The truth is, many evangelicals unwittingly take their cues not from the Protestant Reformation but rather from the Radical or Anabaptist Reformation. The Radical tradition is characterized not only by its rejection of infant baptism and ecclesiastical hierarchy but also by its unique political theology. Many of the earliest Anabaptists (not to be confused with today’s Baptists) were thoroughly plagued by doctrinal and moral anarchy, with several Radical groups engaging in licentiousness, cultish behaviors, violent revolts, and political utopianism. This dismal state of affairs occasioned the writing of the Schleitheim Confession, which totally renounced “the sword.”
That means that exercising magisterial authority is denied for those wishing to be faithful, biblical disciples of Christ. In general, Anabaptists have deemed military service, policing, capital punishment, self-defense, and even passing “sentence in worldly disputes and strife such as unbelievers have with one another” as “worldly” and “outside the perfection of Christ.” According to this logic, if a pagan emperor were to convert to Christianity, one of his first orders of business should be to renounce his role as emperor, which would apparently be taken up by another pagan. In this rendering, Constantine’s reign was an overwhelmingly negative turning point in church history.
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St. Jude's Anglican Church
We are a parish of the Reformed Episcopal Church. We have been worshiping together in the greater Richmond area for over a decade. We’d love to have you join us for Christian worship in the rich Anglican tradition.
