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(1496-1561) |
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It was not
by accident that the Dutch Anabaptists became known as Mennonites. There is
no greater name among Anabaptists of the sixteenth century than that of Menno
Simons. In fact his influence was such that the history of the Anabaptist
movement in the |
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Menno had begun
his service in the Roman Church inauspiciously enough. He was ordained a
priest at |
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My reader,
I write you the truth in Christ and lie not. In the year 1524, being then in
my twenty-eighth year, I undertook the duties of a priest in my father's
village, called Pingjum, in |
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In the
first year thereafter a thought occurred to me, as often as I handled the
bread and wine in the mass, that they were not the flesh and blood of the
Lord. I thought that it was the suggestion of the devil, that he might lead
me off from my faith. I confessed it often-sighed and prayed, yet I could not
be freed from this thought. |
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Menno
admitted that his knowledge of the Scriptures was so limited that he could
not discuss biblical concepts intelligently. "I could not speak a word with
them [his fellow priests] without being scoffed at, for I did not know what I
was driving at, so concealed was the Word of God from my eyes." |
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Eventually,
Menno felt compelled to resolve his doubts by turning to the Scriptures.
"Finally, I got the idea to examine the New Testament diligently. I had
not gone very far when I discovered that we were deceived, and my conscience,
troubled on account of the aforementioned bread, was quickly relieved, even
without any instructions." |
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The source
of Menno's doubts regarding the Eucharist is not revealed. There may have
been no other than that of his own thoughts on the matter. He certainly was
not the first priest to doubt the alleged miracle of transubstantiation.
Whether the writings of Luther had influenced him in this regard is not
known. They did prove to be a source of help in the initial stages of the
pilgrimage already begun. |
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That which
Menno learned from the Scriptures, he began to use in his ministry, thereby
gaining a reputation as an evangelical preacher. This was a false impression,
he confessed, but it had its compensations: "Everyone sought and desired
me; the world loved me and I loved the world. It was said that I preached the
Word of God and was a good fellow." [21] At this stage it is doubtful
that Menno was farther along the evangelical road than his renowned
contemporary and fellow Dutchman, Erasmus. He described his life as empty and
frivolous, full of gambling and drinking, and "diversions as, alas, is
the fashion and usage of such useless people." Apparently, it had
suffered not even the slightest alteration at this time. |
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Not
realizing the full implication of his Protestant stance, Menno seems to have
accepted the Scriptures as doctrinally authoritative in a strictly propositional
sense. In an easygoing manner he had apparently arrived at the rather secure
and respected position of an evangelical humanist. He knew much the same
success as that of Zwingli at Einsiedeln and during his early Zürich years.
However, Menno was shocked into a fresh examination of the Scriptures in
1531. He heard of the execution of an otherwise unknown Anabaptist in |
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Afterwards
it happened, before I had ever heard of the existence of the brethren, that a
God-fearing, pious hero named Sicke Snijder was beheaded at |
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The
new-found knowledge set off a whole chain of events. First, Menno discussed
the problem of infant baptism with his pastor, his immediate superior in the church
at Pingjum, but to no avail. The result was that "after much talk he had
to admit that there was no basis for infant baptism in Scripture." Next,
he turned to a study of the Fathers who, he related, "taught me that
children are by baptism cleansed from their original sin. I compared this
idea with the Scriptures and found that it did violence to the blood of
Christ.” |
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Menno's
search in hope of finding some scriptural basis for infant baptism
subsequently led him to the writings of Luther, of Bucer, and finally, of
Bullinger. Once again his efforts to uncover a satisfactory reason for the
practice of infant baptism were disappointing. He registered his
disappointment with these words: "When I noticed from all these that
writers varied so greatly among themselves, each following his own wisdom,
then I realized that we were deceived in regard to infant baptism." |
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In such a
state of mind Menno was transferred from Pingjum to Witmarsum, his native
village, "led thither," he confessed, "by covetousness and the
desire to obtain a great name." By this time he was a thoroughgoing
evangelical humanist whose life was still quite unaffected by his commitment
to biblical authority. |
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At
Witmarsum he wrote, "I spoke much concerning the Word of the Lord,
without spirituality or love, as all hypocrites do, and by this means I made
disciples of my own kind, vain boasters and frivolous babblers, who, alas,
like myself did not take these matters too seriously." [23] |
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Menno had
not served in his native village for more than a year when some unknown
Anabaptists came to Witmarsum, preaching and practicing adult baptism.
