I am second-generation, as my mother came through Ellis Island from the Netherlands. She came with her family because of economic reasons. BUT they came legally. They came to contribute and become part of the Christian Reformed church as they settled in Michigan. They had a dairy farm in Galesburg, MI. They were part of a movement that established Christian Reformed churches all over the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo region. The original members of my CRC had a zeal for sound doctrine and missions. That is all lost now, but I fondly remember those first-generation founders of my church in Kalamazoo and their zeal for missions.
In December 1524 the city of Zurich, under Zwingli's leadership, confiscated the Dominican and Augustinian monastic houses and forced all the monks and friars to lodge together in the Franciscan cloister. On April 14, 1525 the Mass was abolished In the meantime, however, the Reform party in Zurich had been irreparably fractured. Zwingli disagreed with the Anabaptists over the issue of infant baptism. The first adult rebaptism apparently occurred on January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized (re-baptized) George Blaurock in Zurich. Zwingli knew Blaurock, a former Catholic priest, and the two men had shared their enthusiasm for the centrality of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But rebaptism was viewed by Zwingli the authorities as blasphemous and seditious. The denial of infant baptism and the rebaptism of adults brought harsh penalties; it became a capital offense in Zurich on March 7, 1525, and four persons died as a result. Charles V made it a capital offense throughout the empire. Scholars estimate that at least 850 and perhaps as many as 5,000 Anabaptists were legally executed between 1525 and 1618 by burning, decapitation and drowning. From Steven E. Ozment's The Age of Reform (1250-1550): An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980). 17.
"Re-baptism" was the deal breaker, for sure. It was an act which delegitimized the Reformed church's practice and created deep offense. Those were different days, and we can be glad for it. This should give us pause regarding Christian nationalism as well as state churches.
I am second-generation, as my mother came through Ellis Island from the Netherlands. She came with her family because of economic reasons. BUT they came legally. They came to contribute and become part of the Christian Reformed church as they settled in Michigan. They had a dairy farm in Galesburg, MI. They were part of a movement that established Christian Reformed churches all over the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo region. The original members of my CRC had a zeal for sound doctrine and missions. That is all lost now, but I fondly remember those first-generation founders of my church in Kalamazoo and their zeal for missions.
In December 1524 the city of Zurich, under Zwingli's leadership, confiscated the Dominican and Augustinian monastic houses and forced all the monks and friars to lodge together in the Franciscan cloister. On April 14, 1525 the Mass was abolished In the meantime, however, the Reform party in Zurich had been irreparably fractured. Zwingli disagreed with the Anabaptists over the issue of infant baptism. The first adult rebaptism apparently occurred on January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized (re-baptized) George Blaurock in Zurich. Zwingli knew Blaurock, a former Catholic priest, and the two men had shared their enthusiasm for the centrality of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But rebaptism was viewed by Zwingli the authorities as blasphemous and seditious. The denial of infant baptism and the rebaptism of adults brought harsh penalties; it became a capital offense in Zurich on March 7, 1525, and four persons died as a result. Charles V made it a capital offense throughout the empire. Scholars estimate that at least 850 and perhaps as many as 5,000 Anabaptists were legally executed between 1525 and 1618 by burning, decapitation and drowning. From Steven E. Ozment's The Age of Reform (1250-1550): An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980). 17.
"Re-baptism" was the deal breaker, for sure. It was an act which delegitimized the Reformed church's practice and created deep offense. Those were different days, and we can be glad for it. This should give us pause regarding Christian nationalism as well as state churches.