Affirms
Sixty-six book Protestant canon; Acts 2–4 is foundational for community life
Hutterites affirm the 66-book Protestant biblical canon as the authoritative Word of God. The New Testament — especially Acts 2–4, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Pauline epistles — provides the primary scriptural basis for the Hutterite community of goods and nonresistance. Old Testament texts are read in light of the New.
Biblical interpretation in the colonies is shaped by the community's tradition and the preaching of the Vorsteher and ministers. Peter Riedemann's Rechenschaft — a systematic exposition of Hutterite beliefs grounded in Scripture — has served as a normative guide alongside the Bible since 1542.
Key Distinctions
- Ot canon:
- 39 books (Protestant canon)
- Deuterocanonical status:
- not canonical
- Additional scripture:
- none; Hutterite Chronicles are tradition, not Scripture
- Canon open:
- closed
Scripture References
Sources
- Peter Riedemann, Rechenschaft (1542)