Josh, I believe it would be better to say "some early Anabaptists lived in a community of goods."Josh wrote:I think it can be good to simply say how things are, being careful not to say any of us have it perfect.Ernie wrote:Yes, it will be good to make all of these distinctions as long as nobody gets stereotyped.
I would see us talking about what conservative Anabaptists have retained of the original vision, and what early Anabaptists had (that the early church maybe had) that needs to be reclaimed in the 21st century.
For example: "Early Anabaptists in 1526 lived in a community of goods, mostly out of necessity. They felt this was following a pattern in scripture in Acts 2.
In the modern day, some Anabaptists try to still live this way, but they are often challenged by how easy it is for even a community of believers to accumulate a lot of wealth in the modern era.
Other Anabaptists own private property, and their brotherhoods wrestle with how to deal with individual believers accumulating a lot of wealth, businesses, land, and other possessions."
Another thing to note is that just like in the rest of society, some Anabaptists are wealthy while others struggle financially. Certainly not all Anabaptists are wealthy.