Thumbnail representing the baptism of a group of faithful, eighteenth century
When it comes to Baptists, it is easy to relate to this religious movement with the Anabaptists, by virtue of the prerogative of baptism required of believers and the rejection of infant baptism. However if we delve into the history we now know as the Baptist Church, we realize that although some influence received from these, the Baptist Church today has little to do with this movement so persecuted and hated the sixteenth century.
Actually, although it has in common the custom of baptizing and the rejection of infant baptism, There were many groups in different eras that have advocated no infant baptism, as were many who also rejected the images, the substantiation and other doctrines of the Catholic Church, without them having anything to do with the Anabaptists, nor indeed with the Baptists. In this case there is a common line, which if present in the case of Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish, with respect to Anabaptism. Religions, certainly very far from the present Baptist church. Nor was the baptism of their main stronghold, although over time that identify them, but there was a series of steps that gradually separate them from their common origins with Congregationalism and Presbyterianism taking as the first case, the buried roots in English Puritanism.
On the Origin of the Baptists, there are several characters involved, among the first people we can really consider Baptists account, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys Holland, England.
John Smyth, was born in Lincolnshire, England in 1570. He studied at Cambridge and became an Anglican preacher around 1600. In 1606 he decided to break with the Church of England and join the separatist Puritans Lincolnshire. The separatist churches were radically Calvinist Puritan Congregationalists in their majority, especially in favor of an autonomous organization of the faithful. Shortly after having become in the chief minister of a congregation of puritans, Smyth moved to Holland with a good group of followers in 1608, fleeing religious persecution, also exerted a significant influence on the Pilgrim Fathers who immigrated to America around the same time and helped to found the colony of New England. But he refused to join them, for he saw the work required in the Netherlands, and with another Puritan pastor named Thomas Helwys, continued its evangelization in the Netherlands. Before settling in the Netherlands, Smyth had seen the need in the churches only accept members involved and not simply passive listeners, this required that the person to do something like a vow to God.
regard to the latter in 1609, Smyth had some contact with a community of Mennonites, who turned out to be a decisive influence on the ideas of Smyth. According to some sources came to be baptized as a Mennonite, though it is clear this point, the case is definitely not joined the Mennonites at that time, but rather sought to import some of their methods and incorporate them into their new church in Holland. It is clear that contact with that branch of the Anabaptists was a decisive influence on the following steps taken by Smyth.
soon began to proclaim to the four winds that would accept baptism the believer and reject infant baptism. Indicating that baptism is a sign of obedience to God. (Part of the mandate of Jesus, was to make disciples, baptize and teach the gospel.) The renewed Smyth congregation accepted this as basis, later added other reasons for this, including that baptism by immersion is pictorially symbolic death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, something that all who wish to be disciples of Christ must do if you want to be his true followers. All had to be renamed again, including his assistant and Helwys.
Another important issue in the Baptist system is what John Smyth said in 1610: "Only Christ is king and judge of the Church and consciousness", thus separating the spiritualist movement of the moment, as Schwendelkfianos, who advocated a personal spirituality and not unified or organized, and the cold sacramental mechanisms Anglicans, but also accepting the thesis Congregationalists, in which there is no government on the churches but that they have independently of each other. Another precept
began teaching Smyth, was that true worship must come from the heart and any form of reading a book in worship was an invention of sinful man, not referring to personal reading of the Bible but read sermons in churches approved based on previously written by a group leader. This rejection of liturgy remains even among many Baptists today. Prayer, singing and preaching had to be completely spontaneous, without a predefined order. But then also stipulated some control over public reading of scripture, because in his opinion the minister should only quote from the scriptures as the basis of his teachings. The Holy Spirit was to lead the pastors to discuss what they had to talk.
Moreover, contrary to traditional Calvinism, but more accurately on the biblical view, just as did the Mennonites, Smyth began teaching that Christ's death made salvation possible for anyone who voluntarily exercise faith in Christ and that God is not assigned in advance who would be saved and who not. Thus historians often call the church initiated by Smyth and Helwys, as "General Baptists" by the act of accepting the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus, to everyone in general and not on a particularly chosen group, as claimed by Calvinism. Smyth
spiritualism preached a libertarian, defending the right of every individual to acquire and maintain their own faith, even defended his right to be wrong and rectify. Later rejected the doctrine of original sin and affirmed the right of every Christian to uphold their own religious views. Among the work of Smyth is his main work "The Differences of the Churches separatists", probably written between 1608 and 1609.
