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Will the Theologians Please Sit Down  /  Chapter 15: Luther, theologian in sheep's clothing  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 7
Roland Bainton is quoted saying Anabaptists threatened society because if they became numerous, Protestants “would have been unable to take up arms,” and Germans couldn’t resist the Turks; what does that fear reveal about what both Catholic and Protestant leaders assumed Christianity must permit, and how does that compare with early Christian assumptions about violence, loyalty, and the kingdom?
Another way to ask: Some leaders feared the Anabaptists because Christians might refuse to fight wars. What does that fear show about what Catholic and Protestant leaders thought Christianity must allow, and how is that different from what early Christians believed about violence, loyalty, and God’s kingdom?

Direct Answer The fear reveals that both Catholic and Protestant leaders assumed Christianity must permit using violence and state power for public security—so a nonviolent, separatist discipleship movement felt like a threat. Bercot compares this to pagan Rome’s fear of early “children of the kingdom,” implying early Christian loyalty to the kingdom of God created tension with state expectations.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bainton: if Anabaptists became numerous, Protestants “would have been unable to take up arms against Catholics,” and Germans could not have resisted “the Turks.”
  • He notes they “challenged the whole way of life of the community,” making them a “menace to public security.”
  • Bercot says neither Luther nor the Pope were ready for Christians “to really start following Christ in life and to live by his teachings.”
  • He says they feared genuine discipleship “as much as they feared the Turks.”
  • He adds they “dreaded the children of the kingdom as much as the pagan Romans had dreaded them.”
  • The response mirrored Rome: “the only response they could come up with was to murder the children of the kingdom before they got any stronger.”
Discussion Follow-ups The transcript doesn’t spell out a full early-Christian doctrine of nonviolence, but it implies early kingdom Christianity was seen as incompatible with state violence. What expectations does your culture place on Christians regarding security and national loyalty?

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