Their ground and reason for such belief, they show from the holy Scriptures, namely, that they confess, that the beginning (before) of our Christian life is sin, and that therefore John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles always began by saying: “Repent, etc.” Again: “In the congregation of God confession of sins has ever and always been first, which, with the ancients, preceded baptism, for usually adults, and not children, were baptized.”
Fol. 2 and 3, as also further on, they write: “That without the baptism of the Holy Spirit the water and (its) baptism are but a hocus pocus.”
Concerning the article of War or Retaliation. In like manner, some of the foremost Lutherans (who in the beginning were one with the Calvanistic Reformed), and of the Zwinglians, believed with us: That it does not behoove a Christian to war, or offer resistance. Among them we will first adduce Andrew Carlstadt, who, in a little book treating on whether men should forgive sufferings and offenses, printed at Zurich, A. D. 1524, writes as follows concerning resistance:
“We shall not be misled by the objection made: War is a punishment of God; hence there must certainly always be one who wages war against another.” Again: “They warred in the Old Testament.”
In reply to the first he writes: “Hear on the other hand, what Christ says (Matt. 18:7): ‘It must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!’ Hence some merit the disfavor of God, so that he punishes and torments them with war, but woe to him that wages war against them; for he (namely, God) punishes the evil with the evil.”
Reply to the second: “The children of Israel waged war, either against sinful nations that would not allow them to go into the promised land, or against those, who, when they were in it, did not leave them in peace, and all this was a figure of the spiritual war, which we must now wage in Christ, as regenerated and new men, against all vice and unbelief.”
Immediately after that he proceeds and writes: “They also bring against us this objection: That we must compel by force of arms those that will not allow that which is right.”
Answer: If we are to speak in a right and Christian manner of the matter, war in no wise becomes us; we ought, according to the teachings of Christ, to pray for those who say all manner of evil against us, and count us fools; yea, if they smite us on one cheek, to offer them the other also; then shall we be children of the Most High.” Thus far, Carlstadt.
From Carlstadt the writer goes on to Luther, saying: “In a little book, printed at Wittenberg, in the year, 1520, Luther states why he burnt the pope’s books. The twenty-second article thereof reads thus: ‘Because he teaches, that it is right for a Christian to defend himself with violence against violence; contrary to the words of Christ (Matthew 5:40): “If any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.”’
In another book, also printed at Wittenberg, in the year 1522, there are found among other articles (which one Sorbona had extracted as heretical from Luther’s books) also these: “That he (namely, Luther) had taught concerning the words of Christ (Matt. 5:39): ‘Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also;’ and again, (Rom. 12:19): Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,’ that these words are not advices” that is, which one may, or may not do “as many theologians erroneously teach, but that they are commandments” that is, things which must be observed.