Baptists

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Baptists are a group of Christian denominations, churches, and individuals who subscribe to a theology of believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism), salvation through faith alone, Scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local church. They generally practice baptism by immersion (as opposed to affusion or sprinkling) and disavow authoritative creeds. Baptist churches are Protestant, and some churches or individuals further identify with evangelicalism or fundamentalism. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, pastors and deacons, but not bishops. Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.[1]

Historians trace the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor.[2] In accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults.[3] Baptist practice spread to England. Here, the General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect.[4] In 1639, Roger Williams established the first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies.[4] In the mid-1700s, the Great Awakening increased Baptist growth in both New England and the South.[4] As Second Great Awakening in the South in the early nineteenth century increased church membership, as did the preachers' lessening of support for abolition and manumission of slavery, which had been part of the eighteenth-century teachings. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent.[3]

The Baptist World Alliance reports more than 37 million members in more than 150,000 congregations.[5] In 2002, there were over 100 million Baptists and Baptistic group members worldwide and over 33 million in North America.[3] The largest Baptist association is the Southern Baptist Convention, with over 16 million members.[4]

Contents

[edit] Etymology

The term Baptist comes from the Greek word βαπτιστής (baptistés, "baptist," also used to describe John the Baptist), which is related to the verb βαπτίζω (baptízo, "to baptize, wash, dip, immerse"), and the Latin baptista.

The term Baptist as applied to Baptist churches is a modification of the term Anabaptist (which means rebaptizer),[6] and was used into the 19th century as a general epithet for churches which denied the validity of infant baptism, including the Campbellites, Mennonites and Schwarzenau Brethren or German Baptists, who are not identified with modern day Baptists.[7] The English Anabaptists were called Baptists as early as 1569.[8] The name Anabaptist continued to be applied to English and American Baptists, even after the American Revolution.[9]

[edit] Origins

Baptist Historian Bruce Gourley outlines four main views of Baptist origins, including the modern scholarly consensus that the denomination traces its origin to the 17th century via the English Separatists, as well as the view that it was an outgrowth of Anabaptist traditions, the perpetuity view which assumes that the Baptist faith and practice has existed since the time of Christ, and the successionist view which argues that Baptist churches actually existed in an unbroken chain since the time of Christ.[2]

[edit] Outgrowth of English Separatism

The predominant view of Baptist origins is that Baptists came along in historical development in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations.[10] It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical "truth" had been discovered.[11]

The Baptist faith originated from within the English Separatist movement. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England (Anglicans) had broken away from the Catholic Church. Then came the mainstream Reformation.[2] There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation.[1][12] There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as "Puritans" and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists.[2]

Historians trace the earlist Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor.[2] Even prior to that, in 1606, John Smyth, a Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge, had broken his ties with the Church of England. Reared in the Church of England, he became "Puritan, English Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist," and ended his days working with the Mennonites.[11]:p.23 He began meeting in England with 60-70 English Separatists, in the face of "great danger."[13] The persecution of religious nonconformists in England led Smyth to go into exile in Amsterdam with fellow Separatists from the congregation he had gathered in Lincolnshire, separate from the established church (Anglican). Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helways were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others.[12][14]

In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled "The Character of the Beast," or "The False Constitution of the Church." In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism."[11]:p.24 Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith. He rejected the Separatist movement's doctrine of paedobaptism.[15][16] Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group, and layman Thomas Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611.[2] Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy.[11]:p.25

Print from Anglican theologian Daniel Featley's book, "The Dippers Dipt, or, The Anabaptists Duck'd and Plung'd Over Head and Ears, at a Disputation in Southwark", published in 1645.

Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Thomas Helwys and others kept their baptism and their Baptist commitments.[11]:p.25

The modern Baptist denomination is an outgrowth of Smyth's movement.[12] Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. McBeth writes that as late as the eighteenth century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though falsely—called Anabaptists."[17]

This view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted.[2] Representative writers include William H. Whitsitt, Robert G. Torbet, Winthrop S. Hudson, William G. McLoughlin and Robert A. Baker. This position considers the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal.[2]

