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Paul Veraguth

HEAL OUR LAND Reconciliation with the Anabaptists – An Appeal to the Church

Paul Veraguth

HEAL OUR LAND Reconciliation with the Anabaptists – An Appeal to the Church

Schleife Publishing, Winterthur, Switzerland

Š 2003 Paul Veraguth 1st Edition published in April, 2003 Š Schleife Publishing, Pflanzschulstrasse 17, Postbox 85, CH-8411 Winterthur, Switzerland Phone: +41 (0)52 232 24 24 Fax: +41 (0)52 233 60 82 E-mail: publications@schleife.ch www.schleife.ch ISBN: 3-907827-25-2 Translation: Tina Wagner Proofreaders: Jens Uhder, Jordan Bateman Cover design: Pia Maurer Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Typesetting and Printing: Mattenbach AG, Winterthur, Switzerland All rights reserved.

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword 1.

A Wooden Hand Begins to Speak

10

2.

This is an Old Issue – What Can We Do?

18

3.

Fermenting the Protestant Wine

21

4.

The Blossoming and Withering of the Reformation

26

5.

The Beginning of Anabaptist History

37

6.

No Turning Back

49

7.

Heroes of the Faith from Bern

62

8.

I call it a "Grassroots Reformation�

66

9.

The Tragedy of Anabaptists North and East of Switzerland

76

10.

Paths Leading to the Present

89

11.

There is No Statute of Limitations on Reconciliation

97

Epilogue Recommended reading

FOREWORD This book is the first of its kind. As a clear mountain lake reflects the majesty of the mighty mountaintops around it, the epoch of the Reformation and the Anabaptist movement is reflected here in the transparent heart of the author. His style is original and draws us in for a close-up view of past events. He describes the Anabaptist history as one who is deeply affected by it. This book does not just list dates and facts; the author opens up and shares personal issues without reservation. The precious threads of his own life experiences, personal desires and even recent struggles are woven into this wonderful patchwork quilt of history.

Just last year, Paul Veraguth was himself a victim of accusations from Protestant State Church agitators. Every day, the headlines of the local newspaper came down on him and his family. Yet, it was exactly this situation which allowed the strength and endurance passed down by his Anabaptist ancestors to come to the surface. For those committed to the Lord of the Sermon on the Mount, this kind of persecution is nothing new. Paul decided not to fight back and consciously chose the path of reconciliation. In retrospect, we can be thankful for this experience. This time of testing, as we recognize now, entitled him to write this book. It is not a book that pours more salt into old wounds; rather, it aims at bringing healing and pointing toward the future.

This book also poses very specific questions to the two great historical churches. The fact that they have long enjoyed close ties with the State has often made them blind to the existence and to the needs of the Lazarus represented in the independent churches at their doorstep. For this reason, the Swiss Protestant Synod petitioned fifteen years ago that, “making a new effort to deepen the fellowship among the Protestant churches and fellowships was one of the most 6

urgent tasks of the day.” This involves more than just standing together at occasional meetings to show support for certain projects.

True fellowship means being ready to listen and learn from one another. Paul, although the last one to be appointed an apostle, was by no means a miscarriage or an accident of the church; rather, he was an indispensable builder of unity among Christians. In the same way, the Anabaptist movement was no accident. The Reformation leaders – and we with them – would have done well to implement this prophetic word: “...take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Perhaps God, in His grace, is once again dropping down that large, linen sheet from heaven, as he did with Peter back then. This time, its contents are the Anabaptists and independent free churches, and He calls out to us, “Rise... and eat!” (Acts 10:13).

This book is also an appeal to the independent free churches.

