Christianity · branch
Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite)
Faith as a freely chosen adult commitment enacted in a separated community — baptism on confession, not on birth. Discipleship and non-resistance are the substance; the community, not the clergy, discerns.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- C3 The human conditionleaning fallen and in need of rescueFurther toward "fallen and in need of rescue" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional actFurther toward "an intentional act" than most traditions in the matrix.
- C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgmentFurther toward "one life, then judgment" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B2 Reading of sacred textleaning literal and bindingFurther toward "literal and binding" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | a personal being one can addressSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.94 | 0.05 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | strictly oneSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within itSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.50 | 0.13 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | leaning revealed and fixedSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.18 | 0.11 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | leaning literal and bindingSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.18 | 0.10 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | between clergy and tradition decide and individual conscience decidesSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.48 | 0.15 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.96 | 0.04 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | one life, then judgmentSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning fallen and in need of rescueSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.18 | 0.12 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insightSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.38 | 0.14 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | between essential and prescribed and optional or absentSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.48 | 0.15 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be disciplinedSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.20 | 0.12 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | leaning one true pathSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.28 | 0.14 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | an intentional actSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | leaning an individual choiceSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.82 | 0.10 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacredSchleitheim Confession (1527) and Dordrecht Confession (1632) | 0.45 | 0.15 |
Further reading
- The Schleitheim Confession (1527) — Believer’s baptism and separation — the E3 value of 0.82 in one document.
- Yoder, The Politics of Jesus — Why discipleship raises D1 well above the Protestant norm.
Compared with
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Evangelical and Baptist Christianity
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Lutheranism
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Reformed Christianity (Calvinism)
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Existentialism
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Philosophical Naturalism
- Anabaptism (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite) and Secular Humanism
Where do you sit?
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.