Affirms
Humanity is fallen; grace and communal support are needed for faithful life
Hutterites affirm the fallenness of human nature through the Fall: all people are prone to sin, self-seeking, and separation from God. This is why the community of goods is necessary — apart from the structure and discipline of communal life, human selfishness and greed are not overcome. The Bruderhof is understood as the Spirit-formed alternative to the competitive individualism of the fallen world.
Riedemann's Rechenschaft addresses the Fall and its consequences for human nature, understanding the communal life as the Spirit's antidote to the disorder introduced by sin.
Key Distinctions
- Doctrine type:
- Anabaptist — humans enter a sinful condition but each person is responsible for own sin
- Free will effect:
- will capable of responding to grace with God's help
- Infant guilt:
- infants are not guilty; adult/believer's baptism only
Scripture References
Sources
- Peter Riedemann, Rechenschaft (1542)