Anabaptists transitioning various directions at the same time

[Ernie]

It seems to me that some groups of Anabaptists are transitioning towards historic Anabaptism in some ways while transitioning away from it in other ways. I'd even go so far as to suggest that most groups are doing this. Each group picks out a few things they want to focus on that is in harmony with early Anabaptists while doing one or more of the following.
1. adopting from a smorgasbord of other ideas and practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
2. trying to freeze certain contemporary or "golden era" ideas or practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
3. resorting to maintenance mode which results in the net value decreasing each generation because of inherent energy degradation and dissipation (also something most early Anabaptists would have been alarmed at)

Thoughts?

[Neto]

It seems to me that some groups of Anabaptists are transitioning towards historic Anabaptism in some ways while transitioning away from it in other ways. I'd even go so far as to suggest that most groups are doing this. Each group picks out a few things they want to focus on that is in harmony with early Anabaptists while doing one or more of the following.
1. adopting from a smorgasbord of other ideas and practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
2. trying to freeze certain contemporary or "golden era" ideas or practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
3. resorting to maintenance mode which results in the net value decreasing each generation because of inherent energy degradation and dissipation (also something most early Anabaptists would have been alarmed at)

Thoughts?

This is called a Revitalization Movement in anthropology. One or more elements of past 'tradition' or custom is/are out-sized (given a higher emphasis than its earlier forms), creating something similar in some way to the 'original' form, but divergent in subtle ways (sometimes not so subtle).

It is not easy to 'reinvent' a former practice or value without creating some distortion or dissonance. As I've said before, I have been involved in some efforts of this type in the past. The best course forward, as I've discovered it, is to seek to return to the authority that informed the original form or tradition. The early anabaptists did all they could to live out of the Scriptures, and we would do well to follow them in this way. I expect that this may well not really look like their traditions, because we live in a different time and place, responding to somewhat different challenges and confrontations. But at the core, I believe it will be very similar in values and focus.

I will be interested to hear others' thoughts as well, and will appreciated being 'sharpened' by the steel of the perceptions and convictions of my brothers and sisters.

[barnhart]

The list of things early Anabaptists would be shocked at is surely large. Cars, telephones, heart surgery, air travel, democracy, the bill of rights, electricity, insanely large meat chickens, raised pulpits, Sunday schools, shape note harmony, retirement, the nuclear family, mass literacy, vaccines, women owning property...

[JohnH]

The list of things early Anabaptists would be shocked at is surely large. Cars, telephones, heart surgery, air travel, democracy, the bill of rights, electricity, insanely large meat chickens, raised pulpits, Sunday schools, shape note harmony, retirement, the nuclear family, mass literacy, vaccines, women owning property...

Women owned property in 17th century Netherlands, 19th century Russia, and 16th century Switzerland. The latter had joint marital ownership of property but property a woman owned before marriage could be set aside to not become part of the marital estate.

So no, early Anabaptists would have not been surprised by this at all.

Some places in 16th century Switzerland were also democracies.

[ohio jones]

The list of things early Anabaptists did that we would be shocked at is also large.

[joshuabgood]

The list of things early Anabaptists did that we would be shocked at is also large.

And the things they didn't do.

[R7ehr]

The list of things early Anabaptists would be shocked at is surely large. Cars, telephones, heart surgery, air travel, democracy, the bill of rights, electricity, insanely large meat chickens, raised pulpits, Sunday schools, shape note harmony, retirement, the nuclear family, mass literacy, vaccines, women owning property...

…electric fences…

[JohnH]

It seems to me that some groups of Anabaptists are transitioning towards historic Anabaptism in some ways while transitioning away from it in other ways. I'd even go so far as to suggest that most groups are doing this. Each group picks out a few things they want to focus on that is in harmony with early Anabaptists while doing one or more of the following.
1. adopting from a smorgasbord of other ideas and practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
2. trying to freeze certain contemporary or "golden era" ideas or practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
3. resorting to maintenance mode which results in the net value decreasing each generation because of inherent energy degradation and dissipation (also something most early Anabaptists would have been alarmed at)

Thoughts?

Any thoughts on this?

Perhaps another thread would be a good place to criticise those who want to discuss Anabaptist transitionalism, or mock the idea that there should be concern about change or new things coming in, and so forth.

[Ernie]

It seems to me that some groups of Anabaptists are transitioning towards historic Anabaptism in some ways while transitioning away from it in other ways. I'd even go so far as to suggest that most groups are doing this. Each group picks out a few things they want to focus on that is in harmony with early Anabaptists while doing one or more of the following.
1. adopting from a smorgasbord of other ideas and practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
2. trying to freeze certain contemporary or "golden era" ideas or practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
3. resorting to maintenance mode which results in the net value decreasing each generation because of inherent energy degradation and dissipation (also something most early Anabaptists would have been alarmed at)

Thoughts?

Any thoughts on this?

Perhaps another thread would be a good place to criticise those who want to discuss Anabaptist transitionalism, or mock the idea that there should be concern about change or new things coming in, and so forth.

???

[barnhart]

It seems to me that some groups of Anabaptists are transitioning towards historic Anabaptism in some ways while transitioning away from it in other ways. I'd even go so far as to suggest that most groups are doing this. Each group picks out a few things they want to focus on that is in harmony with early Anabaptists while doing one or more of the following.
1. adopting from a smorgasbord of other ideas and practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
2. trying to freeze certain contemporary or "golden era" ideas or practices that most early Anabaptists would be quite shocked at
3. resorting to maintenance mode which results in the net value decreasing each generation because of inherent energy degradation and dissipation (also something most early Anabaptists would have been alarmed at)

Thoughts?

I think all three of these have been in action since the founding. I don't think there is a pure anabaptism. It started from more than one location and has constantly been adapting, receiving and rejecting.