Labadists - Key Beliefs of The Labadists

Key Beliefs of The Labadists

The Labadists held to the beliefs and traditions of their founder, Labadie. Chiefly these were:

• The true Church of Jesus Christ is composed solely of those ‘born again’ or ‘elect’; habitual churchgoing while not knowing God personally is nugatory
• The true Church is also ‘not of this world’; this affects all of life, including clothing (Labadists had their own dress for women, known in Dutch as a ‘borstrok’ similar to a nun’s habit).
• Even so, the Church is always in need of reform, and this should start at the top, with the priests or pastors.
• Knowing God is not through set religious laws but through personal prayer and mystical devotion; the heart should be warmed through contact with divine love.
• All members are priests and can bring words of edification in church gatherings, which Labadie equated with New Testament ‘prophetic ministry’. To facilitate this, home groups are the best forum.
• The Holy Communion is only for the truly committed (in Labadist parlance the ‘elect’).
• Self-denial, in particular fasting, is good for the soul.
• Worldly vanities are to be eschewed and personal wealth shared in the community brotherhood.
• An Augustinian (specifically Jansenist) belief in predestination.
• Marriage must be ‘in the Lord’; a believer can justifiably separate from an unconverted partner in order to follow God’s call to his work (in Labadist jargon, ‘the Lord’s work’ meant their own community lifestyle).