The Anabaptist Story Summary

Estep, William R. The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism. Third Edition. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996. 332 pp. $18.51.

The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism is an academic work by William Roscoe Estep, who held the position of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Church History at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Estep served on the faculty of Southwestern and was recognized as a leading scholar in the area of Anabaptist research. Estep served as a pioneer in this generally overlooked area of study at the time of the original printing in 1963. In addition to works on the Anabaptist movement, Estep also published in the areas of Baptist history,

the Reformation, religious liberty and missions.
In this work Estep provides an introductory history of the Anabaptist movement from its sixteenth-century inception at Zurich through its progression to the new world via settlers of the American colonies and its impact on future religious and civil freedom.

By exploring theological concepts, key figures, historical events and the development of organizational groups that resulted from them, Estep offers a comprehensive overview of a largely unstudied topic in Christian history. One of the strongest aspects of this work is the author’s use of detailed biographical information on the principle individuals responsible for the formation and expansion of the Anabaptist movement. This strategy successfully brings a sense of humanity to the piece which enhances the reader’s understanding of this time period and the genuine struggles of its participants both physically and

spiritually.
Estep’s research is divided into several different areas of concentrated study. In chapters one through seven he focuses on the formation of the Anabaptist movement centering heavily on the roles of Ulrich Zwingli and the Swiss Brethren, which include such members as Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock. Chapters eight, nine and ten adjust focus and discuss the theology and central principles of Anabaptist belief. Estep explores Anabaptist views on such issues as the trinity, justification, baptism, discipleship, Christian life and the movement’s view of the church and state relationship. In the final chapter, Estep discusses the legacy of the Anabaptist movement and its influence on various religious sects which originated from the movement.
The purpose of the book as stated in the introduction is to answer eight questions pertinent to the study of Anabaptists (7). Estep begins by asking “Who were the sixteenth-century Anabaptists?” (7). This question is one of the most successful elements explored in the work as the author goes to great lengths to provide character analysis on the key and secondary figures of the movement. In addition he explores derivative groups that developed from the evolving movement. A clear understanding is provided of their lives, experiences and in some cases their deaths as martyrs. The narrative is written in such a way that these people come to life making it an interesting and insightful character study.
Estep next asks “Were they heretics, fanatics, or saints?” (7), a question which he explores in chapter eight (178). It is evident from the book that Estep has a very definite opinion of the Anabaptists and that he views them in a positive light. He mentions in the introduction that “Perhaps there is no group within Christian history that has been judged as unfairly as the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century” (1). Throughout the work he concentrates on the positive contributions of the Anabaptists to Christianity. He tells the story of persecution, important to understanding the sacrifice made by these individuals but spends little time explaining the motivation of those inflicting the persecution leading to a somewhat one-sided account. Estep closes the work by saying “Today the Anabaptist heritage is not the sole possession of some inconspicuous sect in the backwater of civilization. Rather, it is the prized possession of every free society of the twentieth-century” (305) attributing a great deal of recognition to the Anabaptists for our current freedoms.
The next two things that Estep attempts to accomplish involve the Anabaptists position in the Reformation. He asks “What is its relationship to the Reformation?” and “Does Anabaptism comprise a distinct type of Reformation development?” (7) These questions are touched on throughout the book as Estep compares Reformation and Anabaptist thought in many areas of the core belief of their faith. An example of this is evident in chapter eight where the author correlates the Anabaptist belief in the authority of the Scripture with those of the Reformationist. Both groups stood together on this point in contrast to the Roman Catholics of the time (190). Estep specifically speaks to the beginning of the Anabaptist movement as coming from Reformation ideas by beginning the book with Luther nailing his 95 Theses in chapter one and showing progression through Zwingli to the Swiss Brethren who desired to take some of the tenets of reformed thought in a more Bible based direction. The author set a basis for deeper exploration of this relationship however, does not follow through with designated chapters to specifically answer these questions.
To conclude the work’s desired purpose Estep asks what the motivations of the movement were, what was the Anabaptist position on key elements of Christianity and what kind of people they were. (7) These questions comprise the rationale for the concluding chapters of the book. The author devotes these pages to clarifying for the reader the basis on which the Anabaptists based their beliefs. He does so by delving into their views on creeds, the trinity, authority of the Scripture, justification by faith, believers’ baptism, discipleship, Christian life and their ecclesiological position. These beliefs are methodically laid out in subsections efficiently distinguishing each doctrine for the simplicity of the reader. Great care is given to the issue of Church and State in chapter ten and the role that Anabaptists played in the concepts of religious freedom, separation of church and state and democracy. He asserts that “the Anabaptists’ view of the state was to prove their most far-reaching contribution to the modern world” (257). Once again, Estep successfully tackles this area of study by concentrating on the key figures and using their own words to give insight to their motivation and character.
As a critique is should be noted that there are some weaknesses in this work from the reader’s viewpoint.

Perhaps the most significant of these is that the author expects the reader to come to the work with substantial knowledge of Christian history and the Reformation. At times it appears that the reader is dropped into events without the appropriate background knowledge to successfully understand the situation at hand which can be confusing. This issue is most pronounced in the first chapter of the book as the author attempts to set the stage for his story. Individuals such as John Huss, John Wycliffe and Torquemada (10) are mentioned a historical landmarks requiring the reader has no prior knowledge of these people and the events surrounding them to understand the context. Contextual confusion is compounded by the fact that the events of the entire work are not always laid out in chronological order. This format requires the reader to move back and forth between time frames. A clear example of this is evident in the first chapter under subheadings titled the “The Birth of Anabaptism” (13) where we are looking at January 21, 1525 and the next subheading “The October Disputation” (15) where the text takes the reader back to December

1523.
Another weakness of note is that this this book is text heavy and while very informative and scholarly is not written in a way that is conducive to casual reading. This type of writing may dissuade the average lay person from pursuing the work to its conclusion. Additionally, the book contains no illustrations, text boxes or maps. This format may cause difficulty for visual learners and hinder them from fully retaining all the information that Estep provides.
The Anabaptist Story is a thorough, well-researched source for the study of Anabaptist history. Coupled with extensive research and Estep’s strong use of primary sources there is a marked credibility to the work that gives it lasting scholarly merit. Also provided by the author are expansive footnotes that allow the reader to continue self-directed scholarship if desired. This further strengthens the work by indicating it was created with the desire to educate the reader and encourage further learning. For individuals who wish to study the Anabaptist movement, its significant figures and beliefs, this book should serve as a principle resource. A full understanding of Anabaptist history would be deficient without the inclusion of The Anabaptist Story by William Estep.