The Meanings of Radical
Radical = from the Latin radix, root
1. proceeding from the root
2. relating to origins
3. departure from the usual or traditional
4. advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a state of affairs
Oxford English Dictionary: Forming the root or basis
1. Original; primary
2. Radical reform = thorough reform
3. Independence from tradition; revolutionary; progressive
I. Radical as departure from tradition; revolutionary
---Gnostics, Shakers, Christian Science
II. Radical as returning to origins and thorough reform
--return to earliest forms of Christianity and sweeping away all later traditions
--Radical protestantism (Zwingli)
--Anabaptists
III. What's essential to Christianity?
1. Adult baptism?
2. Opposition to the state?
3. Expectation of end times?
4. Possibility of living in a new state in this world?