Jumpstarter 10 of 10

Direct Answer Dean’s account warns that “reform” can mutate into a power-driven, this-worldly kingdom offering security and status, while reducing spiritual life to outward marks. Re-centering means measuring everything by Jesus—especially the Sermon on the Mount and the reality of the new birth—rather than by political victory, prosperity promises, or identity badges.

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• Münster’s scene includes militarization: radicals were protected by “armed guards,” hired “300 paid soldiers,” and launched an attack with “900 soldiers,” showing reform fused with violence.
• Rothman’s tracts promised social reversal and wealth: “The poorest… now go about dressed as finely as the highest… as rich as the mayors,” which drew crowds with “beautiful community of goods” promises.
• Dean notes end-times rhetoric rebranded the city: “Munster is going to be the new Jerusalem,” echoing Hoffman’s earlier “New Jerusalem” claims.
• He contrasts Münster’s focus with true Anabaptist emphasis: “You don’t see… they talked about the new birth. They talked about rebaptism.”
• Dean’s test for authentic Christianity: “Jesus… everything that’s important to Jesus is important to us… If it doesn’t mix with the Sermon on the Mount… if it doesn’t circle around Jesus, it’s not Christianity.”