with Bible principles; yet when Grebel and his associates stressed this point to such a degree that some­thing had to be done, it led to an open debate, which caused the Zwinglian group to issue a decree that all infants were to be baptized be­fore the age of eight days, and Grebel and his followers were restrained from holding further meetings. At this they withdrew from Zwingli, and in 1525 organized the first Anabaptist church in Zurich', Switzerland.

Then in 1534 Obbe Philips organized the first Anabaptist church in Holland. He had been terribly disillusioned by a sect of fanatics called the Melchorites, but their teachings and misdeeds led him to study the Word of God, and he came to the same conclusions as the Swiss Anabaptists. Two years after his conver­sion he baptized Menne Simons.

Menno Simons had trained for the Catholic priesthood but, as other priests, held that the study of the Scriptures was only for those at the head of the church. However, when he heard of the execution of a Dutch Anabaptist, he decided to study the Scriptures to learn the meaning of such a faith. Moreover, he doubted the doctrine of transubstantiation. From the study of the Word of God he recognized that the Catholic views were but the teachings of a sinful system instituted by man. But it was not without a great personal struggle that he left that church to become the outstanding leader of the Mennonite movement.

Many disputations were held between the Swiss ministers and Reformed Church clergy, and the Anabaptists were greatly persecuted. In 1529 the decree of the Diet of Speyer or­dered the execution of Anabaptists found in the Holy Roman Empire, without trial. The most severe persecutions were from 1637 to 1639. In 1659 Bern created a department of govern­ment called the Anabaptist Commission, which was to suppress the church life of the Swiss brethren. So it was a godsend when the Count of Palatine opened up his country and invited these persecuted people to come in and possess it, A limited degree of liberty was granted them.

In 1709 there was a fresh outbreak, and an­other flight from Switzerland. This time they settled not only in the Palatinate but in Hol­land and North America as well. Persecution also drove the Anabaptists to Alsace, and when they were banished there they fled to Lorraine and Montbeliard. Shortly after the founding of the Anabaptists a number settled in Moravia. In 1622 a wave of persecution set in, and about 20,000 were driven from Moravia. Some set­tled in Hungary, some in Transylvania, and some scattered to other points.

It seems that the Dutch Mennonites were persecuted even more harshly than the Swiss Mennonites, but their persecution stopped earlier. A large number of martyrs were put to death between 1550 and 1600 in the Nether­lands. In the latter part of the sixteenth century a number of the Dutch Mennonites fled across the English channel to England, where they were influential in planting Anabaptist doc­trines. In spite of all the persecutions and ban­ishments, Anabaptism flourished, and Dutch Mennonites were found in the Rhineland and in different points all along to the Vistula.

A few of the Dutch Mennonites went to North America as early as 1650, but these did not make any particular contribution to their faith. The first settlement of any significance was in the year 1683, when the children and grandchildren of the Mennonites in the Palati­nate accepted the noble invitation of William Penn to come to America. Penn had received forty square miles from the English crown, and invited all who were persecuted for their faith to come to this land of freedom. Thirteen fami­lies from Crefeld, Germany, came on the ship Concord and settled in Germantown, Pennsyl­vania, now a part of Philadelphia. From 1709 to 1754 there was a steady influx to America from the Palatinate and Swiss Mennonites; in fact, the record shows that there were four great waves of Mennonite immigration to this continent. These immigrants spread into differ­ent States as well as to various parts of Canada.

In 1789 the Russian ruler, Catherine II, found herself in need of settlers for the sparsely settled country of south Russia, and when she heard of the unfavorable conditions of the Men­nonites in Danzig and Prussia she gave them an invitation to come to Russia. About nine thousand accepted this offer. They first settled along the Dnieper River in the Ukraine, south Russia, and this colony was known as the Chortitza settlement. The second colony settled north of the Sea Azov in 1803, and were known as the Molotschna settlement. Their number in Russia doubled in twenty-five years, and by 185o there were among them the rich and the poor, with a certain amount of coldness in their religion. In 1870 they were threatened with the news that military exemption would be with­drawn from them, and many immigrated to the prairie States and Manitoba, Canada. Many also settled in Siberia.

By the time of the first world war the Men­nonites in Russia were well organized, number­ing foo,000 including unbaptized children. They had their own schools, hospitals, and charitable institutions. But during the Bolshevik Revolu­tion, 18,877 were able to migrate to Canada between the years 1923 and 1930. In 5930 an­other three thousand went to South America, settling in Paraguay and Brazil.

DOCTRINES.—It was during the latter part of the seventeenth century that Mennonites, par­ticularly the Dutch group, divided into many factions over the question of doctrine and reli­gious practice. This resulted in the studying and drawing up of a common confession of faith known as "A Declaration of the Chief Articles of Our Common Christian Faith." This was completed at Dort, Holland, in 1632, and signed by fifty-one ministerial delegates. The majority of Mennonite bodies have adopted this as their doctrinal views. A brief summary of these articles is as follows:

1.  "Concerning God and the Creation of An Things." There is one eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who existed from eternity. The heavens and earth were created by Him in six days and man was made in His image.

2.  "The Fall of Man." Adam and Eve were de­ceived by the devil. Sin passed on all, and man lost his paradise home. He would have been eternally lost had not God intervened.

7. "Holy Baptism." Those who have become united with God through the new birth, must on confession of faith and renewal of life, according to the com­mands of Christ, be baptized with water,

8. "The Church of Christ." God has a visible church, and those who have truly repented and are rightly baptized are incorporated into the communion of saints on earth.

9. "The Office of Teachers and Ministers—Male and Female—in the Church." The church is to be provided with faithful ministers, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to govern the church, feed the flock, and teach the church to observe all things. Bishops, pastors, and leaders, elders and almoners and widows are to have their appointed work.

10. "The Lord's supper." This is to be observed as the Lord instituted it before His sufferings.

11. "Washing of the Saints' Feet." This is a sign of humiliation to remind the saints of true washing and purification of the soul in the blood of Christ.

15. "The Swearing of Oaths." To obey the Lord's command not to swear but to confirm his promises by a "yes" or a "no" and fulfill them at all times as faithfully as if confirmed by an oath.

THEOLOGY.—In their earnest desire to break from all ecclesiastical tradition and render absolute obedience to the Word of God, theology is not the big issue of the Mennonite bodies. They claim to use the Bible, not so much to find a system of doctrines, but to find a way of salvation and sanctity of the individual soul. They also claim that Anabaptism is the logical outcome of Protestantism, and that on the so-called fundamental doctrines Anabaptists were in harmony with the Lutherans and Reformed.

I. Millennium. This means literally a thou­sand years or the thousandth anniversary. Many believe that after Christ returns He will reign on this earth for a thousand years. But there are the three thoughts on the millennium: (a) premillennialism, (b) postmillennialism, (c) nonmillennialism.