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?