Anabaptism

Fitting for a lecture right after Thanksgiving, we learned about the Puritans.  The Puritans were being persecuted by the Church of England, so they sought asylum in a new land, just as the Israelites did in their escape from Egypt.  Because of this parallel situation, the Puritans saw themselves as God's new chosen people.  They wanted to be completely isolated from England and its strong connection with the state.  So in their newly created society in New England (the "promised land"), they said they were with God, but against the world.  They established adult baptism, rather than the tradition of Luther and Calvin to be baptized as a baby once.  Menno Simons, one of the early Anabaptist leaders, did not believe that the Eucharist truly embodied Christ's blood and body, but was instead a symbol of His unity.