Baptist is a Christian distinguished by baptizing a confessing believer only (believing baptism, as opposed to infant baptism), and doing so in full immersion (as opposed to mixing or sprinkling). Baptist churches also generally follow the principles of soul competence/freedom, salvation by faith alone, only the scriptures as a rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of local congregations. The Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and the Lord's supper. The Baptist churches are widely considered Protestant, although some Baptists reject this identity.
Diverse from their beginnings, those who identify as Baptists today are very different from each other in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.
Historians trace the earliest "Baptist" church until 1609 in Amsterdam, the Dutch Republic with British Separatist John Smyth as his pastor. In accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected infant baptism and set baptism only for believing adults. The practice of baptizer spread to England, where the Common Baptist considered the redemption of Christ to extend to all people, while the Special Baptist believed that it was extended only to the elect. Thomas Helwys formulates specific Baptist requests that church and state should be separated in law, so that individuals can have religious freedom. Helwys died in prison as a result of a religious persecution against British dissidents under King James I. In 1638, Roger Williams established the first Baptist trial in the North American colony. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the First Great and Second Awakening increased church membership in the United States. Baptist missionaries have spread their faith to every continent.
The largest Baptist denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), with membership of the related churches totaling more than 15 million. Many Baptists work together through the World Baptist Alliance.
Video Baptists
Origins
Baptist historian Bruce Gourley outlines four major views on the origin of Baptists: (1) Modern scientific consensus that the movement traces its origins to the seventeenth century through the English Separatists, (2) the view that it is the result of the Anabaptist tradition, (3) lasting to assume that Baptist faith and practice have existed since the time of Christ, and (4) the view of succession, or "Baptist succession," which holds that the church baptists actually exist in an unbroken chain from the time of Christ.
English separatist view
Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the British Separatist movement in the 1600s, centuries after the advent of the original Protestant denominations. This view of the Baptist origins has the most historical and most widely accepted support. Adherents of this position consider the Anabaptist influence on the early Baptist to be minimal. This is a time of considerable political and religious upheaval. Both individuals and the church are willing to let go of their theological roots if they believe that more biblical "truth" has been found.
During the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England (Anglican) was separated from the Roman Catholic Church. There are some Christians who are dissatisfied with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There are also Christians who are disappointed because the Church of England does not make corrections to what is considered to be a mistake and abuse. Of those most critical of the Church's direction, some choose to stay and try to make constructive change from within the Anglican Church. They are known as "Puritans" and are described by Gourley as British Separatist cousins. Others decide that they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction and are known as Separatists.
Historians trace the earliest Baptist churches back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as his pastor. Three years earlier, when a colleague from Christ's College, Cambridge, she broke with the Church of England. Raised in the Church of England, he became "Puritan, British Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist," and ended his days working with Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60-70 Separatist England, in the face of "great danger." The religious nonconformist persecution in Britain caused Smyth to go into exile in Amsterdam with the separatist colleagues of the congregation he collected in Lincolnshire, separate from the established church (Anglican). Smyth and his lay supporter Thomas Helwys, along with his men, broke with other British exiles because Smyth and Helwys believed they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the other.
In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract entitled "The Character of the Beast," or "The Wrong Constitution of the Church." In it he states two propositions: first, the infant is not baptized; and secondly, "Repentant antichrist must be accepted into the true Church through baptism." Therefore, his belief is that the scriptural church must consist only of regenerated believers who have been baptized in the confession of the personal faith. He rejected the Separatist movement's doctrine of infant baptism (paedobaptism). Shortly afterwards, Smyth left the group, and layman Thomas Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611. In the end, Smyth became committed to the baptism of believers as the only baptism of the Bible. He is convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants will not be cursed if they die in infancy.
Smyth, convinced that his baptism did not apply, was applied with Mennonite members for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Thomas Helwys and others continue to baptize and their Baptist commitment. Modern Baptist denominations are the result of the Smyth movement. The Baptists rejected the Anabaptist name when they were summoned by opponents in mockery. McBeth writes that at the end of the eighteenth century, many Baptists called themselves "Christians in general - though incorrectly - called Anabaptists."