Sometime later emissaries of Münster came. Menno quickly discerned that they
possessed zeal without knowledge. He did what he could to stem the tide of
fanaticism. "I conferred twice with one of their leaders, once in
private, and once in public, but my admonitions did not help, because I
myself still did that which I knew was not right." |
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Menno was gaining
a new reputation as a defender of the faith against the Münsterites. Yet his
own soul was becoming more deeply involved in an indissoluble paradox.
"My soul was troubled and I reflected upon the outcome, that if I should
gain the whole world and live a thousand years, and at last have to endure
the wrath of God, what would I have gained?" The source of his struggle
was increasingly evident. He saw in the misled fanatics a devotion to the
truth, as they understood it, that put to shame his own love of security,
position, and luxury. Also, he felt an underlying sympathy for their views of
the Scriptures, the church, and Christian discipleship-which only increased
his suffering. It is true that he considered them misled but only in certain
matters. |
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His agony
of soul became intolerable with a tragedy at the Old Cloister. Some three
hundred Anabaptists, who had sought refuge there from persecution, were put
to death. Among the dead was Menno's own brother. This event more than any
other intensified the inner conflict of his soul which had been raging for at
least four years. He wrote: |
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After this
had transpired, the blood of these people, although misled fell . . . hot on
my heart. . . . I reflected upon my unclean, carnal life, also the hypocritical
doctrine and idolatry which I still practiced daily in appearance of
godliness, but without relish. I saw that these zealous children, although in
error, willingly gave their lives and their estates for their doctrine and
faith. And I was one of those who had disclosed to some of them the
abominations of the papal system. But I myself . . . acknowledged
abominations simply in order that I might enjoy physical comfort and escape
the cross of Christ. [24] |
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It was in April,
1535, that the Old Cloister near Bolsward fell. Menno was to know no peace of
mind or heart from that day until the day of his conversion. "Pondering
these things my conscience tormented me so that I could no longer endure
it," he confessed. Such thoughts drove him to throw himself on the mercy
of God in Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. Then and then only was Menno
converted. Until that moment his faith had been assensus, not fides.
There was intellectual acceptance but no life commitment. But all of this was
to change. |
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My heart
trembled within me. I prayed to God with sighs and tears that He would give
to me, a sorrowing sinner, the gift of His grace, create within me a clean
heart, and graciously through the merits of the crimson blood of Christ
forgive my unclean walk and frivolous easy life and bestow upon me wisdom,
Spirit, courage, and a manly spirit so that I might preach His exalted and
adorable name and holy Word in purity. [25] |
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The Reply to Gellius Faber, in which the above
passage occurs, was written some eighteen years after Menno's conversion. An
account of the same experience, but one which is far more revealing, occurs
in his Meditation on the Twenty-fifth
Psalm. This was written only two years after his fateful decision. The
intensity of feeling had not yet subsided when he wrote: |
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I, a
miserable sinner, did not know my faults and shortcomings as long as Thy
Spirit had not pointed them out to me. I considered myself a Christian, but
when I looked upon myself, I found myself to be very worldly, fleshly and
outside Thy Word. My light was darkness, my truth falsehood, my justice sin,
my religion public idolatry and my life certain death. [26] |
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In the meditation
of the eighth verse, the plaintive cry of the sinner has become the song of
the redeemed. Menno had referred to the faithful prophets of the Old
Testament. Their message was not received, and they were often put to death
because of their fidelity. Menno then declared: |
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Nor did
this exhaust the springs of Thy mercy, but Thou didst send Thy beloved Son,
the dearest pledge of Thy grace, who preached Thy Word, fulfilled Thy
righteousness, accomplished Thy will, bore our sins, blotted them out with
Thy Blood, stilled Thy wrath, conquered the devil, hell, sin, and death, and
obtained grace, mercy, favor, and peace for all who truly believe on Him. . .
. He sent out His messengers preaching this peace, . . . so that they might
lead me and all erring sinners into the right way. . . . Their words I love,
their practices I follow. Thy dear Son, Christ Jesus, whom they preached to
me, I believe. His will and way I seek. [27] |
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The will
and way of Christ for Menno became the way of the cross. To this concept he
already had alluded in the Meditation: |
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Although I
resisted in former times Thy precious Word and Thy holy will with all my
powers, . . . nevertheless Thy fatherly grace did not forsake me, a miserable
sinner, but in love received me, . . . and taught me by the Holy Spirit until
of my own choice I declared war upon the world, the flesh and the devil, . .
