Free Radicals

Geoffrey Dipple joins the podcast to explain community of goods as implemented during the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster. Was it spiritual? Was it practical? Was it just greed? We discuss these questions and more.

Gareth Brandt is a professor and pastor from Abbotsford, British Columbia. In September we hosted a live event in Calgary, and this episode was a recording from that gathering.

After a quick summary of the story, we discuss the religious and cultural undercurrents that made it possible, and we discuss some art and imagery around the story.

Professor Jim West is a scholar of, among other things, the life and work of Ulrich Zwingli. He shares some of his thoughts on the Anabaptist movement as a whole, and the events in Münster in particular.

In a conclusion to the story-telling part of this podcast, we look at a few ideas.

A summary of the events | The power of the label Anabaptist | The Himmelsleiter art installation | The challenge of a critical historical reading of the Münster story

Please note: there is a very brief description of the torture inflicted on the ringleaders.

Jan van Leiden takes over as head prophet in Münster after Jan Matthjs' death. It seems, for a little while at least, that he can do no wrong, but time would run out on Jan and their collectivist paradise.

Note: There were technical issues in the recording process, so the sound quality is little lower than normal. Thank you for understanding.

We take a moment to focus on the women in the story, their contributions and the impact the various changes had on their lives.

After the baptisms in January, things escalate among the growing crowd of Anabaptists in Münster. Armies are assembled, real and imaginary, a siege is initiated, an election happens, and power shifts in dramatic ways.

Three groups within the civic and religious sphere in Münster jockey for position as the tension in the city mounts. The traditional catholic families and their money, the new evangelical Lutheran families with their newfound credibility, and the radical/Anabaptist group and their zeal make for a tumultuous time as the city grapples with religious changes within and without.

Bernhard Rothmann gets sent on a Reformation tour of interesting German cities and along the way he encounters influential voices in the various branches of the church reformation movement.

Within the new reality created by Martin Luther's reforms, new church movements spring up all over the place, but getting support and cooperation is much more elusive.