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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 14: The Birth of the Hutterites (Part 2)  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
The Hutterites refused to validate “warmongers” as Christians, rejected war/sword as Christian, and resisted war taxes even when it cost them livestock and raids; what does this insistence say about their understanding of grace and discipleship, and where do modern Christians quietly baptize violence, coercion, or state priorities in ways early Christians (and these Anabaptists) would have found impossible?
Another way to ask: What does the Hutterites’ refusal to support war say about what they believed grace and following Jesus require? Where do Christians today excuse violence, pressure, or government goals in ways they would not accept?

Direct Answer The transcript portrays the Hutterites’ discipleship as obedience-based: grace leads to a changed life that cannot affirm the sword, war, or violent coercion as “Christian,” even under pressure. Dean’s material implies modern believers are tempted to accommodate state demands—like war priorities or moral compromises—rather than letting visible obedience define Christian identity.

Support from Transcript:

  • Brother Paul refuses to admit “that magistrates, the sword or war, were Christians,” and calls them “warmongers.”
  • Lutheran jailers offer release for a simple validation: “All you have to do now, just say that we’re Christians,” and he “wouldn’t do it.”
  • During Turkish wars, emperors demanded funds; “the Hutterites had a problem with paying war taxes,” and so “sheep, cattle, wagons…were stolen instead.”
  • Dean notes a key moral claim in their debates: it’s not only “what each person believed,” but “a true change in their life.”
  • He applies nonresistance to real-life plundering: in modern debates—“what would you do…if people…take your food?”—he answers, “Been there, done that…It is the theology of martyrdom,” not mere theory.
Discussion Follow-ups Where are Christians today pressured to give moral legitimacy to actions they privately doubt? What does it cost to refuse verbal endorsements that would make life easier?

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