Non-Violent Discipleship: The Challenge of the Anabaptists

This is the title of a new undergraduate course that I am teaching at the University of Bristol this term. I have had some valuable input from Stuart Murray, Alan Kreider and Willard Swartley. Here are the contents of this ten week course:

Week 1	Introduction to 16th century Anabaptists and modern Anabaptist expressions including spirituality and worship
Week 2	The Context: An analysis of the political, socio-economic and religious contexts in which Anabaptism emerged and an investigation into why voluntary, believers’ baptism was considered a capital offence against the state
Week 3	Shalom: An exploration of Anabaptist understandings of peace and radical non-violence
Week 4	Community: Anabaptist ecclesiology and the significance of church discipline
Week 5	The Bible: Anabaptist biblical interpretation
Week 6	Economics: Anabaptist approaches to the community of goods
Week 7	The Sword and the Oath: Anabaptist perspectives on political engagement
Week 8	Eschatology: Lessons from Münster
Week 9	John Howard Yoder: An introduction to his writings
Week 10	Thomas N. Finger: An Anabaptist systematic theologian