The Secret of the Strength: What Would the Anabaptists Tell This Generation?

by Peter Hoover

The above picture features an Anabaptist preacher of the 16th century, speaking to his audience in the fields...with the backdrop of a modern Anabaptist's material prosperity..."We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard, said the apostles marching directly into persecution. They had discovered the secret of Jesus' strength. We may discover it too, thanks to the clues left behind by those who loved not their lives even unto death. In this book you may find many clues."The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you," Christ told his followers-and a few fishermen, a tax collector, and a motley crowd of Jerusalem "believers" set out to change the world.They succeeded.In sixteenth century Europe, the Anabaptists preaching in cities by night, on back streets, and in wood corners behind rail fences began to do the same. What was their secret? In this book you may study what they accomplished as long as they remembered it and what they lost when they forgot it.Was their secret a return to the Bible? No, they were far more than biblicists. Was it a return to the apostolic way? No, they were far more than keepers of tradition. Fundamentalism and traditionalism have never held Christianity together nor made it work.The "secret of the kingdom of God" is stunningly simple. With two words Christ revealed it to his friends, who-upon comprehending it-came to a sudden knowledge of the will of God, of the whole Bible, and of the right way to live.The purpose of this book is to help many more to comprehend the same.Conrad Grebel, Menno Simons, Peter Rideman--what did these Anabaptists really say about conversion, separation from the world, the visible church, the meaning and mode of baptism, the frequency of communion, divorce and remarriage, community of goods, and many other issues? With its nearly four hundred quotes from sixteenth century writings (many of them original translations), and dozens of character sketches, this 300 page book is a serious attempt to answer the question of its "What would the Anabaptists tell this generation?""I highly recommend Peter Hoover's book, The Secret of the Strength. The teachings and sufferings of the early Anabaptists are thoroughly documented. The author vividly describes both our strengths and weakness in the four hundred seventy-three years of our history."Myron Dietz, Old Order River Brethren historian"The strength of this work is its evocative use of language to set a scene, its mixture of stories---Anabaptist and personal---with Anabaptist texts, and the gently passionate tone of its message. The book makes Anabaptist sources broadly available to the casual reader, and it places their story into the broader, deeper framework of commitment to Christ."John D. Roth, editor, Mennonite Quarterly Review

Genres: History

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2013

Reviews

[Clayton Wagler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It contains a lot of direct quotations, which counts for a lot in my books (no pun intended). It concisely provides an understanding of how the early anabaptists viewed certain issues. 4.5/5 stars

[Ike Unger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding Anabaptist beliefs. How incredibly sad that as the persecution ended, so did their deep conviction to follow Christ. Hoover does an amazing job tackling key issues and shining clarity on them.

[Gordon McConnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Anabaptist Story

An interesting read telling a general history of the Anabaptist's and their teachings which was not always consistent showing they were a mixed bunch depending from what part of Europe they were from.
But it was a worthwhile reading of its history.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wandering path through anabaptistes history

Anabaptism is part of my history too. I appreciate this author’s pointing out the strength in this way. The honesty and sorrow expressed with the mistakes that complicated this story help balance the exceptionalism and undue reverence that we give the past sometimes.

The structure and length were a challenge for me, perhaps hindered by poor digital formatting.

[David Baer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons from the anabaptists

A comprehensive overview of Christians from the 1500 up to the present. Peter Hoover challenges us to consider Eternal things

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

How good it would be to be “the little flock” again.