[edit] Influence of Anabaptists

This view holds that although Baptists originated from English Separatists, some early Baptists were influenced by some Anabaptists. According to this view, the Dutch Mennonites (Anabaptists) shared some similarities with General Baptists (believer's baptism, religious liberty, separation of church and state, and Arminian views of salvation, predestination and original sin). However, there were significant differences between Anabaptists and Baptists. Anabaptists tended towards extreme pacifism. They promoted communal sharing of earthly goods,[citation needed] did not practice baptism by immersion, an unorthodox optimistic view of human nature[citation needed]. Therefore, few Baptists hold to this theory of Baptist origins. Representative writers include A. C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gorley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback.[2]

The relations between Baptists and Anabaptists were early strained. In 1624 the then five existing Baptist churches of London issued an anathema against the Anabaptists.[18]. Today there is little dialogue between Anabaptist organizations (such and the Mennonite World Conference) and the Baptist bodies.[citation needed]

[edit] Baptist belief in perpetuity

Main article: Baptist successionism

Prior to the 20th century, Baptist historians generally wrote from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the times of Christ.[19] The Baptist perpetuity view considers the Baptist movement to have always been historically separate from Catholicism and in existence prior to the Protestant Reformation.[20] The historians who advocate this position consider Baptists and Anabaptists as one and the same people and point out that many Reformation era historians and apologists considered the Anabaptists to pre-date the Reformation.[21]

Baptist historian John T. Christian (1854–1925), in the introduction to his history of the Baptist, wrote: "I have throughout pursued the scientific method of investigation, and I have let the facts speak for themselves. I have no question in my own mind that there has been a historical succession of Baptists from the days of Christ to the present time."[22]

The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood, a successionist pamphlet by J.M. Carrol published in 1931[23] Other Baptist writers holding the perpetuity view are Thomas Crosby, G.H. Orchard, J.M. Cramp, William Cathcart, Adam Taylor and D.B. Ray[24][25] This view was also held by English Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon[26] as well as Jesse Mercer, the namesake of Mercer University.[27]

[edit] Baptists in the UK

Historical chart of the main Protestant branches. Baptists appeared in the early 1600s as part of the Radical Reformation.

In 1612, Thomas Helwys established a Baptist congregation in London, consisting of congregants from Smyth's church.[3] A number of other Baptist churches sprang up, and they became known as the General Baptists.[3] The Particular Baptists were established when a group of Calvinist Separatists adopted believers' Baptism.[3] The Baptists emphasized the autonomy of each congregation, with no spiritual authority recognized above a congregation's minister.[3] The congregations maintained relations through associations, which continue to be vital to Baptist Church life.[3]

Baptist numbers increased over the centuries, more than keeping pace with the rise in population.[3] There still exist today in areas such as Plymouth very traditional Baptist sects, known as the strict baptists.

[edit] Baptists in North America

See also: Baptists in the United States and Baptists in Canada

Both Roger Williams and John Clarke, his compatriot in working for religious freedom, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America.[28] In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."[10]

The Great Awakening energized the Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth.[3] Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the black population.[3]

In 1845, the Baptists congregations in the United States split over the issue of slavery. The Baptists from the Southern states supported slaveholding, and when Northern Baptists tried to prevent slaveholders from being missionaries, the Southern Baptists formed a separate organization, the Southern Baptist Convention. The northern congregations later formed their own umbrella organization.

[edit] Baptist associations

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Many Baptist churches choose to associate with associational groups that provide fellowship without control.[3] The largest Baptist association is the Southern Baptist Convention, but there are many other Baptist associations. There are also autonomous churches that remain independent of any denomination, organization, or association.[29]

In 1905, Baptists worldwide formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). The BWA now counts over 200 Baptist conventions and unions worldwide with over 37 million members.[citation needed] The BWA's goals include caring for the needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom. Though it played a role in the founding of the BWA, the Southern Baptist Convention severed its affiliation with BWA in 2004.[30]

[edit] Membership

[edit] Statistics

See also: List of Christian denominations by number of members
See also: List of Baptist sub-denominations

Today, 46 million Baptists belong to churches cooperating with the Baptist World Alliance. Many Baptist groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist Bible Fellowship do not cooperate with the Alliance. Their number can add up to a total of close to 100 million adherents in the world through 211 denominations, making Baptists the largest Protestant denomination in the world.[31]

According to the Barna Group researchers, Baptists are the largest denominational grouping of born again Christians in the U.S.[32] A 2009 ABCNEWS/Beliefnet phone poll of 1,022 adults suggests that fifteen percent of Americans identify themselves as Baptists.[33]

