Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite Identity and Organization in America, 1890-1930 Book

A member of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty in the department of church history from 1954 until retiring in 1994, William R. Estep had a vast knowledge about matters of history'Anabaptist history in particular. His book, The Anabaptist Story, references over one hundred other works and has extensive footnotes to help readers cross reference his background data with ease. Of his six published books, five of them deal directly with historical revolutions in the eastern church and western Baptist history. The other book, Whole Gospel Whole World, is a book about the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, reaching back to events in 1845 and grooming through them until 1995. Estep is a detailed writer, focusing on names, personalities, and relationships of key historical leaders, and how God used them to shape the organized church of today.
Summary
Estep describes the first re-baptism on January 21, 1525 and claims that it is, "clearly the most revolutionary act of the Reformation. No other event so completely symbolized the break with Rome" (11). This is the backdrop that the following events are painted against. He covers the Anabaptists' martyrdom and departure in doctrine from the church during the reformation era. Estep combines Blaurock, Grebel, and Manz into the first two chapters, which help present a united face of Anabaptist organization. He highlights their different personalities, but unifies their doctrinal beliefs. This can be contrasted in chapter 5 and following, with the introduction of Denck, Hut, and Marpeck, whose beliefs were less unified. He systematically lays the groundwork for the pending dissention and break surrounding the Waterlanders in the Mennonite phase. However, Estep provides a summary of the Anabaptist theology in subsequent chapters, and draws together the elements that are foundational to Baptist heritage'his sweet spot as an author and professor.
Critical Evaluation
There is not a lot to critique as far as opinion goes, as Estep does not provide a lot of his own opinion until the end of the book. However, he presents the Anabaptists only as sincere, Bible-believing, pioneering martyrs. With no disrespect to the martyrs of the Christian faith, Estep fails to report much about the less noble, militant Anabaptists. He presents the Anabaptists as a united group, and in mostly a very favorable light. One might think that he holds more closely than he ought to the idea of English separatism, or the idea that Anabaptists directly influenced the Baptist denomination. He does admit that there are some questions about such a connection, but the way he organizes and writes the book seems like it may be somewhat slanted to the notion that there is, indeed, a connection. In chapter eleven during a section where he is explaining the potential fusing of doctrines with the Mennonites, he says, "In subsequent years the General Baptists were to reflect consistently their indebtedness to the Mennonites, whom they always considered as brethren" (222). It is possible that Estep is reading too much into the possible connection. Mennonites believe that they are the true successors of the Anabaptist tradition. However, Estep's passion for Baptist history may have led him to investigate this connection further, and this chapter may be at the heart of where the author's focus was. Though this is evidence that the book's perspective is probably less than scientific in it's gathering of all facts and evidences, the book is still one of the few collections of research on such a niche historical topic.
Estep covers issue that are important to Baptist history, but not an expanse of unrelated history'even when there was a lot going on in that era. He presents some controversial pieces of evidence, but none that he does not provide a balanced case for, and he usually explains the controversy so that readers are assured that there aren't hidden agendas in his writing. Estep does, however, call the heritage of the Anabaptist reformers, "the prized possession of every free society" (305). This probably is another evidence that Estep is writing with some level of personal investment and slant in his research. This also further points to the idea, mentioned above, that Estep is arguably in favor of Baptists being directly influenced by Anabaptists as they developed in the west. He seems to get this from his weighty study of the Swiss Brethren.
It is also possible to interpret Estep's full claim on page 305 as going too far to say that a modern, free society was built directly upon the Anabaptists' principles, or even by the Anabaptists themselves. Would it not be oxymoronic for Anabaptists to be that involved in a governmental system and also largely claim that involvement in the core of that same system is unbiblical? Their teaching on oaths is troubling in many ways because Jesus is recorded as having said, "give back to Caesar what is Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21), which at a basic level requires Christians to be citizen's of Heaven and of earth, and also to interact with the government in some way on a financial level. This can be viewed as a contractual agreement between a citizen and the government. After all, a citizen can be held accountable for his or her actions (or even inactions), as they would be in any other contractual arrangement. The idea that a free society owes something to the Anabaptists'generally good-hearted as they were'does not make good sense.
As a visual person, this reviewer would have appreciated more than three maps throughout the book. There were so many events going on in this era, and so many small towns referenced, that it was very difficult to track how Anabaptism spread geographically. Perhaps a map at the beginning of each major section would have been helpful. For instance, at the start of chapter one, the start of chapter three, the start of chapter five, and midway through chapters eight and eleven, at least, would have been minimally helpful. Instead, it is easy to gloss over the specific locations and still remember the path of Anabaptist doctrine across the European terrain.
Another critique about this book (though this reviewer would say the same about most historical textbooks) is that the character development seems to be more important than the chronology. Perhaps it is the produced-for-television mentality that is sweeping western culture, but it would be more helpful to unfold the story of any history'particularly the Anabaptist story as presented in this book'as a story with only one beginning and one ending. Jumping from character to character can confuse the chronology for a lay reader. Even some seminary-level readers find moving from one character to the next'and then backtracking to an earlier time period when both characters were alive and had elements to play in the story, but not including both characters at the same time so as not to distract from the character development of the person in the header under which the author is writing'to be quite cumbersome. However, Estep does do a better job than most of keeping the story as a story. It just seems to get lost in the weeds of possibly'unnecessary'detail at times.
With the great level of detail that this book has for Baptist heritage, it would be a good idea to have spent a little more time on the summarization of the material. Perhaps more big picture sections either before or after the sections of detailed diatribe. The inclusion of a chart, possibly, that gave on overview of the major doctrinal stances of various Anabaptist groups and leaders would make this book seem more like a textbook, and more useful to a student who is trying to understand the material.
Conclusion
These brief critiques aside, The Anabaptist Story is a respectable addition to an academic's library. The level of detail in research alone is enough for a solid praise of this book. Estep provides extensive footnotes throughout, and shows a clear dedication to the subject matter. This also allows a plethora of further study on any of the minor characters referenced. Estep gives his readership a fresh perspective on Anabaptist history. There are many writings done by Mennonite historians, and reading through this collection of history and viewpoints on the events of the late reformation by Estep is enlightening. It gives a more cohesive assemblage of facts that focuses on a section of church history that aligns more with Baptist doctrine, yet touches on many of the heretical theologies. This book is a good next step in church history reading for those who are interested in pursuing a deeper knowledge of the lesser known leaders of the reformation era.