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Abecedarians were a 16th-century German sect of Anabaptists who affected an absolute disdain for all human knowledge, contending that God would enlighten his elect interiorly and give them knowledge of necessary truths by visions and ecstasies (with which human learning would interfere).
They rejected every other means of instruction, and pretended that to be saved one must even be ignorant of the first letters of the alphabet; whence their name, A-B-C-darians. They also considered the study of theology as a species of idolatry, and regarded learned men who did any preaching as falsifiers of God's word.
Nicholas Storch led this sect, preaching that the teaching of the Holy Spirit as all that was necessary. Andreas Karlstadt even adopted these views, abandoned his title of Doctor and became a street porter.
External link
Sources
- "Abecedarians " in Catholic Encyclopedia, by John J. A'Becket
- The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions, by Peter Occhiogrosso
This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
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