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GYC Southeast

Rhonda Grakov

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Martin Luther: Captive Conscience

Ulrich Zwingli: Of Switzerland and Sola Scriptura

Marguerite of Navarre: Faith over France

William Tyndale: Singing the Same Note

Menno Simons: A Forbidden Book

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 1

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 2

Katherine Parr: The Survivor

Philipp Melanchthon: Nothing but Heaven

Ursula Von Münsterberg: Escape Artist for God


Hello and welcome to Grading God's Sight, the podcast that explores underrated heroes. This is Season 3, and we're so glad you've joined us for this episode entitled Menno Simons, A Forbidden Book. Please be sure to subscribe and check out the terrific artwork that goes along with today's story on our website, thegreatpodcast.org. That's thegreatpodcast.org. Thanks for listening.

6 years after Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, a Catholic priest stood before his congregation in the Netherlands. As he was about to perform Mass, he carefully handled the bread and wine while acting out the special ritual. When he became priest, he was taught transubstantiation, the idea that he, as the priest, held the power to transform the bread and wine into Jesus's literal body and blood. He carefully observed these objects for any sudden changes and was surprised when no noticeable metamorphosis occurred. During his first year as priest, He continued to watch for any signs of transformation in the bread and wine, but none came.

Concerned that the devil was playing tricks on him, he finally decided to consult with Scripture. Menno Simons, the priest, knew little of the scriptures and rarely read them. In his own words, I feared if I should read them, they would mislead me. Instead, he enjoyed spending his time drinking and gambling with colleagues. Whenever an occasional biblical conversation did occur, Menno proved to be the least knowledgeable, that is, until he finally began reading the Word of God for himself.

And as he studied the subject of the Lord's Supper and the doctrine of transubstantiation, he could find no scriptural support for this Roman Catholic teaching. The Bible comforted his troubled mind, and he could now share his discoveries with his church members. He would need to be careful, though. He knew how swiftly and severely the Mother Church had responded to Luther's controversy. As Menno Simons began to engage with the Bible for himself, he started questioning standard Church teachings on topics other than transubstantiation.

Scripture reading took on a whole new level of danger for him. No longer was he worried of being led astray, but he knew he would face repercussions if he spoke up about controversial biblical topics. To avoid entangling himself, he enjoyed an easy life for several years. He had learned enough of Scripture to receive praise from his colleagues. He became known as an evangelical preacher, but deep down inside he realized that he lacked something important.

Theological knowledge had yet to produce zeal in his life. Menno began to feel that his superficiality and lack of authenticity were resulting in lost souls. He contemplated the willingness of other Christians to face death and compared their faith with his own comfortable existence. When Mennozeel was finally awakened, he began following the example of Luther and other reformers. 1 group of radical reformers known as Anabaptists greatly influenced his beliefs.

The term Anabaptist literally means rebaptizer and was typically used with a derogatory connotation. The name came from a central teaching of the movement, the baptism of believers. Anabaptists taught that a person must be converted and express their own confession of faith prior to the symbolic act of baptism. For this reason, individuals who underwent baptism as infants, a common practice, would choose to be rebaptized because they viewed the first baptism as illegitimate. Menno soon discovered the biblical grounds for believers' baptism and adopted the practice himself.

At this point, he was labeled a heretic and his life was in constant danger. To understand why Anabaptists were hated so much, 1 must understand the perceived dangers they posed to established Christianity. Oddly enough, Anabaptists faced persecution from both Catholics and Protestants. Their practice of adult baptism was a chief issue of contention. Church leaders on both sides taught the necessity of baptizing infants because in this way each person was welcomed into the Mother Church almost from birth, as well as being officially assimilated into the domain of his or her Christian ruler.

The Anabaptist attack on infant baptism assaulted more than a church teaching. It targeted a foundational principle of Christendom, the state behind the Church. In fact, Anabaptists were the first Christians since the days of the Apostles to urge separation of the religious from the secular. However, their Opponents insisted that Anabaptist teachings would rip society's fabric apart. Regardless of their unorthodox views on government and baptism, it is impossible to justify the hate and persecution Anabaptist believers were subjected to.

