Josef Edmund Jörg (1819-1901), a Catholic writer, publisher of Historische politische Blatter, and author of Deutschland in der Revolutionsperiode von 1522-1526 (Freiburg i. Br., 1851); and Geschichte des Protestantismus in seiner neuesten Entwickjung (2 vv. Freiburg, 1858), in which he discusses the Anabaptists. This is especially true of the former book, which contains much valuable, authentic archival material, but which he evaluates uncritically and one-sidedly. He considers the Anabaptists to have been the logical representatives and defenders of Luther's doctrine of Christian liberty. Their cardinal doctrine, viz., "be taught only by God," they took from Luther. The right of free investigation and interpretation of the Bible must lead to unrestrained arbitrariness. Also their common possession of property and wives could be traced to this doctrine. The most peculiar charge Jorg makes is that they made a treaty with the Turks to destroy the German government, but that this was averted by the withdrawal of Soliman II from Vienna; for the Anabaptists this was a severe defeat. Jorg bases his assertions on statements forced on the rack. The historical value of his work cannot be rated high.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 122. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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