Neue Zeytung von den Wiedertaufern und ihrer Sekt
Neue Zeytung von den Wiedertaufern und ihrer Sekt is the title of a pamphlet published in 1528 against the Anabaptists. The appendix contains 13 articles added by Urban Rhegius, "which they consider true," which he refuted item by item in his booklet Nothwendige Warnung. Ranke considered these 13 points the actual teaching of the Salzburg Anabaptists, and made several citations from them; he thereby does this group of Anabaptists grave injustice, for this is a polemic against the Anabaptists, and the excerpts from it which are known lead to the conclusion that the Anabaptists were not capable of much good. Nevertheless we learn a few things which may approximate historical truth. With all necessary reservations, the following may be stated:
In the pamphlet Eitelhans Langenmantel is named; he is known to have been one of Denck's disciples. It is said that he denied predestination, for God cannot be made responsible for sin. A native inborn way of doing good is really possible, and there are sinless human beings. Christ he accepted as an exemplary teacher, but not as the fulfillment of the law or as the Son of God. The denial of the Sonship of Christ, which was first preached by Ludwig Haetzer, is now also to be found among the simple Anabaptists in Salzburg and with Langenmantel. Christ they believed to be only a prophet, who by word and example brought the natural moral law closer to human consciousness and strengthened the desire of the heart for God.
We shall not examine how nearly these statements correspond with fact, although many certainly are not true. It is certain that the influence of Denck is shown here, even though in a somewhat exaggerated and distorted form. He was by no means an isolated thinker. He had his circle of followers, and as is shown in the polemic of Rhegius, even congregations that were attached to him.
Bibliography
Heberle, U. "Johannes Denk und die Ausbreitung seiner Lehre." Theologische Studien und Kritiken (1855).
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 210.
Ranke, Leopold. Deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter der Reformation. Hamburg: Gutenberg Verl., 1928: III, 407 ff.
| Author(s) | Horst Quiring |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Quiring, Horst. "Neue Zeytung von den Wiedertaufern und ihrer Sekt." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Neue_Zeytung_von_den_Wiedertaufern_und_ihrer_Sekt&oldid=145935.
APA style
Quiring, Horst. (1957). Neue Zeytung von den Wiedertaufern und ihrer Sekt. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Neue_Zeytung_von_den_Wiedertaufern_und_ihrer_Sekt&oldid=145935.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 846-847. All rights reserved.
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