LIBERATING NAKEDNESS

A Review of the book, "The Naked Anabaptist" by Stuart Murray

The book was very well written and can be easily understood by any type of reader, even those who just bumped into Anabaptism and who have no background about it. I love how Stuart Murray discussed the history of Anabaptists and comprehensively researched on its roots and the people who were first involved in this movement. It is inspiring, as an Anabaptist, to read further about the tradition that I grew up with, and understand more about its core convictions and even its weaknesses. I love how he expounded on each of the seven core convictions that spell out what it means to be Anabaptists today, which are:

1. Jesus is our example, teacher, friend, redeemer, and Lord. He is the source of our life, the central reference point for our faith and lifestyle, for our understanding of church, and our engagement with the society. We are committed to following Jesus as well as worshiping Him.

2. Jesus is the focal point of God’s revelation. We are committed to a Jesus-centered approachto the Bible, and to the community of faith as the primary context in which we read the Bible and discern and apply its implications for discipleship.

3. Western culture is slowly emerging from the Christendom era, when church and state jointly presided over a society in which almost all were assumed to be Christian. Whatever its positive contributions on values and institutions, Christendom seriously distorted the gospel, marginalized Jesus, and has left the church ill equipped for mission in a post-Christendom culture. As we reflect on this, we are committed to learning from the experience and perspectives of movements such as Anabaptism that rejected standard Christendom assumptions and pursued alternative ways of thinking and behaving.

4. The frequent association of the church with status, wealth, and force is inappropriate for followers of Jesus and damages our witness. We are committed to exploring ways of being good news to the poor, powerless, and persecuted, aware that such discipleship may attract opposition, resulting in suffering and sometimes ultimately martyrdom.

5. Churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission, places of friendship, mutual accountability, and multivoiced worship. As we eat together, sharing bread and wine, we sustain hope as we seek God’s kingdom together. We are committed to nurturing and developing such churches, in which young and old are valued, leadership is consultative, roles are related to gifts rather than gender, and baptism is for believers.

6. Spirituality and economics are interconnected. In an individualist and consumerist culture and in a world where economic injustice is rife, we are committed to finding ways of living simply, sharing generously, caring for creation, and working for justice.

7. Peace is at the heart of the gospel. As followers of Jesus in a divided and violent world, we are committed to finding nonviolent alternatives and to learning how to make peace between individuals, within and among churches, in society, and between nations.

These core covictions have implications to how the Anabaptist churches, no matter what clothes they wear, continue to live in peace, being able to actively relate to one another in harmony, while at the same time economically and socially responsible.

He also quoted David Augsburger’s definition of spirituality in the Anabaptist tradition as “tripolar – the spirituality of personal transformation (the inner journey), the experience of divine encounter (the God-ward journey), and the relation of integrity and solidarity with the neighbor (the co-human journey with friend and enemy, with neighbor and persecutor) cannot be divided. Tripolar spirituality sees all three as interdependent.”

For me, this vividly describes my personal experience as having grown in an Anabaptist Mennonite church, and struggling between keeping myself safe within the boundaries of the comfort of my church family or going out on the streets to deal with poverty, injustice, and conflict in my society (the way Jesus would).

Anabaptism, however, also has its own flaws. Stuart Murray described them as: legalism, selectivity, intellectualism/anti-intellectualism, divisiveness, separatism, quietism, and inertia. They were each explained in the book, and he talked about how the Anabaptist tradition in itself is not the perfect way of interpreting the Scripture. He affirms though that there are many things that other traditions can learn from Anabaptism, and that this tradition has a lot to offer to the post-Christendom era where many people are already being moved to become a church that is actively engaged in societal transformation.

The Naked Anabaptist is eye-opening, challenging, exciting, and indulging. It is a fresh new way of understanding Anabaptist tradition without the boringness of other theological books. It was educational and informative, especially for people who are just beginning to understand deeper what it means to be a follower of Jesus.