Another milestone in the early development of Baptist doctrine was in 1638 with John Spilsbury, a Calvinist minister who helped advance the strict practice of believers' baptism by immersion. According to Tom Nettles, professor of historical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, "Spilsbury's convincing argument for the assembled and disciplined congregation of believers baptized by immersion as a New Testament church gives expression and builds on the insights that have arisen in separatism, advance in the lives of John Smyth and the suffering Thomas Helwys congregation, and mature in the Baptist Special. "
view of Anabaptist influence
The minority view is that the early Baptist of the seventeenth century was influenced by (but not directly connected) with continental Anabaptists. According to this view, the Common Baptist shares in common with the Dutch Waterlander Mennonites (one of many Anabaptist groups) including the baptism of believers, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and the Arminian view of salvation, predestination and original sin. The authors' representatives include A.C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gourley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the community's faith in the freedom of the soul, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback.
However, the relationship between Baptists and Anabaptists is very tense. In 1624, five Baptist churches in London issued condemnation against the Anabaptists. Furthermore, the original group associated with Smyth and popularly believed to be the first Baptist broke out with the Waterlander Mennonite Anabaptist after a brief period of association in the Netherlands.
Perpetility View and succession
Traditional Baptist historians write from the perspective that Baptists have existed since the time of Christ. However, the Southern Baptist Convention endorsed a resolution that rejected this view in 1859. Advocates of Baptist succession or their old views regarded the Baptist movement as existing independently of Roman Catholicism and before the Protestant Reformation.
His old view is often identified with The Trail of Blood, a booklet from five lectures by JM Carroll published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocated Baptist succession theories were John T. Christian, Thomas Crosby, GH Orchard, JM Cramp, William Cathcart, Adam Taylor, and DB Ray. This view is also held by British Baptist priest, Charles Spurgeon, and Jesse Mercer, the namesake of Mercer University.
In 1898 William Whitsitt was pressed to resign from the presidency at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for rejecting the Baptist succession
The Origin of Baptism in the United Kingdom
In 1612, Thomas Helwys founded the Baptist church in London, consisting of members of the Smyth church. A number of other Baptist churches emerged, and they were known as Baptists General. Special Baptism was established when a group of Separatist Calvinists adopted the baptism of believers. Special Baptism consists of seven churches in 1644 and has created a creed called the First Faith Recognition in London.
The Baptist Origins in North America
Both Roger Williams and John Clarke, compatriot and coworker for religious freedom, are recognized as the earliest founders of Baptist church in North America. In 1639, Williams founded the Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke started a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the subject extensively, "There has been much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport Church deserves to be the site of the first Baptist congregation in America." The proper record for both hearings is lacking. "
The Great Awakening evoked the spirit of the Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among blacks.
Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colonies of Nova Scotia (now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) in the 1760s. The first official record of the Baptist church in Canada was the Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville) in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The Church was established with the help of New Light evangelist Henry Alline. Many followers of Alline, after his death, will change and strengthen the presence of Baptists in the Atlantic region. Two large groups of Baptists form the basis of churches in the Maritimes. These are referred to as Regular Baptists (Calvinistic in their doctrine) and Will Will Baptists.
In May 1845, the Baptist hearings in the United States were divided into slavery and mission. The Home Mission Society prevents the slave owners from being appointed missionaries. The split created the Southern Baptist Convention, while the northern trials formed their own umbrella organization now called the Baptist Churches of the United States (ABC-USA). The Methodist Episcopal Church, South recently separated the problem of slavery, and the Southern Presbyterian will do so shortly thereafter.
The Origin of Baptism in Ukraine
The Baptist Churches in Ukraine come from the Anabaptist and Mennonite communities of Germany who have lived in the South of Ukraine since the 16th century. The first Baptist baptism (adult baptism with full immersion) in Ukraine occurred in 1864 on the river Inhul in the region of Yelizavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi region), in the German settlement. In 1867, the first Baptist community was organized in the area. From there, the Baptist movement spread in the southern part of Ukraine and then to other areas as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in Kiev in 1907, and in 1908 the First Baptist First Convention was held there, as Ukraine was still ruled by the Russian Empire. The entire Baptist Union of Russia was founded in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro) in Southern Ukraine. By the end of the 19th century, the estimate was that there were 100,000 to 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine. An independent All-Ukrainian Union of Baptists was founded during a brief period of Ukrainian independence in the early 20th century, and again after the fall of the Soviet Union, the largest currently known as the Evangelical Baptist of Ukraine.
Maps Baptists
Baptist affiliation
Many Baptist churches choose to affiliate with groups of organizations that provide unrestrained fellowship. The largest such group in the US is the Southern Baptist Convention. There are also a large number of smaller cooperative groups. Finally, there is an Independent Baptist church that chooses to remain independent of any denomination, organization or association. It has been argued that the central principle of Baptism is that the local Baptist Church is independent and self-regulating, and if so the term 'Baptist denomination' can be considered somewhat inappropriate.
