Bible Students

A reflection of “Christianity’s Dangerous Idea” by McGrath (chapters 3-5)

The endurance of both the Anabaptists is very inspiring to me. The Anabaptists were strongly opposed by other Protestant groups. They believed in being rebaptised as an adult, as they did not believe the infant baptism could be defended biblically and so was not legitimate. They were so strongly opposed, even though today I believe the vast majority of Evangelicalism is anabaptist in this sense. However, the Protestants at the time were hesitant (to a breaking point of killing Christians) to allow such counter-cultural ideas into Protestantism. In a way, that sort of zeal to focus only on the major theological changes from Catholicism to Protestantism likely preserved the momentum of the movement. If all Protestant groups were able to do whatever they wanted without pushback, Protestantism likely would have not been presented as a somewhat united front against Catholicism, and may have not grown to the Christianity we know today.

For me, this sheds a special little light of wisdom on the way religious reform may work. If I am to go into another culture and attempt to make Christians of the people there, it may be wise to allow old practices (with new theological meaning) for a time. This may have been what happened in the Old Testament, as well, as even Samuel the prophet sacrificed on the high places during a time of religious reform in Israel. A united front against a specific issue may be the way to go, rather than a splintered front against many issues. One way this may play out would be in the case of ancestor worship. Rather than abolish the practice immediately, it may be more wise to focus on the supremacy of God over all spiritual beings, and the necessity of worship only to God. One may be able even to preserve this practice through something similar to the veneration of the saints, which I believe to be folk religion. In essence, transitioning their folk religion to Christian folk religion, and then to pure Christianity may be a more effective route than outrightly opposing any other cultural practices.