Whether they know it or not, the fact remains that they descended from the Anabaptists. Their commitment to Christ and testimony of blood were the foundation upon which the many independent churches and movements could later build. Being “independent” does not just mean freedom from state ruling and church patronization. All too easily, we can jump to the conclusion that it also means freedom from ties to history. Certainly, our roots are first and foremost in Jesus, but we are also rooted in our history. Otherwise, we would only be people of the moment, as Jesus described in his parable of the sower and the four types of soil. When tribulation or persecution came because of the Word, we read in Matthew 13:6, some immediately took offense or, as stated in brief, “...and because they had no root, they withered away.” When we honor father and mother, including, in this case, the Anabaptist or Mennonite fathers 7

and mothers, we can expect God to fulfill His promise. It is a promise of life in its fullness, exactly what the crisis-ridden independent free churches need today.

In publishing this chapter of church history, we also, in all humility, direct an appeal to the Anabaptists themselves. These were the ones who took up a huge challenge. They determined to fulfill the task which has been assigned to each Christian and to every Church: be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Over centuries, they shook up the systems of society and the institutions of the State Churches. They let their light shine, even in the darkest corners. They were a city on a hill, like one on the Jura Plateau here in Switzerland, which could not remain hidden.

God took these witnesses to the truth and made their foreheads like diamonds, even harder than flint (Ezekiel 3:9). As the Apostle Paul did, these believers could say that if the others are ministers of Christ, we are more – for example: “more in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often” (2 Corinthians 11:23). Today, they have their permanent place in the former so-called pastoral calendar of Switzerland.

Church forms and structures are set. The theological training of the preachers is conformed to normal standards. Yet, we know, “What does it profit a man if he wins the whole world and yet loses his own soul? If the salt loses its taste, then it is of no use.” This is neither a demand nor a threat. The Word of Jesus applies to us all: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (Revelation 2:5). Moreover, it is our deepest cry and heartfelt prayer that the people of Anabaptist heritage would once again come before their God, like Caleb before Joshua. Despite his old age, he proclaimed, “As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now there8

fore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims (giants) were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out...” (Joshua 14:11-12).

Finally, we are convinced that dealing with this inter-Protestant process of reconciliation will, in the widest sense, release healing for our nation and other nations. Both the Church and the State took turns in doing their part to mercilessly suppress and eradicate the Anabaptist movement. In God’s eyes, there is no statute of limitations on guilt. If it is not confessed and forgiven, it will continue to bear bad fruit. Do secular politicians somehow sense this? Have they realized the importance of confessing injustice committed against other nations and asking for forgiveness, as they have increasingly been doing in the past few years? As long as Abel’s blood cries out from the ground, our efforts in building a spiritual house, or even our own Swiss house, are in vain. We can try to wash our hands of any guilt by passing anti-racism laws, for example, but the stench of death is still clinging to us. May this testimony of a strong-in-faith State Church pastor fall like a stone in the water of forgetfulness and apathy and make waves to the honor of our great God. It is He who, “hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all” (Romans 11:32).

Geri Keller

9

1 A Wooden Hand Begins to Speak It all started while threshing The image of my grandfather often comes to mind. I remember him as a man who could not be easily swayed, a man of quiet determination. He was also a very warm human being. What I particularly remember is his left hand: it could not move. It could not grab a hold of things, for it was made out of wood.

He would have liked to have become a farmer and was well on his way there, until the day when he tried to take some straw out of the threshing machine. The oxen, which drove the machine by plodding around in circles, had been brought to a halt. However, the signal to set them in motion again was sounded too soon, and a part of the machinery cut off my grandfather’s left hand.

The nearest hospital was in the next valley, and, back then, the fastest way to reach it was by train. The trip was torture. Abruptly, my grandfather’s youthful dream died, and he became an invalid on that day. A teacher was born, out of necessity, and the course of a life was set; a life which would influence many others. At the same time – and I’ve just seen this recently – I believe that this occurrence also carries a prophetic meaning for the history of the Anabaptists, from their beginnings to their endings.

10

It was just a normal lecture The Schleife Stiftung in Winterthur, Switzerland, had asked me to lecture on the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. It was the start-up of a retreat, and the entire staff had come together one late fall evening. Usually, weekends like this are intended for self-analysis and reflection – to pose questions concerning ourselves like, “Have we reached our goals? Are there any problems? What is our current vision?” Not so this time.