Besides North America and Europe, large populations of Baptists also exist in Asia, Africa and Latin America, notably in India (2.4 million), Nigeria (2.5 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1.9 million), and Brazil (1.7 million).[31]

A large percentage of Baptists in North America are found in five bodies—the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).[34]

[edit] Qualifications

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The primary external qualification for membership in a Baptist church is baptism.[35] General Baptist churches will accept into membership people who have made a profession of faith but have not been baptized as a believer. These are included as members alongside baptized members in the statistics. Baptist churches do not have an age restriction on membership, but will not accept as a member a child who is considered too young to fully understand and make a profession of faith of their own volition and comprehension. In such cases, the pastor and parents usually meet together with the child to verify the child's comprehension of the decision to follow Jesus. There are instances where persons make a profession of faith but fail to follow through with believers' baptism. In such cases they are considered saved and usually eligible for membership. Baptists do not believe that baptism has anything to do with salvation. It is considered a public expression of one's inner repentance and faith.[10]

Baptists believe that the act of baptism is a symbolic display of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.[10] When a person who believes that he has already been saved and confessed Christ submits to scriptural baptism, he or she is publicly identifying with Christ in His death to old self, burial of past sinful thought and action, and resurrection in newness of life, to walk with Christ the remainder of their days.[10]

Some churches, especially in the UK, do not require members to have been baptized as a believer, so long as they have made a believer's declaration of faith—for example, been confirmed in the Anglican church, or become communicant members as Presbyterians.[citation needed] In these cases, believers would usually transfer their memberships from their previous churches. This allows people who have grown up in one tradition, but now feel settled in their local Baptist church, to fully take part in the day to day life of the church, voting at meetings, etc. It is also possible, but unusual, to be baptized without becoming a church member immediately.

[edit] Baptist beliefs and principles

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Main article: Baptist beliefs
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Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by doctrine—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups and a portion of it importantly distinctive.[36] Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be creeds—to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists.[37] Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but Baptist beliefs can vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played a key role in encouraging religious freedom and separation of church and state.[38]

Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth; miracles; atonement through the death for sins, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus; the Trinity; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God, his death and resurrection, and confession of Christ as Lord); grace; the Kingdom of God; last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs.

Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control.[39]

Exceptions to this local form of local governance include a few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists that have an Episcopal system.

Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.

Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists include the following:[40]:p.2

Further information: List of Baptist confessions

The following acrostic backronym, spelling BAPTIST, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:[41]

Most Baptist traditions believe in the "Four Freedoms" articulated by Baptist historian Walter B. Shurden:[37]

[edit] Beliefs that vary among Baptists

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Since there is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs.[42] Baptists have different divisions, sects, and groups. Although they agree on many things, their differences are enough to keep them apart. Despite some common doctrines and practices which characterize the greater part of Baptists, there are many beliefs and practices which vary from church to church and among associations. Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are eschatology, Calvinism and Arminianism, the doctrine of separation from "the world" and whether to associate with those who are "of the world", glossolalia (speaking in tongues)[43], how the Bible should be interpreted (hermeneutics), the extent to which missionary boards should be used to support missionaries, the extent to which non-members may participate in the Lord's Supper services, which translation of Scripture to use from the pulpit and in Bible classes (see King-James-Only movement),[44] the very nature of Gospel, the role of women in marriage, and the ordination of women as deacons or pastors.[45]

Some of the smaller Baptist groups are devoted to some peculiar traditional practice or doctrine.[citation needed] Some Primitive Baptists practice the laying on of hands after baptism and footwashing, as do some Freewill Baptists. The Seventh Day Baptists insist biblical worship should be conducted on the traditional Sabbath (Saturday) rather than on Sunday. Landmarkism holds to strict closed communion wherein only the members of the church can participate in the Lord's Supper. On the other hand, some Baptists have embraced modernistic trends, such as The Alliance of Baptists which officially affirms homosexual relationships[46]

[edit] Controversies which have shaped Baptists

Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of the level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word "crisis" comes from the Greek word meaning "to decide." Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even schism, though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion crises among Baptists each have become decision-moments that shaped their future.[47] Some controversies which have shaped Baptists are:

[edit] Missions crisis

Early in the 19th century, the rise of the modern missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists.[48] During this era, the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary. A substantial secession of Baptists went into the movement led by Alexander Campbell, to return to a more fundamental church.[49]

[edit] Slavery crisis

Leading up to the American Civil War, Baptists became embroiled in the controversy over slavery in the United States. Whereas in the First Great Awakening, Methodist and Baptist preachers had opposed slavery and urged manumission, over the decades they made more of an accommodation with the institution. They worked with slaveholders in the South to urge a paternalistic institution. Both denominations made direct appeals to slaves and free blacks for conversion. The Baptists particularly allowed them active roles in congregations. By the mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions increased, in 1844 the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary who had been proposed by Georgia. It noted that missionaries could not take servants with them, and also that the Board did not want to appear to condone slavery.

