Rex
Founder
A movement within the Protestant branch of Christianity, Baptist churches derived their name from their chief cause of separation from other churches; namely, their emphasis on the importance of making a profession of belief in the Gospel, prior to baptism (the rejection of pedobaptism).
There are several views of the history of Baptists. One is that there has been a group of people who have held views identified with those of Baptists since the time of Christ's walk on Earth. Note, this is not the same concept as that of apostolic succession seen in other Christian denominations. Many Baptist theologians reject this claim for lack of evidence. Another view is that Baptists derived from the 16th century movement called 'the Anabaptists'; however the Baptists and Anabaptists disagreed on significant theological issues, as well as views about involvement in politics. The majority view of American historians of religion is that the Baptist tradition is a specific combination of beliefs and doctrines that have become successively more precisely enumerated and elaborated over the centuries. Notable influences include the Puritans, the Waldenses, John Bunyan, the Separatists, and more. According to this view, the first identifiable Baptist congregrations came into existence in the early 1600s.
Since one of the distinctives of the Baptist denomination is the idea of the priesthood of the believer, Baptists reject the concept that there is authority flowing down from previous church leaders which can be traced to the apostles in apostolic succession. Rather the Baptist world view and theology is based on the belief that God has revealed His truth through the Bible, and that only the Bible is the authoritative word of God. Hence, a thorough and careful understanding of the Bible is an essential part of Baptist belief. Any view that cannot be directly tied to a scriptural reference is generally considered to be based on personal opinion rather than God's leading. This belief that only the Bible should be the source of all theological views is often called sola scriptura.
Although only the Bible is considered authoritative, Baptists do cite other works as illustrative of doctrine. One work which is commonly read by Baptists is the allegory Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan.
Baptists also have a strong emphasis on the concept of salvation. Baptist theology teaches that humans have been contaminated by the sin of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God, and that for this sin we are condemned to damnation. The theology holds that Christ died on the cross to give humans the promise of everlasting life, but that this requires that each individual accept Christ into his life and ask for forgiveness. In the Baptist view, each person is responsible before God for his/her own understanding of God's word (the Bible), and is encouraged to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. Nevertheless, the Baptist view of soteriology runs the gamut from Calvinism to Arminianism.
Another distinctive is congregationalist government, the autonomy of the local church. Baptist churches are not under the direct administrative control of any other body, such as a national council or a leader such as a bishop or pope. John Wyclif and the Lollards who followed him, and Huldrych Zwingli, were strong influences in the early development of the idea of congregationalism. In a manner typical of other congregationalists, many cooperative associations of Baptists have arisen. The largest of these in the United States is the Southern Baptist Convention. The second largest is the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., which is also America's second largest predominantly African-American denomination.
Baptists share certain emphases with other groups, such as emphasis on evangelism and missions. Since Baptist churches stress the autonomy of the local church, there are a wide variety of practices and beliefs within churches that label themselves as Baptists. While the general flavor of any denomination changes from city to city, this aspect of Baptist churches is much more prominent than in the Episcopal church, or in the few branches of the Lutheran Church, or even in the many branches of the Presbyterian Church. Baptist churches often unite into "conventions" with a prime example being its largest convention, the Southern Baptist Convention. However there are hundred of conventions and most Baptist churches do not fall into any of them. Because Baptist churches do not have a central governing authority, many widely different beliefs are held, including different beliefs on the doctrine of separation, Calvinism/Arminianism, eschatology, the nature of Law and Gospel, the ordination of women, and homosexuality. The variety of Baptist beliefs often result in bitter disputes within a Convention, which are often divided between Christian fundamentalists and moderates.
Pacifism is a common trait with the followers of Menno (the Mennonites), as well as the Quakers. Pacifism is not an ideal held by most Baptists. The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America was organized in 1984 to promote peace, justice, and non-violence, though it does not speak for all Baptists that accept the ideal of pacifism.
There are several other distinctives of Baptists, such as believer's baptism, congregational government, and separation of church and state. Most feel that the state should not decide what the church can believe and should not prohibit the practice of religion. The degree to which the church should influence the state is a question that is controversial among Baptists as are views as to what constitutes state prohibition of religion.
The Baptist position of the priesthood of believers is one column upholding their belief in religious liberty. Baptists have played an important role in the struggle for freedom of religion in England, the United States, and other countries, including many who were imprisoned and even died for their faith. Some important figures in this struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a seeker), John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland. In 1612 John Smyth wrote, "the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to meddle with religion, or matters of conscience." That same year, Thomas Helwys wrote that the King of England could "comaund what of man he will, and wee are to obey it," but concerning the church - "with this Kingdom, our lord the King hath nothing to do." In 1614, Leonard Busher wrote what is believed to be the earliest Baptist treatise dealing exclusively with the subject of religious liberty.
Believer's baptism is commonly contrasted with "baptism of infants" or pedobaptism. It is the belief that only a person who has reached the "Age of Accountability" is eligible for baptism into a local church of believers. The age of accountability is not a specific age, but rather is the age at which a person is capable of making a well-informed decision to believe in Jesus Christ and his saving grace and is typically between eight and ten. A person who is not mentally or emotionally capable of weighing the evidence and concluding if they wish to become a believer is generally believed to be in a state of grace, and thus, not subject to separation from God and Heaven. Some Baptists, especially those holding a strict Calvinistic viewpoint, though practicing believer's baptism, reject the concept of an "Age of Accountability". The ritual of baptism consists of total immersion in water in parallel to baptism by John the Baptist. In most cases this consists of the submerging of a believer in water, backwards, while invoking the Trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19.
Most (including Southern, and independent fundamentalists), but not all Baptists oppose gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and some even prohibit dancing and movies. As with their other beliefs, there is a very wide range of opinion on these issues among practicing Baptists.
