General Baptists

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General Baptists are Baptists who hold the general or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, which distinguishes them from Reformed Baptists (also known as "Particular Baptists" for their belief in particular redemption).[ citation needed ] Free Will Baptists are General Baptists; opponents of the English General Baptists in North Carolina dubbed them "Freewillers" and they later assumed the name. [1] [2] [3] General Baptist denominations have explicated their faith in two major confessions of faith, "The Standard Confession" (1660), and "The Orthodox Creed" (1678). [4]

Contents

History

In the late 16th and early 17th century General Baptists were led by John Smyth and Thomas Helwys. [5] Under Helwys' leadership, this group established a church at Spitalfields outside London. [6] Helwys is credited with the formation of a general Baptist congregation in Coventry in 1614 or earlier when he gathered with Smyth and leading Coventry Puritans at the residence of Sir William Bowes and his wife, Isobel, in 1606. [7] Thomas Grantham, along with others, presented a confession of beliefs to King Charles II in 1660. [8]

A respected Biblical scholar, [9] Dr. Charles Marie Du Veil, was baptized into the St. Paul's Alley congregation, published his new views, and helped the General Baptist influence after 1685. [10] [11] In 1733 a case against several Northamptonshire congregations was presented to the General Assembly of General Baptists for "singing the psalms of David or other men's composures" which determined no fixed rule on congregational singing, but deferred to the local church to set forth their own reasons as the general assembly had in 1689. [12]

In 1825, opponents of General Baptists in North Carolina dubbed them "Freewillers" and they later assumed the name Free Will Baptists. [3] General Baptists who accepted the existence of a second work of grace during the Holiness movement established denominations such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and Holiness Baptist Association. [13]

Denominations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arminianism</span> Protestant theological movement

Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.

Baptists are a denomination of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists recognize generally two ordinances: baptism and communion.

The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with the holiness movement teach that the life of a born again Christian should be free of sin. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, which is called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. The word Holiness refers specifically to this belief in entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those Holiness beliefs as central doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Baptists</span> Baptists who hold to a Calvinist soteriology

Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baptist World Alliance</span> International Christian denomination

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international Baptist association of Christian churches with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world.

Regular Baptists are "a moderately Calvinistic Baptist denomination that is found chiefly in the southern U.S., represents the original English Baptists before the division into Particular and General Baptists, and observes closed communion and foot washing", according to Merriam Webster. This definition describes Old Regular Baptists, not those who formed as a result of the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Will Baptist</span> Religious denomination

Free Will Baptists or Free Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal establishment is widely linked to the English theologian, Thomas Helwys who led the Baptist movement to believe in general atonement. He was an advocate of religious liberty at a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous and punishable by death. He died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of Protestant dissenters under King James I.

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Thomas Helwys, an English minister, was one of the joint founders, with John Smyth, of the General Baptist denomination. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of a demand that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have a freedom of religious conscience. He was an advocate of religious liberty at a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous. He died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of Protestant Dissenters under King James I.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordinance (Christianity)</span> Religious rituals in Christianity

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Protestant theology refers to the doctrines held by various Protestant traditions, which share some things in common but differ in others. In general, Protestant theology, as a subset of Christian theology, holds to faith in the Christian Bible, the Holy Trinity, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism, and the four last things.

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References

  1. Brackney, William H. (13 April 2009). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. Scarecrow Press. p. 245. ISBN   9780810862821.
  2. Garrett, James Leo (2009). Baptist Theology: A Four-century Study. Mercer University Press. p. 119. ISBN   9780881461299.
  3. 1 2 Jonas, W. Glenn (2008). The Baptist River: Essays on Many Tributaries of a Diverse Tradition. Mercer University Press. p. 151. ISBN   9780881461206. General Baptists in North Carolina (the Palmer/Parker heritage) were often called "free willers" by their Regular (Reformed) Baptist neighbors. The name was becoming popular by the beginning of the nineteenth century, and in 1828 the group there adopted the name "Free Will Baptists." The reference, of course, was to the doctrine of General Atonement taught by the General Baptists.
  4. Chute, Anthony L.; Finn, Nathan A.; Haykin, Michael A. G. (2015). The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN   978-1-4336-8316-9.
  5. William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 243
  6. Leonard, Bill J. (2005). Baptists in America . New York: Columbia University Press. p.  9. ISBN   9780231127028 . Retrieved 2013-06-21. isbn:9780231127028.
  7. "The City of Coventry: Protestant nonconformity, Introduction." A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8, the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick. Ed. W B Stephens. London: Victoria County History, 1969. 372-382. British History Online. Web. 28 April 2020. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol8/pp372-382.
  8. Taylor, Adam. (1818). The History of the English General Baptists. Printed by T. Bore, London. pp. 359f. Google Books website Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. Agnew, David Carnegie Andrew. (1886). Protestant exiles from France, chiefly in the reign of Louis XIV; or, The Huguenot refugees and their descendants in Great Britain and Ireland. Book one. Chapter VIII – Refugees being Converts from Romanism during the First Half of the Reign of Louis XIV. pp. 166f. Wikisource website Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. Taylor, 1818, pp. 346-349.
  11. WorldCat website Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  12. Julian, John. editor. (1985)."Baptist Hymnody, English." Dictionary of hymnology : origin and history of Christian hymns and hymnwriters of all ages and nations. Grand Rapids, Michigan : Kregel Publications. Vol. 2, pp. 110f. Google Books website Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  13. Lewis, James R. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. ISBN   9781615927388.
  14. Robertson Co, TN. Turner Publishing Company. 1996. p. 183. ISBN   9781563113055.
  15. McBeth, H. Leon (29 January 1987). The Baptist Heritage. B&H Publishing Group. p. 857. ISBN   9781433671029.
  16. Kurian, George Thomas; Day, Sarah Claudine (14 March 2017). The Essential Handbook of Denominations and Ministries. Baker Publishing Group. p. 82. ISBN   9781493406401.