The Southern Baptist Convention was formed by nine state conventions in 1845, founded on the premise that the Bible sanctions slavery and that it is acceptable for Christians to own slaves. They believed slavery was a human institution which Baptist teaching could make less harsh. Not only were many planters among its membership, but some of the denomination's prominent preachers, such as Rev. Basil Manly, Sr., president of the University of Alabama, were planters and owned slaves. (He owned 40.)

As early as the late 1700s, black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies, especially in the northern states. Not only did blacks set up some independent congregations in the South before the American Civil War, freedmen quickly separated from white congregations and associations after the war. They wanted to be free of white supervision.[50] In 1866 the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, formed from black Baptists of the South and West, helped southern associations set up black state conventions, which they did in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1880 black state conventions united in the national Foreign Mission Convention, to support black Baptist missionary work. Two other national black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united under the title National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. This organization later went through its own changes, spinning off other conventions. It is the largest black religious organization and the second largest Baptist organization in the world. Currently American Baptist numerical strength is greatest in the former slaveholding states. The Baptist faith is the predominant faith of African Americans.[51]

In addition to black Baptists becoming independent of whites in the South after the war, new black denominations, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion) established in the North, sent missionaries to the South. They attracted many new members from freedmen in the region. The AME Church had 50,000 new members the first year; eventually, they and AME Zion attracted hundreds of thousands of new members, who shaped both churches with their own culture.

On June 20, 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention voted June 20, 1995, to adopt a resolution renouncing its racist roots and apologizing for its past defense of slavery. More than 20,000 Southern Baptists registered for the meeting in Atlanta. The resolution declared that messengers, as SBC delegates are called, "unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin" and "lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest." It offered an apology to all African-Americans for "condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime" and repentance for "racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously or unconsciously." Although Southern Baptists have condemned racism in the past, this was the first time the predominantly white convention had dealt specifically with the issue of slavery.

The statement sought forgiveness "from our African-American brothers and sisters" and pledged to "eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry." Currently about 500,000 members of the 15.6-million-member denomination are African Americans and another 300,000 are ethnic minorities. The resolution marked the denomination's first formal acknowledgment that racism played a role in its founding.[52]

[edit] Landmark crisis

Southern Baptist Landmarkism sought to reset the ecclesiastical separation which had characterized the old Baptist churches, in an era when inter-denominational union meetings were the order of the day.[53]James Robinson Graves was the primary leader of this movement and one of the most influential Baptists of the 19th century.[54] While some Landmarkers eventually separated from the Southern Baptist Convention, the movement's influence on the Convention continued well into the 20th century.[55] Its influence continues to affect Convention policies. In 2005 the Southern Baptist International Mission Board forbade its missionaries to receive alien immersions for baptism.[56]

[edit] The Modernist crisis

The rise of theological modernism in the latter 19th and 20th century also greatly affected the Baptists.[57] The Landmark movement, already mentioned, has been described as a reaction against incipient modernism among Southern Baptists.[58] In England, Charles Haddon Spurgeon fought against modernistic views of the Scripture in the Downgrade Controversy.[59]

The Northern Baptist Convention had internal conflict over modernism in the early 20th century, ultimately embracing it. Two new conservative associations were founded as a result: the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1933 and the Conservative Baptist Association of America in 1947.[60] Following similar conflicts over modernism, the Southern Baptist Convention adhered to conservative theology as its official position. Two new Baptist denominations were formed by former Southern Baptists who either embraced or favored toleration of the modernist approach to the Scripture: the radical Alliance of Baptists in 1987 and the moderately liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1991.[61]