Everyone had gathered to face a much bigger issue. It was time to take a long look at a bitter reality: the legacy of the Reformed Church in Switzerland, its unresolved early history, and the bloody initial birth pangs of the first independent church. The two are inseparably linked. That evening, we contemplated the sudden end of a healthy new beginning for the Church. Sadly, the Reformation had branched out quickly into a period of bloody persecution against the Anabaptists. However, it was not our intention to get off track and start pointing fingers. We had a different objective which took precedence over everything else: seeing reconciliation and healing take place on both sides – for the Reformed State Church and for the isolated Independent Church of the Anabaptists. Jesus Himself paved the way for this reconciliation and healing through His death and also through His Sermon on the Mount.

Surely, this topic was one of a heavy and challenging nature; that hadn’t escaped me. As I waited to speak, it occurred to me that maybe simply reading my notes off of a few scraps of paper would not do justice to it. How could I make it all come to life? I waited prayerfully for an inner impression from God. All of a sudden, I saw a picture in my mind’s eye: the wooden hand of my grandfather. My attention was drawn to the other hand as well, the one of flesh and blood that had been cut off. Then, as strange as it may sound, an 11

account of history unfolded before my inner eye: I saw my grandfather standing before leaders of an Anabaptist church, and his severed hand became a symbol to me for the fate of the Anabaptists.

God’s clarion call to action Hovering in a state of stunned agitation, I asked myself whether I had, perhaps, made the whole thing up. Was I foolhardy in sharing it? With these thoughts, I jumped into the lecture. It didn’t take long for “lightning to strike.” Many in the room comprehended what was going on. They felt just as stunned as I. We considered the meaning of the “severed hand,” acknowledging that we could no longer bury it, push it aside, nor argue it away. It simply laid there before us. With it, a muffled scream finally found release. The hand screamed for the body; the body screamed for the hand. It was a first step that evening! The past was resurrected in our midst.

In the course of that meeting, the hand continued speaking – about things which I had not prepared in advance. Unlike its wooden counterpart, it had much to say. In looking back, I cannot help but recognize that God used the flash of a biographical moment to shed light on the subject for all of us. His clarion call to action had gotten through, and the story of my grandfather had taken on a prophetic meaning.

The only way out Please allow me to share another impulse which moved many of us that evening. A word of Jesus was brought to our collective consciousness; a verse from the Sermon on the Mount, which Swiss 12

Reformation leader Zwingli – and the first Anabaptists – so loved.

Jesus said, “And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:30). This word is unbelievably radical, but it was never, ever intended to do anything else but spare people from the very worst. It is meant to bring healing, even if it causes pain at first. Yet, when misunderstood and wrongly applied, this word can take an atrocious turn. When wrongly interpreted, the consequences can be tragic. Over a period of two centuries, Reformers, as well as church leaders, could find no other way to secure the existence of the Church than to consistently and systematically cut off any member of the Body who thought differently than they did, as they did the “hand” of the Anabaptists.

The Body: the challenge for our generation We are living in a time when the past is catching up with us. I don’t know why it is more difficult now to keep old taboos under a blanket and to keep old issues of guilt covered up. However, I believe that God is giving us who are living today a chance to walk a path of reconciliation, to find anew that which has been lost, and to view in a new light that which was considered useless. One explanation could be that we will need each other so much more in the future as members of the “Body of Christ.” That is how Jesus sees His Church, and that is how He calls it, both locally and globally. A body, which is missing a whole hand, however, is severely handicapped.

The hand is indispensable for any kind of work. In the Body, the hand is the Church in action – it is love in action.

13

The emphasis and practice of “loving thy neighbor in deed” were marvelous strengths of the Anabaptists. Not many of the various church structures which came into existence after the Reformation could stake that claim. There are still people today who believe that the second baptism is a formidable “wrong-way road,” but even they give these practical Christians credit in this area. Motivated by both their Protestant beliefs and their determination to live according to the Sermon on the Mount, the Anabaptists have amassed a great treasury of experience in this area. The times of suffering and endurance they had to go through only served to deepen this conviction. It has brought forth a treasure which we simply cannot do without. On the contrary, this word from Corinthians ties it all up for us: “Should the eye or another member say, ‘Hand, I have no need of you?’” (paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 12:21). This is the challenge for our generation!

A personal issue Everything written in this short book stems from the pen and pointof-view of a pastor who has been working for nearly nineteen years in the Protestant State Church of Wattenwil near Thun. The situation here is somewhat special for me in two regards: first, I personally have Anabaptist lineage, but I work for the institution which persecuted them to the point of blood. Secondly, our village church came into being through a specific resolution passed in our canton. It was written in 1782 for the purpose of keeping the Anabaptist movement in check. It is the church where I work, preach, baptize, marry and bury. We assume that the procedure was no different here than anywhere else. These churches, intended to keep an eye on these believers, were, ironically, built from profits made by dispossessing 14

Anabaptists. So, for us as a church and for me personally, their history is always to be found lurking in our background.

Thus it was important to us to be among the first to take a step toward reconciliation in this concern. We held a church service and repented of sins committed centuries ago. We spoke a prayer of release from the burdens of guilt which had been clinging to us for so long. We also opened up our doors for a special afternoon of intercession. In addition to that, we have hosted an American choir from a college of Anabaptist heritage, Hesston College, in our church. We hope that other steps toward this goal will follow.

The past whispers through the treetops Finally, I have a confession to make: I am in love. I am in love with the idyllic area where the Anabaptists settled, the mountainous region of Jura called the Freiberge. I have spent many weeks there. As a small child, I regularly spent my vacation in my “Grossaetti’s” (“Granddad’s”) house, the teacher with the wooden hand, whose other one could so firmly yet tenderly stroke his grandchildren.

Whoever visits this border area of Switzerland can, through the traces of history, still get a sense of the strong-willed nature of the settlers who wanted to live out their faith in their own way. To this day, the century-old fellowship of fate with its narrow framework can be felt, even if times have changed. The old Bern dialect is still alive: expressions, culture, pioneer spirit, and the faith to conquer a harsh climate. This hardworking breed of people contributed immensely to taming the former moorlands and wild forests. Today, the scenery is considered to be some of the most beautiful and romantic in Switzerland. Yet life there is, and remains, quite a challenge. A person living in that region seems to have only two options; either 15

he becomes a hermit and goes into reclusion or he becomes a pioneer with a perspective as wide as the horizon. Even the landscape mirrors these two character types. For this reason, the settlement of the inhospitable Jura heights is both a testimony of faith and a part of church history. Nevertheless, it is only a small piece of the whole picture, for their paths lead us out from the heartland of the Reformation on to Bohemia, over to Alsace, up to Holland, and even across the ocean to the United States.

A farmer turns historian In researching this condensed record, I gleaned a large amount of material from a very detailed and gripping book. It is the most extensive portrayal of Anabaptist history that I know of. The author himself was a farmer, which lends the book credence. Samuel H. Geiser was born on Christmas Eve in 1884. Since the people he writes about were his own ancestors, the book has an authentic feel.

It is marked by balanced judgment, analytical wisdom, and historical farsightedness. Geiser documented his quotes. I did not use all of them, but tried to include the longer and most central ones. I have read a lot of academic, historical literature, but the research done and the conclusions reached by this farmer-by-trade are just as convincing, if not more, to me.

Despite the amount of the material on this subject, I have attempted to interpret and assess the facts in my own way. The following pages are not just a historical review. Let us not forget that this booklet aims to be a modest offer of help toward future steps of reconciliation. To those who have the time, I would warmly recommend reading the six-hundred pages of Geiser’s lifework, Die Taufgesinnten Gemeinden, im Rahmen der allgemeinen Kirchen16