But his continuous adjustments, perhaps due precisely to the idea of \u200b\u200bspontaneity in teaching and interpretive freedom, he did accept and then reject each other's doctrines that caused such disputes among his followers, he himself was expelled from his Church.
Smyth, and away from his own church, began trying to bring his former colleagues from church to church Mennonite, which now began to stick. Although he died before this happened, however much of its congregation merged with the Mennonites after his death. This caused a separation between Smyth and the group now led by Thomas Helwys.
Thomas Helwys, took the reins of the congregation after Smyth fell into disgrace, and for his leadership grew into the system over time-called General Baptists.
Thomas Helwys, born in 1575 was the second son of Edmund and Margaret Helwys who in turn was the offspring of a wealthy and influential family which had important possessions Farmhouse in counties such as, Lincoln, Northampton, Nottingham, and York. Edmund had sold their land in Lincolnshire and Northhamptonshire and had leased a farm in Broxtowe in the parish Bilborough. In 1590 when his father died, with only 15 years, Thomas Helwys took over the farm, but later, in 1593, left the care of this in the hands of the friends of his father and began studies in law Gray's Inn, one of four law schools in London.
very young, he married Joan Ashmore in Bilborough, in 1595. The fruit of their marriage were born seven children in the twelve years they lived Broxtowe. During this time, Helwys house became a haven for Puritans within the Church of England and Thomas are likely to contribute financially to their mission. In some time in those years, Thomas Helwys developed a close relationship with John Smyth and he and his wife became committed members of the separatist congregation Smyth in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. During the harsh persecution of Puritans in England, used his influence to protect their own and thus managed to do that seventy Gainsborough separatists for a time kept secret meetings in a property of a family friend, William Hickman in Gainsborough . Later, around the year 1606 a second church in line with the Separatist Smyth and Helwys, was established in Scrooby Manor led by John Robinson, this was followed by some provisions and driven at that time by Smyth, as acceptance of the Arminian concept of salvation, acceptance into the congregation of committed Christians only, which as we have seen subsequently led to the requirement of baptism as a required step, and opposition to the imposition creeds. Although Robinson is probably not at that time accepted adult baptism as a duty.
The Anglican Church authorities were unable to tolerate any significant degree of independence advocated by the Puritans. So in 1606, a church commission ruled that the Supreme Court required the restriction and prohibition of Gainsborough Puritan dissidents and Scrooby. Thus a few days later in the winter, Thomas Helwys, John Smyth, and about forty members of the congregation of Gainsborough, who joined those led by John Robinsosn in Scrooby fled to the tolerant Amsterdam, seeking spiritual refuge, along with many other Puritans who joined them and spread throughout the Netherlands.
For security reasons, given his large family, Helwys allowed this to remain in England. Unfortunately, his wife was arrested and soon after because of their refusal to swear in court, she was imprisoned. And possibly was banished after three months in prison and thus met with her husband in the Netherlands. Helwys
became Smyth's right hand, but since 1610, when it came to be fighting against many members of his own congregation, it was unanimously decided to expel Smyth and Helwys appointed as pastor. In that way a year after he decides to write a series of twenty-seven basic precepts that all Baptists should follow, thus forming what would be the first Baptist confession of faith in 1611, known as the Confession of Faith of Amsterdam.
Due to the complex conditions in Amsterdam, because of the disintegration of the congregation for the influence of Smyth in 1611 Helwys decides to return to England. There he founded a congregation in Spitalfields, in London's east end, some members of his former congregation in Holland accompany it, while others were weakened remaking Baptist congregation in the Netherlands. First Baptist
called themselves "Believers New Testament" to flee from or related to a name similar to the hated Anabaptists, who were very well regarded, was still fresh in the memory of the tragic memory of Munster, except that they had led to several members of his church. An important aspect of his name was first, the rejection of the AT. On the issue of rejection of the Old Testament, although it is not something that is presumed somehow subtly any, may be seen as derogatory to question that part of the Bible. Consider the following words quoted from a letter Thomas Helwys to John Smyth, on the issue of apostolic succession defended the Church:. succession ... .. which is the greatest weapon of the antichrist and that is Jewish and ceremonial, an ordinance of the Old Testament and not the New Testament.