A small group of them, however, managed to add to their negative reputation and contributed significantly to the persecution they faced. In 1534, a band of militant Anabaptists seized the town of Münster, near Menno's home in the Netherlands. The revolt grew in popularity until even members of Menno's own congregation joined. The leaders instituted polygamy and violently opposed the ruling Catholic bishop and his army. This small group of radicals sought to forcibly set up Christ's thousand-year reign on earth.

They maintained their rule of Münster for about a year before the city was recaptured and the Anabaptist leaders executed. Unfortunately for most Anabaptists, who did not endorse the rebellion, this event left a permanent scar on their reputation. Menno himself suffered great remorse because he had been unable to persuade members of his congregation from joining. His own brother Peter appears to have died at Münster. In the bloody aftermath, Menno ardently advocated pacifism among his followers.

Historians cite what happened at Münster as uncharacteristic of most Anabaptists and especially those mentored by Menno Simons. He viewed the violence around him with disgust and couldn't reconcile it with any New Testament teachings. In his own words, Menno warned everyone in relation to the abominations of Münster. Though he was trapped between persecution on 1 hand and violent radicals on the other, he began a printing press with which he circulated his brand of Anabaptist teachings. His work met with moderate success.

In fact, modern Mennonites get their name and much of their heritage from Menno Simons. While he offered his own contributions of leadership in zeal, Menno acquired most of his beliefs from earlier Anabaptist leaders based in Switzerland. The Anabaptist movement was extremely diverse. They held no creed or hierarchical church structure, yet they did have a few universally held beliefs, which were summarized at a convention in Switzerland. Some of the primary tenets set forth were the principle of nonviolence, a congregational view of church authority in which members govern the church, and the separation of church and state.

Menno's Dutch Anabaptism borrowed from all 3 of these principles, however his unusual views and unwilling associations to the Münster Revolt made Menno a chief target for opponents of Anabaptism. Eventually Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, placed a hefty reward on Menno's head and ordered his capture and arrest. Anyone caught hosting Menno and his family risked being killed for it. Sadly, 1 individual who harbored the fugitive was later captured, tortured, and executed, but the Anabaptist reformer was able to remain free until he died peacefully in his home. In Menno's words, I, my poor, feeble wife and children, have for 18 years endured extreme anxiety, oppression, affliction, misery and persecution and at the peril of my life, have been compelled everywhere to live in fear and seclusion.

He and his family lived in simplicity and danger while the bishops and religious leaders hunting him lived in comfort and safety. Despite hardships, Menno's nighttime preaching and covert printing bore fruit as his little band of rebaptizers slowly grew. Today we benefit from the hard work of Menno and other Anabaptist leaders. They receive little credit for major contributions to our Church and our world. Many Protestant denominations now practice adult baptism.

Likewise, most governments now possess some form of church-state separation. Often life is not easy when we stand up for our faith, but Menno Simons is a testament to the influence we can have on the world around us. Menno's success hinged entirely on his commitment to the Holy Bible. So must we base our beliefs solidly and unswervingly on the Word of God if we wish to have similar results. Thank you for listening to Great in God's Sight, a podcast by GYC Southeast.

We hope you have enjoyed this adventure through time and pray it serves to deepen your relationship with God. While we strive to bring you a unique perspective on each believer, We encourage you to use your God-given curiosity to explore these topics for yourself. Please remember to hit the subscribe button and share this episode with your friends via text or social media. You never know who might be encouraged! Until next time, we wish you God's blessing as you seek to be great in His sight too.

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Series

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Menno Simons: A Forbidden Book

Parent Series

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Other Teachings in Series

Martin Luther: Captive Conscience

Ulrich Zwingli: Of Switzerland and Sola Scriptura

Marguerite of Navarre: Faith over France

William Tyndale: Singing the Same Note

Menno Simons: A Forbidden Book

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 1

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 2

Katherine Parr: The Survivor

Philipp Melanchthon: Nothing but Heaven

Ursula Von Münsterberg: Escape Artist for God

Sound Doctrine