TUNKERS

TUNKERS. – A pejorative name given to German Baptists, also called Dunkers.

I. HISTORY

This branch of Baptists was founded in Marchenborn (Wetterau) in 1708 by Alexander Mack, who emigrated to America in 1719 where the sect developed. Another branch of Baptists was founded by Johann Gerhard Oncken in 1834 in Germany and spread in small groups to Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Russia.

In America, a week after Mack’s, a community was founded in 1732 by Johann Beissel, the Zionites, who established a kind of monastery at Ephrata in the territory of Cocalico (Pennsylvania). In this community, printing was especially devoted to the dissemination of the Bible. The T. founded missions in India, China, and Japan and also in Liberia in 1821; by 1930 their number had risen to 156,768 adults, divided into 1,327 churches.

II. DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP

The T. differ from other Baptists chiefly in their baptismal rite. It should be noted, moreover, that among Baptists in general, even the smallest divergence in doctrine and worship has given rise to a new sect. The baptismal rite of the T. is as follows: the neophyte kneels in the baptismal tank (not standing, as in other Baptist sects) and is then completely immersed. The T. recognize as Sacraments, in addition to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the washing of feet and the anointing of the sick with oil. Otherwise, they accept almost all the articles of the Baptists, namely: 1) particular churches are completely autonomous and sovereign in their local affairs; 2) there must be a strict separation between Church and State; 3) religious freedom is a natural right inherent in the human spirit; 4) a Church is an organism formed by the regenerate, who have been baptized following a personal profession of faith and adherence to the Gospel; 5) infant baptism is not only contrary to Scripture but also harmful to the spiritual life of the Church; 6) the necessary rite of Baptism is immersion in water; 7) the ministers of the Church, according to Scripture, are pastors and deacons; 8) the Lord’s Supper must be observed in remembrance of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ (v. BAPTISTS). The T. reject the use of oaths, condemn military service, and teach the universal apostasy (v.), according to which all spirits, men or demons, will ultimately be saved.