. and willingly submitted to the heavy cross of my Lord Jesus Christ that I
might inherit the promised kingdom. [28] |
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The deep
sense of sin reflected in these passages from the Meditation did not come from one who had lived a life of sexual
promiscuity. Menno's sensitive nature had come under the judgment of the
Bible. He realized the sinfulness of the human heart in the light of the
holiness of God. Specifically, Menno felt that his sins included several
things. Among these were false pride, love of ease and security, an aimless
existence, and a timidity that caused him to shrink from the unpleasant. Even
after commitment had been made, however, the Rubicon remained to be crossed. |
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For nine
months he attempted to preach the gospel in the old pulpit: |
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I began in
the name of the Lord to preach publicly from the pulpit the word of true repentance,
to point the people to the narrow path, and in the power of the Scripture
openly to reprove all sin and wickedness, all idolatry and false worship, and
to present the true worship; also the true baptism and the Lord's Supper,
according to the doctrine of Christ, to the extent that I had at that time
received from God the grace. |
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Finally,
the sheer impossibility of Menno’s course of action was thrust upon him. His
timidity and cowardice were overcome. The new man in Christ Jesus contemplated
the incongruity of an Anabaptist in a Roman Catholic pulpit. In a moment of
decisive action he turned his back on Rome to cast his lot with a variegated
movement which was everywhere spoken against: "Then I, without
constraint, of a sudden, renounced all my worldly reputation, name and fame,
my unchristian abominations, my masses, infant baptism, and poverty under the
heavy cross of Christ. [29] |
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For more
than eighteen years Menno had been bearing the "heavy cross of
Christ" when he wrote these lines. He knew well the cost of
discipleship. It may well have been that he waited nine months before
identifying himself with the Brethren because he wished to count the cost
before taking the cross. [30] |
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Immediately
he sought out the Anabaptists in the area and began to admonish them,
reclaiming not a few from the Münsterite errors. Longing for a time of peace
and quiet in order to meditate more fully over his new relationship, Menno
slipped away to eastern |
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men who
sincerely abhorred not only the sect of Münster, but the cursed abominations
of all other worldly sects…. They prayerfully requested me to make the great
sufferings and need of the poor oppressed souls my concern…. They urged me to
put to good use the talents which I, though unworthy, had received from the
Lord. [31] |
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At this
invitation of the Brethren, Menno confessed, “my heart was greatly troubled.”
The sources of his concern were analyzed with utmost frankness. “I was
sensible of my limited talents, my unlearnedness, my weak nature, the
timidity of my spirit, the exceedingly great wickedness, perversity, and
tyranny of the world, the great and powerful sects, the subtlety of many
minds, and the woefully heavy cross that would weigh on me.” [32] But Menno
complied. As Calvin heard the voice of God through William Farel, Menno was
called to become an apostle of the Anabaptists through a handful of Frisian
peasants. |
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When Menno
was baptized into the Anabaptist fellowship is unknown. On |
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19.
Simons, Reply to Gellius Faber, op. cit., pp. 671-72. |
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20.
Cornelius Krahn, "The Conversion of Menno Simons, a Quadricentennial
Tribute", MQR, X (January, 1936), 46. |
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21.
Simons, op. cit. p. 668. |
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22. Ibid. |
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23. Ibid., p. 669. |
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24. Ibid., p. 670. |
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25. Ibid., p. 671. |
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26. This translation
in the main is from p. 329 of the Opera
Sommarie of 1646 as found in Nan Auke Brandsma, The Transition of Menno Simons from Roman Catholicism to Anabaptism
As Reflected in His Writings, unpublished B.D. thesis, Baptist
Theological Seminary, Rüschlikon-Zürich, 1955, p. 16. It is the best work on
the conversion of Menno Simons this writer has seen. |
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27. Meditation on the Twenty-fifth Psalm,
Complete Writings, pp. 70-71. |
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28. Ibid., p. 69. |
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29. Reply to Gellius Faber, Writings, p.
671. |
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30. Krahn,
op. cit., 52, criticizes Menno for
delaying so long after reaching convictions which led him to doubt the
validity of transubstantiation and infant baptism before leaving the Roman
Catholic Church. This criticism is unfounded when one takes into
consideration that Menno was not converted until 1535 as Brandsma, op. cit., has pointed out. Before this
time, he was evangelical in head but not at heart. When one considers his
relative freedom in his home village and his naturally timid and retiring nature,
nine months appears to be a rather brief period in which to make such an
awesome decision. |
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31. Reply to Faber, Writings, p. 671. |
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32. Ibid., p. 672. |
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33.
Brandsma, op. cit., p. 36. |
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From: William R. Estep, The Anabaptist Story, |