Thursday, August 04, 2005

Anawannabebaptist day-trippers

Graham Old, from across the pond, posted the followed comment on my blog:

<<
Why do you so often use "anabaptist" as something akin to an ignorant insult?

I certainly don't recognise myself in your descriptions of it.
>>

I suppose the short answer is that I don’t recognize myself in your description. Unlike many Calvinists who seem to suffer from a quite irrational antipathy towards the Anabaptist tradition (John Murray was a salutory exception), I regard the Anabaptist tradition as a serious Christian options, on an equal footing with the other major Christian options (e.g., Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, charismatic, fundamentalist, Lutheran, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Wesleyan), and entitled, therefore, to a respectful hearing.

And I have, indeed, put that policy into practice in two of my essays and one of my book reviews:

http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2004/06/war-peace.html

http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2004/04/four-forms-of-christian-ethics.html

http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2004/06/4-door-labyrinth-4.html

My beef, in the current debate over ECB, is not with the real deal, but with these Anawannabebaptist day-trippers who make purely opportunistic use of Anabaptist rhetoric, Anabaptist hermeneutics, and Anabaptist prooftexts, when they do not, in fact, adopt the value-system or life-style which goes along with their opportunism.

And, frankly, it seems to me that you’re the one who ought to be offended at the opportunistic misappropriation of the Anabaptist tradition by those who claim to be Reformed Baptists. It’s like one of those reality shows in which Paris Hilton gets to dress up as a farm girl and play Amish for a week. (No, I haven’t seen the show, just the trailers.) This isn't authentic Anabaptism, but chic Anabaptism.

Now if, after reading my explanation, and the supporting material which goes along with it, you retain your original evaluation, you are more than welcome to revisit this issue and use Triablogue as a public forum in which to correct my "ignorant," "insulting," and "unrecognizable" description of the Anabaptist tradition. Does that sound like a fair offer to you?

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the response. It now makes sense! :-)

    Obviously, I was jumping into a discussion and hadn't properly read your previous work that built up to it. (But, in my defence, you do write a lot! ;-) )

    As for those who 'day-trippers who make purely opportunistic use of Anabaptist rhetoric, Anabaptist hermeneutics, and Anabaptist prooftexts, when they do not, in fact, adopt the value-system or life-style which goes along with their opportunism' - I share your displeasure.

    Thanks for setting me straight.

    ReplyDelete