It has been claimed that Thomas Müntzer was the founder of the Anabaptist movement:"Anabaptists believed that "they were the true elect of God who did not require any external authority". They therefore advocated separation of church and state. Anabaptists advocated complete freedom of belief and denied that the state had a right to punish or execute anyone for religious beliefs or teachings. This was a revolutionary notion in the 16th century and every government in Europe saw them as a potential threat to both religious and political power."
"The Anabaptists not only objected to infant baptism, but also denied the divinity of Christ or said that he was not born to the Virgin Mary. They advocated a primitive form of Communism, denouncing private property and urging that all goods should be owned by the people in common." Anabaptists believed all people were equal and kept their hats on before magistrates and superior officials and their pacifism made them reject military service."
"...On 15th August 1524 Thomas Müntzer arrived in Mühlhausen. He began arguing that his reformist ideas should be applied to the economics and politics as well as religion. Müntzer began promoting a new egalitarian society. Frederick Engels wrote that Müntzer believed in "a society with no class differences, no private property and no state authority independent of, and foreign to, members of society"..."
Müntzer began calling for rebellion. In one speech he told the peasants:
"...On 15th August 1524 Thomas Müntzer arrived in Mühlhausen. He began arguing that his reformist ideas should be applied to the economics and politics as well as religion. Müntzer began promoting a new egalitarian society. Frederick Engels wrote that Müntzer believed in "a society with no class differences, no private property and no state authority independent of, and foreign to, members of society"..."
Müntzer began calling for rebellion. In one speech he told the peasants:
"...The worst of all the ills on Earth is that no-one wants to concern themselves with the poor. The rich do as they wish... Our lords and princes encourage theft and robbery. The fish in the water, the birds in the sky, and the vegetation on the land all have to be theirs... They... preach to the poor: 'God has commanded that thou shalt not steal'. Thus, when the poor man takes even the slightest thing he has to hang."..."
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