Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
The early Anabaptists preferred the term “defenseless Christians” rather than “non-resistant”; what did they think that wording communicated about following Jesus in a world where “all the other Christians were connected to the state”?
Another way to ask: Why did early Anabaptists call themselves “defenseless Christians” instead of “non-resistant”? What did that say about following Jesus when most other Christians were tied to the government?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, “defenseless Christians” communicated that true disciples of Jesus refuse to use state power or violence to protect themselves or enforce religious truth. It was a public way to separate themselves from churches that relied on the government’s “sword.”
- The Anabaptists’ own term was: “We are defenseless Christians.”
- They used it because “all the other Christians were connected to the state,” and heretics were judged and “hand[ed]…over to the state,” which “would usually execute them.”
- They insisted: “we do not use the arm of the state. We don’t use the sword.”
- Their approach to doctrinal error: “they work with him… they may excommunicate him, but they will not use the sword.”
- The reason underneath was love: “We love our enemies… we want him to come back.”