In 1925, Baptists around the world formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). BWA now counts 218 Baptist conventions and unions around the world with over 41 million members. BWA's goals include caring for people in need, leading world evangelization and defending human rights and religious freedom. Despite playing a role in the establishment of the BWA, the Southern Baptist Convention broke its affiliation with BWA in 2004.
Membership
Statistics
Today, more than 100 million Christians identify themselves as Baptists or belonging to Baptist churches. There are 48 million Baptists who are members of the church who cooperate with the World Baptist Alliance. Many Baptist groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist Bible Fellowship, do not cooperate with the Alliance.
The Baptists are present in almost all continents in large denominations. The largest communities that are part of the World Baptist Alliance are in Nigeria (3.5 million) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2 million) in Africa, India (2.5 million) and Myanmar (1 million) in Asia, USA (35 million ) and Brazil (1.8 million) in America.
In 1991, Ukraine has the second largest Baptist community in the world, behind only the United States.
According to Barna Group researchers, Baptists are the largest denomination of reborn Christians in the United States. The ABCNEWS/Beliefnet 2009 poll of 1,022 adults shows that fifteen percent of Americans identify themselves as Baptists.
Most Baptists in North America are found in five bodies - the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention (NBC); The American National Baptist Convention, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).
Qualification for membership
Membership policies vary because of the autonomy of the churches, but the traditional method by which an individual becomes a member of the church is through the baptism of believers, who is a common profession of faith in Jesus, followed by water baptism.
Most baptists do not believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation, but rather a public expression of one's conversion and one's inner faith. Therefore, some churches will recognize it as a member who makes a profession without believers' baptism.
In general, Baptist churches have no age limits mentioned in membership, but believing baptism requires that one can freely and earnestly confess their faith. (See Ages of Accountability)
Beliefs and Baptist principles
Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by the school of thought - some of which are common to all orthodox and evangelical groups and some of them are specific to Baptists. Over the years, different Baptist groups have issued creeds - without considering them to be creed - to express their particular doctrinal distinctions compared to other Christians and compared to other Baptists. Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but Baptist beliefs may vary because the congregational system of governance grants autonomy to local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played a key role in promoting religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
The shared doctrine will include beliefs about one God; virgin birth; miracle; penance through the death, burial, and resurrection of the body of Jesus; Trinity; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, His death and resurrection); grace; The Kingdom of God; the last things (eschatology) (Jesus Christ will return personally and appear in glory to earth, the dead will be resurrected, and Christ will judge all in truth); and evangelism and mission. Some historically important Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confessions of Faith, 1742 Baptist Confessions of Philadelphia, 1833 Confessions of New Hampshire Baptist Faith, Southern Baptist and Baptist Convention, and written church treaties that some individual Baptist churches adopt as statements faith and belief.
Most Baptists argue that no church or ecclesiastical organization has the inherent authority of the Baptist church. The Church can be interconnected with each other under this government only through voluntary cooperation, never by any coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist government demands freedom from government control.
Exceptions to this local form of local government include some churches that are subject to the leadership of a group of elders, as well as Episcopal Baptists who have an Episcopal system.
The Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Baptist beliefs about the "end of the age" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving support.
Some other special Baptist principles held by many Baptists:
- The supremacy of the canonical Scriptures as a norm of faith and practice. For something that is a matter of faith and practice, it is not enough to just be consistent with and not to be against the scriptural principles. It must be something that is clearly ordained by command or example in the Bible. For example, this is why Baptists do not practice infant baptism - they say that the Bible does not command or model the infant baptism as a Christian practice. More than any other Baptist principle, this one when applied to infant baptism is said to separate the Baptists from other evangelical Christians.
- Baptists believe that faith is a matter between God and the individual (freedom of religion). For them it means the advocacy of absolute freedom from conscience.
- The urge on immersion is the only way of baptism. The Baptist does not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. Therefore, for Baptists, baptism is an ordinance, not a sacrament, because, in their view, it does not provide the grace of salvation.
Confidence that varies among Baptists
Since there is no hierarchical authority and every Baptist church is autonomous, there is no set of beliefs of official Baptist theology. These differences exist between associations, and even among churches in associations.
