The mode of baptism practiced by the Anabaptists has caused a fiery debate. Protestant historians claim that there was no prescribed mode, that the Anabaptists insisted only upon the candidate, not upon a certain mode, therefore they might have regarded it – immersion, pouring or sprinkling – as a matter of indifference, just as the Reformers.
The Mennonites today practice pouring, and the Mennonite historians are inclined to regard immersion as being an exception from the general custom. The Baptists practice immersion exclusively, and their historians try to prove the fact that this was the only way the Anabaptists practiced baptism. What can we learn from history?
After Grebel’s party separated from Zwingli on January 17th, 1525, they met at Zollikon, a village near Zurich where they performed the rite of believer’s baptism, most probably on January 21st, at night. An anonymous Chronicle, which began to be written in 1560s, called
The Large Chronicle of the Hutterian Brethren, also known as
The Moravian Chronicle, records that Blaurock was baptized by Grebel by pouring, and in turn, he baptized the same way all those present. The accuracy of the report has been debated for a long time. The record came most probably from oral tradition and was about 40 years removed from the actual event. It also should be noted that the account is not given by the mainstream Evangelical Anabaptists, but by their Hutterian offshoot, which were in several points in direct conflict with the former. There is no direct testimony of any of the persons present at that event to confirm the testimony of the Chronicle. However, there is positive proof as to the later practice of several of the persons involved in the event.
A month after Grebel reportedly was baptized by pouring, he was found in the canton of St. Gall, preaching and teaching adult immersion on profession of faith as the only valid baptism. Kessler, the reformed preacher from St. Gall, bears witness to this, telling about: “
Wolfgang Ulimann, how he being taught earlier by Laurence Hochrutiner against infant baptism, pressed forward on a journey to Schaffhausen to Conrad Grebel, and coming through him to such a high knowledge of Anabaptism, would not be merely watered with a dish with water, but, fully unclothed and naked, he was drawn under and covered over out in the Rhine by Grebel” (Sabbata, vol. 1, p. 266 – translated from German). [It should be noted that being naked was not part of the rite, but they practiced it sometimes, in isolated cases, when they baptized at rivers, when the candidates did not have another change of clothes]. Immersion is here called “a high knowledge of Anabaptism.” In this knowledge they rejected sprinkling or pouring. It should be noted that it was not Ulimann’s previous knowledge that made him unwilling to be baptized by pouring, but the knowledge he received from Grebel. It would be strange, to say the least, for Grebel to strongly reject in February what he practiced in January. Moreover, the season of Ulimann’s baptism was winter. Considering the medieval man’s fear of cold water, if they thought the mode was not important, they would have used anything but immersion in the freezing cold waters of the Rhine. So we are inclined to doubt the report that Grebel baptized by pouring.
Furthermore, Arx, the Swiss historian, writes about the practice of Grebel in St. Gall: “
They [Grebel and Hochrutiner] sought to persuade everybody to allow themselves to be baptized once more and preached in St. Gallen under the linden trees of Multerthore, in fields and forests. They were so successful that the people of the St. Gall territory, from Appenzell and from Toggenburg swarmed to the city of St. Gall asking about the baptistery and allowing themselves to be baptized there. The number of converts became so great that the baptistery could not contain the multitude of the candidates for baptism and they had to use the streams and the Sitter river; to which on Sundays those who desired baptism walked in similar numbers, their march in procession making them to be immediately noticed” (Geschichten des Kantons St. Gallen, vol. 2, p. 501 – translated from German).
These events took place in March. The baptistery was a great wooden cask. “
Augustus Naef, Secretary to the Council of St. Gall, in a work published in 1850, records the success of the Baptist movement. He says: ‘They baptized those who believed with them in rivers and lakes, and in a great wooden cask in Butcher's Square before a great crowd’” (Christian, Ibid., p. 119). The only reason they needed a cask and not a dish was because they practiced immersion.
Zwingli also bears witness to the practice of baptism among the Anabaptists when he sarcastically answers them: “
Good news! Let’s all go for a plunge in the Limmat!” (Verduin, Ibid., p. 217). Quoting Manz, who spoke of baptism as “going under,” Zwingli said: “Let him who talks about ‘going under’ go under [the water]” (Ibid.). His words inspired the law issued by the Council who stated: “
Qui mersus fuerit mergatur,”
“Him who dipps shall be dipped.” Under this law Manz perished having been sentenced to drowning in the waters of the river Limmat (Christian, Ibid., p. 122).
In the southern German territories, the Anabaptists practiced immersion. “
The Anabaptist leaders, Hubmaier, Denck, Hetzer, Hut, likewise appeared in Augsburg, and gathered a congregation of eleven hundred members. They held a general synod in 1527. They baptized by immersion. Rhegius stirred up the magistrate against them: the leaders were imprisoned, and some executed”(Schaff, Ibid., vol. VII, p. 377).
Jarrel quotes the definition Hubmaier gives to baptism in
Christian Baptism of Belivers: “
To baptize in water is to cover the confessor of his sins in external water, according to the divine command, and to inscribe him in the number of the separate upon his own confession and desire” (Ibid., p. 200).
A few years later, Menno says: “…
after we have searched ever so diligently, we shall find no other baptism besides dipping in water [doopsel inden water] which is acceptable to God, and maintained in his word”(Robinson, Ibid., p. 499).
The Protestants generally looked with indifference upon the mode, but they nevertheless preffered immersion. Luther recommended it. When defining the word baptism,Zwingli wrote: “
First it is used for the immersion in water whereby we are pledged individually to the Christian life”(G.W. Bromiley, Ibid., p. 132). The Schleitheim confession does not mention the mode, but this because the Anabaptists were not condemned on account of practicing immersion, not because they regarded the mode as indifferent.
Baptism was important to the Anabaptists because of its meaning. “The baptism of a believer is a symbol of the sinking in the death of Christ and of being raised again (“new birth”) in His resurrection. No one can come into the Kingdom unless he be born again (John 3:3), and this was the spiritual event symbolized by water baptism into the community” (Littell, Ibid., p. 84). Immersion was the only mode of baptism that could properly symbolize “the sinking in the death of Christ” and the raising in His resurrection. Neither pouring nor sprinkling of water symbolizes properly the spiritual event portrayed in baptism.
The proofs in favor of immersion are overwhelming. If there were indeed exceptions from immersion in Anabaptist practice, these were scarce and were due to the transition period of the persons involved from Catholicism or Protestantism to Anabaptism.
The Anabaptists considered adults only as proper candidates for baptism, as a certain understanding of the responsibilities of a Christian was required; they thought the water to be a mere symbol of inward washing and cleansing; they thought immersion to be the proper picture of the inward work of the Spirit of Christ in regeneration; and they considered that only churches like theirs were baptizing and doing Christ’s work aright. -
By Raul Enyedi
http://www.abaptistvoice.com/English/Books/WhyBaptistsAreNotProtestants.html