[edit] See also

Baptism logo.jpg Baptist portal


[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Shurden, Walter (2001). "Turning Points in Baptist History". Macon, GA: The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University. http://www.centerforbaptiststudies.org/pamphlets/style/turningpoints.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gourley, Bruce. "A Very Brief Introduction to Baptist History, Then and Now." The Baptist Observer.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Baptists." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
  4. ^ a b c d "Baptist." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  5. ^ "Member Body Statistics". Baptist World Alliance. May 30, 2008. http://www.bwanet.org/bwa.php?site=Resources&id=19. Retrieved 6 May 2010. 
  6. ^ Newman, Albert Henry (1894). A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States. Christian Literature. ISBN 079054234X. http://books.google.com/?id=wCrmT5eki7YC. "This rejection of infant baptism and this insistence on believers' baptism were so distinctive of these Christians that they were stigmatized as Anabaptists, Catabaptists, and sometimes as simply Baptists; that is to say, they were declared to be "rebaptizers", "perverters of baptism", or, as unduly magnifying baptism and making it the occasion of schism, simply "baptizers"." 
  7. ^ "The Illustrated Book of All Religions From the Earliest Ages to the Present Time", Star Publishing Company, 1895.
  8. ^ Christian, John T. A History of the Baptists. Broadman Press (1922, chapter 15,pages 205-206): "The word Baptists was used by a high official of the English government in the earlier days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. That official was Sir William Cecil, afterwards Lord Burleigh, then the Secretary of State and especial adviser of the Queen. The date is March 10, 1569.". ISBN 0665679327. http://www.reformedreader.org/history/christian/ahob1/ahobp.htm. 
  9. ^ John T. Christian, History of the Baptists , volume I page 205 and volume II page 212|http://www.reformedreader.org/history/christian/ahob1/ahobp.htm
  10. ^ a b c d e Brackney, William H. (2006). Baptists in North America: an historical perspective. Blackwell Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 1405118652. 
  11. ^ a b c d e Leonard, Bill J. (2003). Baptist Ways: A History. Judson Press. ISBN 978-0817012311. 
  12. ^ a b c Briggs, John. "Baptist Origins". Baptist History and Heritage Society. http://www.baptisthistory.org/contissues/briggs.htm. Retrieved 10 January 2010. 
  13. ^ Beale, David (2000). The Mayflower Pilgrims: roots of Puritan, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Baptist heritage. Emerald House Group. ISBN 978-1889893518. 
  14. ^ Traffanstedt, Chris. "A Primer on Baptist History". http://www.reformedreader.org/history/pbh.htm. Retrieved 23 December 2009. 
  15. ^ Nettles, Tom J. (Spring 2009). "Once Upon a Time, Four Hundred Years Ago...". Founders Journal (Founders Ministries) 76: 2–8. http://www.founders.org/journal/fj76/article1.html. 
  16. ^ Vedder, H. C.. "A Short History of the Baptists". The Reformed Reader. http://www.reformedreader.org/history/vedder/ch14.htm. Retrieved 23 December 2009. 
  17. ^ McBeth, H. Leon. "Baptist Beginnings". Baptist History and Heritage Society. http://www.baptisthistory.org/baptistbeginnings.htm. Retrieved 19 October 2007. 
  18. ^ Melton, J.G. Baptists in "Encyclopedia of American Religions". 1994
  19. ^ Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, pages 18-19, Valley Forge: Judson Press - 1975)
  20. ^ H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, pages 59-60, Nashville: Broadman Press - 1987
  21. ^ John T. Christian, History of the Baptists, Volume one, pages 83-282
  22. ^ Christian, John T (vol.1, 1922; vol.2, 1926). A History of the Baptists. Broadman Press. ISBN 0817008527. http://www.reformedreader.org/history/christian/ahob1/ahobp.htm. 
  23. ^ H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, pages 58-60, Nashville: Broadman Press - 1987.
  24. ^ H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, pages 59-60, Nashville, Broadman Press - 1987
  25. ^ Robert Torbet, A History of the Baptists, page 18 Valley Forge: Judson Press - 1975
  26. ^ The New park Street Pulpit, Volume VII, Page 225
  27. ^ Jesse Mercer (1838). "A History of the Georgia Baptist Association, pages 196-201". http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/1811cl_mercer.html 
  28. ^ Newport Notables
  29. ^ Moore, G. Holmes. "300 Years of Baptist History." Bible Baptist Church of St. Louis, MO, is an example of an independent Baptist church that has never been a denominational church in the sense of belonging to some convention or association. Web: 17 January 2010. [1]