Some of the doctrinal problems that exist for the vast differences among the Baptists are:
- Eschatology
- Calvinism versus Arminianism
- The doctrine of separation from "the world" and whether to associate with those who "the world"
- Speaks in tongues and the operation of the charismatic gift of the Holy Spirit in the modern church
- How the Bible should be interpreted (hermeneutics)
- The extent to which the missionary council should be used to support missionaries
- The extent to which non-members can participate in the Lord's Supper service
- Which Bible translation to use (see King-James-Only movement)
- Dispensationalism versus the theology of the Covenant
- The role of women in marriage.
- The ordination of women as deacons or pastors.
- Attitudes towards, and involvement in ecumenical movements.
The controversy that has shaped the Baptist
The Baptists have faced much controversy in their 400-year history, controversy over the degree of crisis. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word "crisis" comes from the Greek word meaning "to decide." Shurden writes that contrary to the negative view of the crisis, some controversy that reaches crisis levels may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that schism, though never ideal, often produces positive results. In his opinion, the crisis among the Baptists has each become the moment of decision that shapes their future. Some of the controversies that have shaped the Baptists include "mission crisis", "slavery crisis", "landmark crisis", and "modernist crisis".
Mission Crisis
In the early nineteenth century, the emergence of the modern mission movement, and counterattacks against it, caused widespread and fierce controversy among American Baptists. During this era, American Baptists were divided between missionaries and anti-missionaries. The great separation of Baptists entered the movement led by Alexander Campbell, to return to a more fundamental church.
The crisis of slavery
United States
Leading to the American Civil War, Baptists became embroiled in controversy over slavery in the United States. Whereas at First Great Awakening, Methodist and Baptist preachers opposed slavery and urged liberation, for decades they made more accommodation with institutions. They worked with slave owners in the South to urge paternalistic institutions. Both denominations make a direct appeal to the slaves and free the blacks for conversion. Baptists specifically allowed them to take an active role in the trial. By the mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions escalated, in 1844, the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slave as a missionary that Georgia had proposed. He notes that missionaries can not bring servants with them, and that the council does not want to appear to forgive slavery. Quotes Needed
The Southern Baptist Convention was formed by nine state conventions in 1845. They believe that the Bible implements slavery and that it is acceptable for Christians to have slaves. They believe that slavery is a human institution whose Baptist teaching can be less harsh. At this time many planters are part of the Baptist congregation, and some prominent denominational preachers, such as Rev. Basil Manly, Sr., president of the University of Alabama, are also planters who have slaves.
In the early 18th century, black Baptists began organizing separate churches, associations, and mission agencies. The blacks established independent independent Baptist trials in the South before the American Civil War. The White Baptist Association maintains some of these oversight and, after a slave uprising, requires a white man to be at a church service. Citation Needed
In the postwar years, freed people quickly abandoned congregations and white gatherings, setting up their own churches to be free from white surveillance. In 1866, the American Baptist Convention, formed of black Baptists in the South and West, helped the southern associations establish a black state convention, which they did in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1880 the black state convention was united in the national Convention on Foreign Missions, to support the work of black Baptist missionaries. Two other national black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united as the National Baptist Convention. The organization then makes its own changes, breaking up other conventions. It is the largest black religious organization and the second largest Baptist organization in the world. Baptism is numerically the most dominant in the Southeast. In 2007, the Pew Research Landscape Survey Center found that 45% of all African Americans identify Baptist denominations, with most of them in the black history tradition.
Caribbean Islands
A healthy church kills wrongdoing, and tears into evil! Not long ago our nation tolerated slavery in our colonies. Philanthropists seek to destroy slavery, but when is it really abolished? It was then that Wilberforce built the Lord's Church, and when the Church of God spoke to himself about the conflict - then he ripped the devil away! - C.H. Spurgeon versus British Baptist vocal bondage in 'The Best War Cry' (1883)
Elsewhere in America, especially in the Caribbean, Baptist missionaries and members take an active role in the anti-slavery movement. In Jamaica, for example, William Knibb, a leading British Baptist missionary, worked toward the emancipation of slaves in the West Indies of England (which occurred in 1838). Knibb also supported the creation of the "Free Village" and raised funds from British Baptists to buy land for free people to cultivate; Free Villages are envisioned as rural communities to be centered around Baptist churches where freed slaves can build their own land. Thomas Burchell, the missionary minister in Montego Bay, was also active in the movement, getting funding from Baptists in Britain to buy land for what became known as Burchell Free Village.