There are several views of the history of Baptists. One is that there has been a group of people who have held views identified with those of Baptists since the time of Christ's walk on Earth. Note, this is not the same concept as that of apostolic succession seen in other Christian denominations. Many Baptist theologians reject this claim for lack of evidence. Another view is that Baptists derived from the 16th century movement called 'the Anabaptists'; however the Baptists and Anabaptists disagreed on significant theological issues, as well as views about involvement in politics. The majority view of American historians of religion is that the Baptist tradition is a specific combination of beliefs and doctrines that have become successively more precisely enumerated and elaborated over the centuries. Notable influences include the Puritans, the Waldenses, John Bunyan, the Separatists, and more. According to this view, the first identifiable Baptist congregrations came into existence in the early 1600s.
Since one of the distinctives of the Baptist denomination is the idea of the priesthood of the believer, Baptists reject the concept that there is authority flowing down from previous church leaders which can be traced to the apostles in apostolic succession. Rather the Baptist world view and theology is based on the belief that God has revealed His truth through the Bible, and that only the Bible is the authoritative word of God. Hence, a thorough and careful understanding of the Bible is an essential part of Baptist belief. Any view that cannot be directly tied to a scriptural reference is generally considered to be based on personal opinion rather than God's leading. This belief that only the Bible should be the source of all theological views is often called sola scriptura.
Although only the Bible is considered authoritative, Baptists do cite other works as illustrative of doctrine. One work which is commonly read by Baptists is the allegory Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan.
Baptists also have a strong emphasis on the concept of salvation. Baptist theology teaches that humans have been contaminated by the sin of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God, and that for this sin we are condemned to damnation. The theology holds that Christ died on the cross to give humans the promise of everlasting life, but that this requires that each individual accept Christ into his life and ask for forgiveness. In the Baptist view, each person is responsible before God for his/her own understanding of God's word (the Bible), and is encouraged to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. Nevertheless, the Baptist view of soteriology runs the gamut from Calvinism to Arminianism.
Another distinctive is congregationalist government, the autonomy of the local church. Baptist churches are not under the direct administrative control of any other body, such as a national council or a leader such as a bishop or pope. John Wyclif and the Lollards who followed him, and Huldrych Zwingli, were strong influences in the early development of the idea of congregationalism. In a manner typical of other congregationalists, many cooperative associations of Baptists have arisen. The largest of these in the United States is the Southern Baptist Convention. The second largest is the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., which is also America's second largest predominantly African-American denomination.
Baptists share certain emphases with other groups, such as emphasis on evangelism and missions. Since Baptist churches stress the autonomy of the local church, there are a wide variety of practices and beliefs within churches that label themselves as Baptists. While the general flavor of any denomination changes from city to city, this aspect of Baptist churches is much more prominent than in the Episcopal church, or in the few branches of the Lutheran Church, or even in the many branches of the Presbyterian Church. Baptist churches often unite into "conventions" with a prime example being its largest convention, the Southern Baptist Convention. However there are hundred of conventions and most Baptist churches do not fall into any of them. Because Baptist churches do not have a central governing authority, many widely different beliefs are held, including different beliefs on the doctrine of separation, Calvinism/Arminianism, eschatology, the nature of Law and Gospel, the ordination of women, and homosexuality. The variety of Baptist beliefs often result in bitter disputes within a Convention, which are often divided between Christian fundamentalists and moderates.
Pacifism is a common trait with the followers of Menno (the Mennonites), as well as the Quakers. Pacifism is not an ideal held by most Baptists. The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America was organized in 1984 to promote peace, justice, and non-violence, though it does not speak for all Baptists that accept the ideal of pacifism.
There are several other distinctives of Baptists, such as believer's baptism, congregational government, and separation of church and state. Most feel that the state should not decide what the church can believe and should not prohibit the practice of religion. The degree to which the church should influence the state is a question that is controversial among Baptists as are views as to what constitutes state prohibition of religion.
The Baptist position of the priesthood of believers is one column upholding their belief in religious liberty. Baptists have played an important role in the struggle for freedom of religion in England, the United States, and other countries, including many who were imprisoned and even died for their faith. Some important figures in this struggle were John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Edward Wightman, Leonard Busher, Roger Williams (who was a Baptist for a short period but became a seeker), John Clarke, Isaac Backus, and John Leland. In 1612 John Smyth wrote, "the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to meddle with religion, or matters of conscience." That same year, Thomas Helwys wrote that the King of England could "comaund what of man he will, and wee are to obey it," but concerning the church - "with this Kingdom, our lord the King hath nothing to do." In 1614, Leonard Busher wrote what is believed to be the earliest Baptist treatise dealing exclusively with the subject of religious liberty.
Believer's baptism is commonly contrasted with "baptism of infants" or pedobaptism. It is the belief that only a person who has reached the "Age of Accountability" is eligible for baptism into a local church of believers. The age of accountability is not a specific age, but rather is the age at which a person is capable of making a well-informed decision to believe in Jesus Christ and his saving grace and is typically between eight and ten. A person who is not mentally or emotionally capable of weighing the evidence and concluding if they wish to become a believer is generally believed to be in a state of grace, and thus, not subject to separation from God and Heaven. Some Baptists, especially those holding a strict Calvinistic viewpoint, though practicing believer's baptism, reject the concept of an "Age of Accountability". The ritual of baptism consists of total immersion in water in parallel to baptism by John the Baptist. In most cases this consists of the submerging of a believer in water, backwards, while invoking the Trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19.
Most (including Southern, and independent fundamentalists), but not all Baptists oppose gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and some even prohibit dancing and movies. As with their other beliefs, there is a very wide range of opinion on these issues among practicing Baptists.