But over time the majority of Baptists believe that the term "Holy Scriptures", makes reference to both the New and the Old Testament, however little quote from this in their teaching
s. Thomas Helwys Letter to King James, seeking religious freedom.
the next few months, once established in London, Helwys wrote three of his most important works, the first defense of Arminianism: A short and plain proof, by the word and works of God, That God's decree is Not the cause of Any Man's without or Condemnation: and That All Men Are Redeemed by Christ, as Also That no infants Are Condemned ("A Test short and simple, word and work of God, that the decree of God is not the sin of no man nor his condemnation and that all men are redeemed by Christ, in addition that no child is convicted . Also by that time, he wrote another treatise by explaining their differences with the movement of the Mennonites, who grabbed his former partner Smyth.
Another controversial title and one of his most important work was " Brief Statement on the Mystery of Iniquity " which was a critical and apocalyptic interpretation against the papacy as well as critical distributed traditional Puritanism, and against the Congregationalists Robert Browne. Also became the first book in English that advocates the principle of religious freedom. For Helwys, religious freedom was a right to everyone, even those with whom he disagreed.
On this same Helwys wrote a petition to King James advocating for freedom of conscience together with a copy of his book. Some of his expressions of that document: " The King is a mortal man, not a God, therefore he can not hold any power over the mortal soul and make laws and ordinances to put on other spiritual Praises ... . If our lord the King as his trial was circumspect as the Queen Mary for his sword of justice had no power to put in subjection to the conscience, (referring to the failure of the attempt of the former Queen Mary Tudor to return to England Catholicism) does our lord the King by the sword or the power of the court may hold our consciousness: all earthly powers are the same in their various domains. "( Brief Statement of the Mystery of Iniquity )
Another interesting quote from the same book is: If the Kings govern and make the people obedient and subject, provided that all human laws made by the King, fine, but our Lord the King can not require more: the people's devotion to God is between God and them, the king should not intervene in it, never can the King be judge between God and man. "(Brief Statement of Mystery of Iniquity)
King's response was overwhelming, considering this as an undue interference by a minority, it sent a Helwys Newgate Prison, where he died in 1616. Presentation copy of his brief statement Helwys the Mystery of Iniquity
ity, is still preserved in the Bodleian Library. That spirit in defense of freedom of conscience, was for years a struggle by the Baptists. Among those who had accompanied Thomas Helwys from Holland, was John Murton, another zealous promoter of Baptist theology, which followed the direction of the congregation after the death of Helwys, so that in 1625 had five congregations in London and 1668 had 47, not only in London but on its outskirts.
But also during that time period, there were breaks or schisms, we saw that the followers of Smyth, one joined the Mennonite church and others to the Dutch Reformed, leaving the movement dissolved. But there was no division among Baptists in England as well as disputes arose in 1624, a group lead by Elias Tookey and thirteen other important members were expelled from the congregation led by Murton, forming his own congregation in which began teaching ideas of Socinianism near the Anti-Trinitarianism, an emerging anti-Trinitarian movement Baptist.
emerge later another branch, but not for a break from the original Baptist movement, but contamination of other churches who joined the movement. Due to the progress and enhancement of Baptist congregations, some churches separatists have so far considered Puritan or Calvinist Congregationalists began to consider the issue of infant baptism. This happened in 1630 and continued until 1633, mostly from the hand of some pastors, like Henry Jacob, William Kiffin, John Lathrop and Henry Jessey, who were considered great religious scholars and influential Puritan ministers. These will join over time an English shoemaker, John Spilsbury, whose momentum and spirit leader, made the establishment and Baptist churches, but without taking all the ideas that possessed the original Baptists, including the redemption of all. In this case they continued with the thought Calvinist predetermination of except by God, and that the sacrifice of Jesus was only for the benefit of the elect.
John Spilsbury, born in 1593, had belonged to an independent group which abounded in England in those days, but left this to join the shepherds who now embraced adult baptism as the primary point of support. The same is named as such, after which along with another breakaway William Kiffin, a disciple of Hernry Jacob formed a congregation that rejected infant baptism, but to sign a Calvinist, this happened in 1638. Three years after Jacob Henry himself, joined them, establishing a cluster of Baptist churches that swept many others to their ideas.
Thus, almost casual, there was an ideological clash between the traditional Baptist and this new wave that pushed more strongly towards abandoned roads before. Many congregations of London joined them, and from that year 1641, they were officially known as Baptists. But other churches refused to accept the thesis again Calvinists who wanted to establish new congregations, being that from the beginning the thesis of a redemptive sacrifice for all mankind, was the basis of his teaching, apart from being the closest to the scriptures, God would be very unfair, but deprived of the opportunity of salvation to most of humanity. But the weight of these masters now united Baptist movement, meant that despite a majority Arminians, were not heard. The division did not take long, formed since then two opposing lines of Baptists. Therefore
historically has dubbed this new movement as "Particular Baptists" who accepted the sacrifice of Christ through the elect only, compared to the traditional General Baptists, who believed that Christ came to save all who choose that path.
