This week in Christian history: Johann Brenz defends Anabaptists, Benjamin Randall dies

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, October 20, 2024

Johann Brenz defends Anabaptists – Oct. 21, 1528

Johann Brenz (1499-1570), a German Lutheran theologian and supporter of the Protestant Reformation. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Johann Brenz, a Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformation leader, authored a tract defending the religious freedom of Anabaptists.

At a time when Anabaptists faced violence from both Catholics and other Protestants for their views on baptism, Brenz believed that the minority should be tolerated and peacefully engaged.

“Brenz was no weak-willed or spineless reformer. He had joined Luther's movement in 1518 after the Heidelberg Disputation and wrote against the practice of re-baptizing,” noted the website 1517.org.

“But he noted that the secular sword could not be used for ecclesiastical offenses. Brenz used the language of ‘two realms’ and believed that only sedition could be punished, not heterodoxy.”

Brenz’s views on religious toleration were initially rejected, but later gained traction. Also, his talk of “two realms” would eventually transform into the “two kingdoms” concept.