4. THE ORIGIN OF THE PEASANTS' WAR. The Anabaptists now zealously spread the poison of their fanaticism among the people. Karlstadt also began again to proclaim his false doctrines. He maintained, infant baptism is wrong, study is superfluous, every Christian is fit to be a pastor, and that Christ's body and blood are not essentially present in the Lord's Supper. At many places such pernicious preaching caused the people to fall away from God's Word. Their chief spokesman was Thomas Muenzer. He attacked Luther violently and boasted of himself, "The harvest is ripening; I am hired of heaven for a penny a day, and am sharpening my sickle for the reaping." He proclaimed a visible kingdom of God and of Christ, the New Jerusalem, where all earthly possession should be held in common. He also preached rebellion against the government. To check such disorder Luther himself traveled about and preached to the people. But he was only partially successful. In Orlamuende the rage of the people against him was so great that he had to flee at once, while some cursed after him, "Depart in the name of a thousand devils, and may you break your neck before you get out of the city!" 5. LUTHER'S SERMON AGAINST THE REVOLTING PEASANTS. The storm soon broke over Germany. In 1525 the flame of rebellion spread through Franconia, along the Rhine, and almost through all the German states. The peasants, "a wretched people, everybody's drudge, burdened and overloaded with tasks, taxes, tithes, and tributes, but on that account by no means more pious, but a wild, treacherous, uncivilized people," had banded together in a so-called Christian union and demanded of the government the granting of certain petitions. Some of these were: Every congregation is to be permitted to choose its own pastor; serfdom is to be abolished. Some of them demanded much more: they wanted one government for the whole German empire and the abolition of the minor princes. Luther declared that many of their demands were just and fair, at the same time, however, he told them how terribly they sinned by rebelling. He said: "Bad and unjust government excuses neither revolt nor sedition. Do not make your Christian name a cloak for your impatient, rebellious, and unchristian undertaking. Christians do not fight for themselves with the sword and with guns, but with the cross and with suffering, just as their Captain Christ did not use the sword, but hung upon the cross." And with the same severity Luther also reproved the ungodly tyranny of the princes.