  30. ^ Cooperman, Alan (16 June 2004). "Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance". Washington Post: p. A4. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44658-2004Jun15.html. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
  31. ^ a b http://www.cbwc.ca/content/view/7/10/
  32. ^ "Catholics Have Become Mainstream America." July 9, 2007. Web: 16 January 2010. Born again Christians in U.S. (Barna defines Born again Christians as "people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.")
  33. ^ Langer, Gary. "Poll: Most Americans Say They're Christian. Varies Greatly From the World at Large." 18 Jul 2009 Web: 16 January 2010. Poll: Most Americans Say They're Christian
  34. ^ Albert W. Wardin, Baptists Around the World (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1995) p. 367
  35. ^ Pendleton, J. M. (1867). Church Manual For Baptist Churches. The Judson Press. http://www.reformedreader.org/rbb/pendleton/churchmanual/bcm01.htm. 
  36. ^ Nettles, Thomas J.. "A Foundation for the Future: The Southern Baptist Message and Mission". 
  37. ^ a b Shurden, Walter B. (1993). The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing. ISBN 978-1880837207. 
  38. ^ "Baptists." Web: 17 January 2010
  39. ^ Pinson, William M., Jr.. Trends in Baptist Polity. Baptist History and Heritage Society. http://www.baptisthistory.org/contissues/pinson.htm. 
  40. ^ a b Newman, Albert Henry (1915). A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States (3 ed.). Christian Literature. ISBN 079054234X. http://books.google.com/?id=F38uAAAAYAAJ. 
  41. ^ Articles on Baptists beliefs, polity, ministries, practices, organizations, and heritage. The information is intended to be useful for Baptists and non-Baptists alike.
  42. ^ Hammett, John and John S. Hammett.Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology. Kregel Publications, 2005. ISBN 978-0825427695
  43. ^ "Position Paper Concerning the IMB Policy on Glossolalia." Florida Baptist Witness Web: 18 Mar 2010. http://www.gofbw.com/news.asp?ID=5592 Glossolalia
  44. ^ "An Introduction to Bible Translations." Trinity Baptist Church Discipleship Training, April 2005. Web: 18 Mar 2010. An Introduction to Bible Translations
  45. ^ Beck, Rosalie. "Response to 'The Ordination of Women Among Texas Baptists' by Ann Miller.” Perspectives in Religious Studies. Journal of the NABPR, Baylor University. Baptist General Convention of Texas. Web: 18 Mar 2010. [http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Document.Doc?&id=3338 Response to “The Ordination of Women Among Texas Baptists”]
  46. ^ http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/learn/resources/congregationalresources.
  47. ^ Shurden, Walter B.. Crises in Baptist Life. http://www.baptistdistinctives.org/crises.pdf. Retrieved 16 January 2010. 
  48. ^ John T. Christian, History of the Baptists, volume 2 pages 404-420 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1926
  49. ^ John T. Christian, History of the Baptists, volume 2, pages 421-436 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1926
  50. ^ Leroy Fitts, A History of Black Baptists, pp. 43-106 (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press - 1985)
  51. ^ Department of Geography and Meteorology, "Baptists as a Percentage of all Residents, 2000", Valparaiso University
  52. ^ "SBC renounces racist past - Southern Baptist Convention", The Christian Century. July 5, 1995
  53. ^ Robert Ashcraft, Landmarkism Revisited, pages 84-85 (Ashcraft Publications, Mabelvale, Arkansas, 2003)
  54. ^ Ben M. Bogard, Pillars of Orthodoxy, page 199 (Louisville: Baptist Book Concern - 1900)
  55. ^ Smith, Handy & Loetscher, American Christianity: An Historical Interpretation With Representative Documents, Volume II: 1820-1960, page 110 (Charles Scribner's Sons - 1963)
  56. ^ "Guideline on Baptism". International Mission Board. http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?LanguageID=1709&StoryID=3837. 
  57. ^ Torbet, Robert G. (1975). A History of the Baptists. Valley Forge: Judson Press. pp. 424–445. ISBN 978-0817000745. 
  58. ^ History of the American Baptist Association, edited by Robert Ashcraft, pages 63-66 (Texarkana: History and Archives Committee of the American Baptist Association - 2000)
  59. ^ Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, page 114 (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press - 1975).
  60. ^ Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, pages 395 and 436 (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press - 1975).
  61. ^ "CBF History". 

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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Baptists.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists"
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