Balthasar Hübmaier; The Leader of the Anabaptists

by Henry C. Vedder

"These, brethren, are my opinions concerning images and the mass, which I have learned from the Holy Scriptures. But if there is any error in them, I pray and beseech you, by Jesus Christ our only Saviour, and the day of his last judgment, to condescend to set me right through the Holy Scriptures in a fraternal and Christian manner. I can err, for I am a man, but I cannot be a heretic, for I am willing to be taught better by anybody. And if any one will teach me better, I acknowledge that I shall owe him great thanks; I will confess the error, and in accordance with the decision of the divine word I will gladly and willingly, with greatest obedience, submit myself to you and follow you most carefully, as followers of Christ. I have spoken. It is yours to judge me and set me right. I will pray Christ to give you his grace for this purpose." Balthasar Hubmaier

Genres: Biography

333 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1905

About the author

Henry Clay Vedder, D.D. was an American Baptist church historian. He graduated at the University of Rochester in 1873 and at Rochester Theological Seminary in 1876. He was an editor at the Examiner from 1876 to 1894, after which he became professor of Church history in Crozer Theological Seminary, Upland, Pennsylvania. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by Mr. Vedder as part of a series on leaders of the Reformation. In his book, A Short History of the Baptists, I first heard of Hubmaier, and he strongly drew my attention: due to his background and the nature of his conversion, the conversion of nearly his whole parish to Anabaptism, his powerful defense of Biblical truth, his imprisonment and torture by fellow-reformers, his incredibly successful labors at Nikolsburg (from my perspective, and I trust God’s), his final martyrdom, and the bravery and faithfulness of his wife. In reading this book, my appreciation of him has grown all the more. He certainly had some major failures, but there is so much to admire and imitate.

To my sorrow, I found in some added research, in the course of my reading of A Short History of the Baptists, that by the time this book was written Vedder was on his way to what would become complete and open apostasy. Professor of Church History at Crozer Theological Seminary from 1894 to 1926, his “sad theological drift,” as W. B. Riley put it, is evident as one reads his books. At first, his personal acceptance and full sympathy with the historic beliefs of the Baptists is clear and inspiring. Gradually, such as in this biography of Hubmaier, published in 1906, one begins to note a more detached approach, with sentences like “To him the gospel was the one remedy for all the ills of man” (emphasis added). Finally, in The Fundamentals of Christianity, published in 1922, he sets out to destroy everything Baptists, nay, Christians, believe, attacking the inspiration and authority of Scripture, railing against the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement of Christ, accurately presenting the Gospel then plainly denying it—it is doubtful if he still believed a single one of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity!

Nonetheless, I found this to be an excellent (besides being the only) biography of Hubmaier. Vedder’s manner of writing is very interesting; he truly does strive for fairness and accuracy in his portrayal of the facts of Hubmaier’s life; he is sympathetic to the man, though there is no way he could have entirely understood him (I Cor. 2:15); and he extensively quotes Hubmaier’s own writings. For me personally, the Lord used this book to greatly challenge and encourage.

[Neil Kruger · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 reads: #54
Rating: 4 Stars

Henry Vedder has managed to write an engaging biography on one of Anabaptism's leading figures (though Hubmaier would deny being an Anabaptist - and I would agree with him).

Hubmaier's treatise "On the Sword" is definitely worth revisiting.

Another martyr who spoke boldly for the gospel of Jesus Christ, even as he occasionally buckled under the strain of persecution.