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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 7: The Birth of the Anabaptists  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 4
Grebel’s letter to Müntzer criticizes “false leniency of the preachers” and calls out people who want “a faith easy enough for everybody… who show no change of heart”; in what specific ways does modern evangelicalism mirror the “easy faith” Grebel describes, and what would “true faith expressed in deeds of love” demand that many churches avoid?
Another way to ask: How does modern evangelicalism sometimes promote an “easy faith” that doesn’t change how people live? What actions of love would real faith require that many churches try to avoid?

Direct Answer Dean Taylor explicitly connects Grebel’s critique to “American evangelicalism,” suggesting modern churches can mirror “easy faith” when they reduce Christianity to listening to preaching without heart change or costly obedience. “True faith expressed in deeds of love” would require visible repentance, practical discipleship, and a willingness to “pay a price” that many settings avoid.

Support from Transcript:

  • Grebel’s letter says some want “a faith easy enough for everybody… who want to pay no price… who show no change of heart.”
  • Grebel admits, “We were in the same mentality as long as we limited ourselves to listening to the new preaching.”
  • He contrasts “mental understanding” (what he heard from “Luther and Zwingli”) with “a true faith in the heart,” and Dean adds: “and we hear today from American evangelicalism.”
  • Grebel blames “false leniency of the preachers”—they are “letting people off too easy.”
  • The Hutterian Chronicle definition of faith includes deeds and endurance: “true faith expressed in deeds of love… serving him… with a holy Christian life… steadfast… even in times of tribulation.”
Discussion Follow-ups Where has church life trained people primarily to consume sermons rather than obey Christ? What “price” (reputation, comfort, security) do congregations often avoid naming, even when Jesus’ words require it?

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