Erasmus, the Anabaptists, and the Great Commission.

By Abraham Friesen. Grand Rapids: William B. Ferdmans Publishing Company, 1998. 196 pp.

In this ground-breaking study, Abraham Friesen, professor of Renaissance and Reformation at the University of California, Santa Barbara, shows the Anabaptists' debt to Erasmus for their basic beliefs, especially that of believer's baptism. The connection between the great humanist of the early sixteenth century and the Anabaptists, in particular the Swiss Brethren and the Dutch Anabaptists as opposed to the more mystical or apocalyptic strains, is found in Erasmus's interpretation of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 and the baptismal passages in Acts.

The Roman Catholic Church, Friesen argues, saw itself as going from the primitive to the more perfect, embracing the latest interpretation of the Bible as the most authoritative. However, Erasmus promoted ad fontes, viewing the earliest exposition as more definitive. He wanted to go back before the Council of Nicea (when the church first dealt with these passages), back to the apostolic age, in order to interpret correctly the Great Commission. Asking the questions, "What did Jesus say?" and "What did his disciples hear and do?" Erasmus developed the teach-baptize-teach model. First, the gospel was taught, emphasizing who Jesus was, the meaning of His death on the cross, and the purpose of His resurrection. Only after understanding and repenting did baptism occur. There then followed a second set of teachings--the commandments of Jesus--which tell how to live a pure life. The baptismal passages in Acts, according to Erasmus, confirmed believer's baptism. While the platonic Erasmus could advocate this ideal, he was prepared to accept the Roman Catholic reality of infant baptism, something the non-platonic Anabaptists refused to do.

But how did the Anabaptists come to embrace this concept of believer's baptism and discipleship? It was through Erasmus's Greek New Testament, his paraphrases of Matthew and Acts, and his Annotations, introduced to them initially by Zwingli in Zurich. Balthasar Hubmaier, Friesen argues, placed Erasmus's writings first when advocating believer's baptism, and Menno Simons provided the clearest statement of the humanist's views in his 1539 Fundamentboek.

The Roman Catholics and magisterial reformers both reacted negatively toward the Anabaptist reading of Erasmus's interpretation of the Great Commission. Martin Luther's response, for example, was based on the Nuremburg Edict of 6 March 1523, issued by Frederick the Wise of Electoral Saxony, the monk's protector. Fearful that a change in ritual, especially regarding baptism, would lead to imperial intervention, Frederick declared that the ruling authorities were over the church. Acceptance by Luther and other reformers meant the end to believer's baptism and separation of church and state, as well as adherence to Erasmus's interpretation of the Great Commission and the baptismal examples of Acts. However, the Anabaptists rejected the edict, declaring that government had no right to coerce one's conscience.

Using astute analysis and superb documentation, Friesen demonstrates that Erasmus was the intellectual father of Anabaptism. Moreover, he suggests in the "Epilogue" that Erasmus's interpretation could help bridge the gulf that exists today between liberals and conservatives in the church. This work is a must-read for Reformation historians, theologians, and New Testament scholars and offers much food for thought.--Reviewed by W. Terry Lindley, associate professor of history, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee.