Main board: Fromm und Frei - Faithful and Free

Many people in Europe suffered from poverty and violence in the 1500s. They groaned under lack of freedom and oppression. The powerful in politics and the church profited from this system. They did everything they could to ensure that nothing changed. The rediscovery of the Bible and its message of liberation was at the heart of the Reformation in the 16th century. People who suffered from abuse of power by the church and politics embraced Reformation preaching with enthusiasm.

This new message of God's loving care for people had enormous explosive power: It freed people from what was burdening them - inwardly and outwardly. And it liberated people to a new practice of life and faith.

From and with the reformers Luther and Zwingli, the later Anabaptists learned to read and understand the Bible word.

Soon, however, it became clear that this Bible word could be interpreted in very different ways. With Ulrich Zwingli, one could indeed say, "Where there is faith, there is freedom!" But the consequences to be drawn from this were increasingly seen differently. The paths to freedom were no longer the same.

All sides - Catholics, Protestants, Anabaptists - claimed to be "pious and free" in the right sense. But unfortunately this did not result in a friendly, open dialogue. One began to condemn the other side.

Anabaptist concerns such as the voluntary nature of faith and church membership or the central importance of loving one's enemies and renouncing violence were soon denounced from all sides as heresy, sedition, and religious frenzy.

Illustration:

Breaking up of an Anabaptist meeting in a forest between Schlieren and Altstetten (Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Ms F 23, p.394, colored pen and ink drawing from 1575, Wickiana Collection)