But Spilsbury considered necessary to unify criteria in order to create a solid and consistent core, were emerging as far too many branches and schisms that hampered the growth of the Baptist movement. Therefore thought it necessary to establish an order, something like a constitution or confession of faith in all the churches established by agreement. No church, no baptism, may exist apart from submission to an Orthodox evangelism incorporated into a confession of faith, affirmed the . More was not exactly consensual his confession, nor meant the unification of both trends. In
his confession of faith, written in 1641, including of course the highly complex issue that divided the Baptist, that of the saved preset. In the third point of his confession of faith made it clear however their position: - I believe in God's council, which before he did the world really picked and chose a number of his creatures planned the fall, and appointed them to eternal life in His Son, for the glory of his grace, that number so chosen will be saved, come the glory, and the rest left in sin to glorify his justice. ( London Confession of Faith p3)
showed little affection So the General Baptists, since it was running in favor of individuals, and indeed commented on defending the freedom of choice to speak of Christ's sacrifice for salvation of all: really think it is a doctrine down and not from above, and the masters of it comes from Satan, not God, and therefore must be rejected as opposed Christ and his Gospel. ( London Confession of Faith p7b )
why some of its postulates, would be difficult to accept by the General Baptists. A point mentioned in the confession of faith Spilsbury, is what has to do with the resurrection and the future, mentioned the following: - think the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise and come to trial, and each will find it to God, and as things get done in their bodies, whether good or bad, so should not force any conscience in matters of religion, because no man can confirm the other in his account to God, if he should make it smaller. ( London Confession of Faith p8) again wanted to harmonize its Calvinist view of man's will, which according to this perception issue may be forced to sin by God and condemned by God himself so determined.
Thus
became the voice of particular Baptist movement, which despite being a minority, it soon became the principal. In 1643, Spilsbury published a treatise entitled "A Treatise Concerning the Lawfull Subject of Baptism" in which he explained the real reasons and motives for baptism, and where the antichrist condemned as defending infant baptism against the individual will. That was widespread, with a subsequent correction and editing of the same in 1652.
On the other hand, as was common to most Protestant denominations, accept the Trinity as stipulated in the fourth century.
All these things away but the two factions, taking parallel paths, but the persecutor together for a while, the Toleration Act of 1689, provided the recognition of the Baptists as the third dissenting denomination, ie not England, which included the Presbyterians, Congregationalists independent Baptists.
In the same year (1689), settled another Confession of Faith but clearly pro by that time and were the majority, the Particular Baptists, composed of 32 articles, twenty more than the previous 1641 and where are clarified some details how to recognize the man in its initial state, had free will, but he lost in his fall, but are still accepted the principles of predetermination: D ios from eternity, by the wise and holy counsel of his will, freely and unalterably directs everything that happens. However, he did so, neither is God the author of sin nor sinners shares the responsibility of sin, nor does violence to the will of his creatures, or take away the liberty or contingency of secondary causes but rather established. In all this manifests the divine wisdom as its power and accuracy to perform what has been proposed. ( 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith 3.1)
By the decree of God and the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestined (Or pre-ordained) to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of his grace. To others, has left to be condemned in their sins, to the praise of his glorious justice. (Confession of Faith Baptist 1689)
also established a dogma for oaths, to more radical move away from principles such as Quakers or Mennonites. But this confession of faith did not achieve general and special unit, just that time the division was insurmountable. And if we have received the code of the particular faith, is because it was these that eventually stayed with the majority and the name Baptists.
The direction taken by the General Baptists were very different, and opposed to individuals, in the next century even began to embrace many current anti-Trinitarian, as they did Elias Tookey and another hundred years before, thus most in 1750 they had become Unitarian, rejecting the Trinity. The private research had established in the early Smyth had these consequences, many discovered that many traditional doctrines, they were not in the scriptures. But it also meant too many discrepancies between congregations, which greatly weakened the advance of General Baptists.
Only with the arrival Dan Taylor, a disenchanted with the revolution Methodist Wensley, was obtained from the General Baptists who manifest a new religious activity.
