How important were the events at Mnster 1534-5 in causing the failure of the Radical Reformation ?

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Ollie Plunkett        Sunday, 17 January 2010

How important were the events at Münster 1534-5 in causing the failure of the Radical Reformation?

Münster played a big role in causing the failure of the Radical Reformation but was not the sole reason.  Münster was an example of how a town could be overridden by a few people who preached what the authorities wanted to hear.  It was the actions of the few involved that truly set off the destruction of the Radical Reformation.  It was, however, not the only reason as the Radical Reformation and the Anabaptists were doomed from the start.  It was in the very essence of Anabaptism that caused them to be persecuted and things were only made worse with their belief in ‘nachfolge’ (salvation through suffering).  There were so many different groups that the only reason they were called the ‘Anabaptists’ was that they all loosely believed in adult baptism, with the rest of their beliefs varying.  Also, they seemed so much of a threat that the Catholics and Protestants thought that they should band together to fight them off.  Yes, the Anabaptists never had a chance.

So what happened at Münster?  Well, in 1531 the Catholic Bishop had been run out of the town by Lutheran preachers who began to start reforming the town.  Then in January 1534 Anabaptist missionaries visited and baptised many of the Lutheran Town Council.  By February an Anabaptist council had been elected and when Matthys and Bockelson arrived they took control and proclaimed the town was a ‘New Jerusalem’.  By this time however the Bishop of Münster had organised the recapture of the town.  The fact that it was the actions of a few individuals proves that the religion as a whole was not interested in conquest or battle.  After Matthys died in an attempt to break the siege Bockelson took control and an extreme rise took place where he proclaimed himself a prophet and lived in luxury while the people starved.  Churches were destroyed, punishments were given for the most trivial reasons, men could take many wives and the tension rose in the town.  After the Bishop’s troops restored order many Anabaptists were executed.

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The events at Münster were down to the delusions of a few men and that resulted in the killing of many Anabaptists.  The people as a whole were nothing like the extremists in Münster, they were peaceful and respectful of other people’s beliefs.  However the rest of the population did not see the Anabaptists as peaceful, kind, loving people when there were incidents such as Münster to hear about.  A group of people is only as peaceful as its most extreme members.  The deaths of thousands of people at Münster could not be over looked by the masses, they ...

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This is a well focused piece that debates the question well and offers multiple reasons for the movement's failure. There are numerous grammatical errors and quotations could be better integrated but the author's overall understanding is strong. 4 Stars