Prior to emancipation, the Baptist deacon Samuel Sharpe, who served with Burchell, organized a general strike seeking better conditions. This evolved into a massive uprising of 60,000 slaves, known as the Christmas Rebellion (when it happened) or the Baptist War. It was downgraded by government forces within two weeks. During and after the rebellion, about 200 slaves were killed directly, with more than 300 people legally executed later by prosecution in court, sometimes for minor offenses.
Baptists are active after emancipation in promoting the education of former slaves; for example, the Jamaican Calabar High School, named after the port of Calabar in Nigeria, was founded by Baptist missionaries. At the same time, during and after slavery, slaves and blacks are free to form their own Spiritual Baptist movement - a breakaway spiritual movement that theology often expressed resistance to oppression.
Memory Slavery
In South America the American Civil War interpretation, the abolition of slavery and the postwar period has been sharply different from the races since those years. Americans often interpret major events in religious terms. The historian Wilson Fallin contrasts the interpretation of the Civil War and Reconstruction in white versus black memory by analyzing the documented Baptist sermons in Alabama. Immediately after the Civil War, most black Baptists in the South left the Southern Baptist Convention, reducing their numbers by hundreds of thousands or more. Quotes Needed They quickly set up their own congregations and developed their own regional and state associations and, by the end of the 19th century, a national convention. Quotes Needed
The white preacher in Alabama after the Reconstruction expressed the view that:
God has punished them and given them a special mission - maintaining orthodoxy, rigid biblicism, personal piety, and "traditional" race relationships. Slavery, they insist, do not sin. On the contrary, emancipation is a historical tragedy and the end of the Reconstruction is a clear sign of God's goodness.
The black preacher interprets the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconstruction as: "The gift of God's freedom." They have the gospel of liberation, having long been identified with the Exodus Book of Old Testament slavery. They take the opportunity to use their independence, to worship in their own way, to affirm their worth and dignity, and to proclaim the father of God and the human brotherhood. Most importantly, they quickly set up their own churches, associations and conventions to operate freely without white supervision. These institutions offer self-help and racial appointment, a place to develop and use leadership, and a place for the proclamation of the gospel of liberation. As a result, black preachers say God will protect and help him and the people of God; God will be their rock in the land of storms.
The Southern Baptist Convention supports white supremacy and the result: depriving most of the blacks and poor white people at the turn of the 20th century by increasing barriers to voter registration, and the passage of racial segregation laws that impose the Jim Crow system. Quotes Needed Members largely reject the civil rights movement in the South, which seeks to uphold their constitutional right to public access and voting; and federal civil rights law enforcement. Quotes Needed
On June 20, 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention chose to adopt a resolution that abandoned its racist roots and apologized for its defense of slavery in the past. More than 20,000 Southern Baptists registered for the meeting in Atlanta. The resolution states that the envoy, as an SBC delegate is called, "unhesitatingly denounces racism, in all its forms, as a sad sin" and "mourns and denies such historic criminal acts as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest." He offers apologies to all African-Americans for "forgiving and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lives" and repentance for "racism we have blamed, consciously or unconsciously." Although Southern Baptists have condemned racism in the past, this is the first time a convention, dominated by whites since the Reconstruction era, has specifically addressed the issue of slavery.
The statement calls for forgiveness "from our African-American brothers and sisters" and pledges to "eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry." In 1995 about 500,000 members of the 15.6 million-member denomination were African American and 300,000 were ethnic minorities. The resolution marks the first formal recognition of the denomination that racism plays a role in its founding.
The landmark crises
Southern Baptist Landmarkism sought to reorganize the ecclesiastical divide that characterized the old Baptist churches, in an era when inter-denominational union meetings were the order of the day. James Robinson Graves was an influential Baptist in the 19th century and the main leader of this movement. While some Landmarkers eventually separated from the Southern Baptist Convention, the movement continued to influence the Convention into the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, in 2005, the Southern Baptist International Mission Board banned its missionaries from accepting foreign immersion for baptism.
Modernist crisis
The emergence of theological modernism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also greatly influenced the Baptists. The Landmark movement, already mentioned, has been described as a reaction between the Southern Baptists in the United States against the newly-developed modernism. In Britain, Charles Haddon Spurgeon fought against the modern view of Scripture in the Downgrade Controversy and decided his church from the Baptist Union as a result.
The Northern Baptist Convention in the United States had an internal conflict over modernism in the early twentieth century, eventually embracing it. Two new conservative associations of congregations separated from the Convention were established as a result: General Association of Ordinary Baptist Churches in 1933 and the Conservative Baptist Association of America in 1947.
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