Josh wrote:There was no connection between Anabaptism and English pacifist movements, nor with English believers' baptism movements.
The three things arose spontaneously - I would argue by the spirit of God and his word not being rendered void.
i don't have a preference about how these things happened, i find it all intriguing to think over.
i'm interested in how, and, i may never feel certain about how information+ideas "got around." when folks are being imprisoned and killed for their deeply-held beliefs, word does get around. Europe is not that big, the world was "made smaller" by the Roman roads ..
i agree, the Holy Spirit determines outcomes.
people can read, share verbally, or experience spontaneous Light, none of it has meaning without the Holy Spirit - and, the Spirit can be innocently misunderstood and/or deliberately exploited for personal gain. many with scientific minds can't handle the "elusive" Holy Spirit, i'm not so burdened. thankfully, many with keen scientific minds accept+respect the Holy Spirit.
certainly, Quakers put tremendous value on the Holy Spirit. as did all the early believers.
they sought the Holy Spirit in somewhat different ways. aside from misunderstanding and exploitation which cause such awful havoc, the HS is of bedrock importance to authentic faith.
Neto is an experienced anthropologist, i wonder if he might have more to add to how these important times unfolded?
BRushby may yet post on this topic, too.
before MD, i had always read/heard that all Protestants followed (i.e., came after, as a result of) Martin Luther's protest within the Catholic Church. (that was a neat little package to accept!)
i believe this is commonly accepted. on MD, i learned of the early Anabaptists, active contemporaries of that period.
Light does not happen without the Holy Spirit. how was the HS working in those times?
i don't yet feel certain i understand, i may never get there. i can imagine different scenarios, each one amazing+wonderful. i have no preference about which way, just interested in how it was.
God's created human mind is fascinating; with the Holy Spirit, there are no limits.