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In your observation, how many Anabaptists actually read the writings of the early founders of the Anabaptist movements, such as The Complete Works of Menno Simons or the Handbook by Dirk Philips? Do you think it's at all important to know what they believed or have we moved on and their writings are more or less irrelevant today? Do you think it would it change the face of Anabaptism today if everyone had a pretty good sense of what they wrote and believed?

CADude wrote:In your observation, how many Anabaptists actually read the writings of the early founders of the Anabaptist movements, such as The Complete Works of Menno Simons or the Handbook by Dirk Philips? Do you think it's at all important to know what they believed or have we moved on and their writings are more or less irrelevant today? Do you think it would it change the face of Anabaptism today if everyone had a pretty good sense of what they wrote and believed?

I can't remember the last time I heard one of them quoted over the pulpit. They really aren't that important to most people.

I know that some people read them but not the decision makers in our church. I believe some would be surprised at what they would find in those books, at how far we have strayed from their thoughts and observations.

I like a lot of his writings but the only time I heard the reference of Menno Simons from the pulpit was to mock how Mennonites need to have his book on their shelf.

If I was to talk about excommunication and reference Menno Simon or Dirk Philips for why the Mennonites are wrong in practice, I feel like people would politely listen and think I was crazy.

They aren't the founders of Anabaptism, they joined after the movement had gained momentum. Being more educated than some, they wrote a lot and became the unofficial "face" of Anabaptism to outsiders.

Peregrino wrote:They aren't the founders of Anabaptism, they joined after the movement had gained momentum. Being more educated than some, they wrote a lot and became the unofficial "face" of Anabaptism to outsiders.

Good point!

Peregrino wrote:They aren't the founders of Anabaptism, they joined after the movement had gained momentum. Being more educated than some, they wrote a lot and became the unofficial "face" of Anabaptism to outsiders.

They also both significantly outlived the "founders" of Anabaptism, giving them more time to write. The practices and beliefs of Anabaptism were already established and the writings of Phillips and Simons were probably less influential at the genesis of Anabaptism than the preaching and teachings of the many itinerants mostly lost to obscurity save for the records of their Martyrdom.

Im not a CA by any legitimate affiliation, but I own and read both the Conplete Works of Menno Simons and the Writings of Dirk Philips (more than just the Handbook). Personally, I think both are important, worthwhile reads.
It is interesting how (most?) CA's have read nothing from either. As you read, you can kind of tell...

Neto and I have talked about this privately (through a series of very long-winded emails )... Hopefully he sees this thread and weighs in.

Yes, these are both from the Dutch Mennonite leaders, as is also Martyrs' Mirror, to a large degree. Having read both The Complete Writings of Menno Simons and the Martyrs' Mirror, I would just say that there is a great deal of similarities in the views expressed. I read MM because it reports what the average martyr said and did, rather than a single high-profile leader (such as Menno). I have the Dietrich Phillip Handbook, but it is the Dutch to German to English translation, and it is difficult to read, so I have only read some sections.

Why didn't Jakob Amman write anything? He would have certainly had the opportunity. When I first became interested in being 'plain', I searched for anything I could find from the early Swiss Brethren leaders, not just the five, but later ones as well, or even from the following century. (I've mentioned this before, I think, but the Amish book store I contacted back then - 1980 or 81 - just sent me a tract called "Why we wear the beard".) Menno wrote almost entirely to outsiders, largely in response to unfair & untrue accusations. He seems to have believed that the "Reformers" would accept anabaptism as a legitimate expression of true Christianity if they could only be brought to understanding of what the real beliefs & positions were.

I seldom hear anyone mention Menno Simons, and when his writings are mentioned, the comments are almost always misrepresenting what his positions & teachings were.