Taylor was born in 1738 and in 1763, after leaving Methodism, was attracted by the General Baptists, who by that time, however, were divided and low hours. Taylor
reorganized to more traditional congregations, and established the New Connection of General Baptists. An independent group of dissidents who came from various Baptist congregations disenchanted, they began to gather around Hebden Bridge. The following year the group built its own chapel Birchdale, with the support of many Baptists Leicestershire and throughout the East Midlands, England.
Dan In June 1770, Taylor was able to gather many of those disenchanted with the Arminian Baptists Old General Baptists, who now swelled the New Connection of General Baptists. Well organized at first, the connection flourished, particularly in the industrial areas of Midlands. By 1817, a year after Taylor's death, the connection had 70 chapels. Memoirs of Rev. Dan Taylor, including excerpts from his journal, edited by his son Adam Taylor, were published after the death of Dan Taylor in 1820.
But despite this new evangelistic spirit driven and stimulated by Taylor, the rejection of the anti-Trinitarians, made the latter to seek refuge in other groups disbanded unit and power unit Baptist. As for the New Connection Bautista, their doctrinal differences with the Particular Baptists gradually disappeared during the nineteenth century, and both bodies joined in 1891.
BAPTISTS IN AMERICA
The History of the Baptist Church in America, according to some historians did not arise by the arrival of these to the new continent, but began spontaneously, although this has to be qualified. According to traditional sources, was established by Roger Williams. Although there evidence of the arrival of some communities before the Baptists. Williams was an Anglican minister in England, and had spent the congregation, it had trouble with the law and because he had to flee persecution and seek refuge, as so many other Puritans settled in the Bay Colony in Massachusetts in 1631. Soon he was called to be pastor in the city of Salem and served there for a few years
. Roger Williams, one of the first North American Baptist
But it did concern raised several issues on which he disagreed, especially when he found Puritan community, soon forgot the times of religious persecution they had suffered in England and was now a community become intolerant of other settlers who brought other lessons, including the Mennonites, who were forced to isolate themselves in other places by the intransigence and pressure from the Puritans. So Roger Williams, complained that the civil authorities to impose a single religion as the majority, so he wrote against it and all I had to do with the separation of church and Esatdo, he wrote the following: All trades office of civil justice in their respective constitutions and administrations are essentially civil and therefore not judges, governors, or defenders of the Christian state or spiritual worship ..... God does not demand uniformity of religion to be imposed and enforced by any civil authority, that imposed uniformity (sooner or later) is a great chance of civil wars, violation of conscience, persecution of Christ Jesus in his servants and the hypocrisy and destruction of million souls. (The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution p4, p7)
This stance in defense of religious freedom brought serious clashes with the established religious authorities in Massachusetts, and his denunciation of the statutes of the Colony of Massachusetts, put it in conflict with civil authorities. So it was called before the General Court in Boston and having refused to retract, was banished in October 1635. He left the colony and the Indians Narrangansett acquired a tract of land where he wanted to establish another colony, next to him were 12 other members of the congregation of Salem, including Ezekiel Holliman, who arrived from England only a year before and was quite a refreshing staunch supporter of Williams. Williams soon joined and Holliman, other settlers, and the settlement became one of the first in America to be established on the basis of complete religious freedom, the city became known as Providence. This new colony become a haven for the persecuted or radical concepts holders or not accepted in the Puritan communities.
In 1633, a pastor of the Baptist church in Wales, John Myles, had emigrated with his church from Swansea, Wales, and established, along with its small community of followers at Newport, Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and relatively near Providence. So some writers date the establishment of the first Baptist church in Massachusetts at the time of his arrival, as Williams still had not been nominated by adult baptism, but perhaps Myles, not officially establish a Baptist congregation there. Actually
was not until 1639 that Williams, condemned the value of baptism he received in childhood, and thought it was necessary to be re-baptized, fully conscious of his actions, not as they had been forced as children. That same year he was baptized by Ezekiel Holliman, maybe it was the initiator of the "new idea", or was imported from the English Baptists, new to Rhode Island. In any case once Williams baptized by Holliman and ten others, was established the first Baptist church in Providence, but not the first American, as we demonstrated.
new communities will soon emerge, as they came running from Europe thousands of Baptists and other become members in America, preached fervently, the community of Newport was moved in 1667 to a new location near the border of Rhode Island, founded the city that called Swansea, but this time in America. The first Baptist church in Boston was established in 1665, and the organization of the first in Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was completed in 1682. Thus, in a few years the Baptists, all attached to the line of individuals, ie Calvinist view, were growing, becoming one of the most important churches in the United States. This saw the need for a supervisory body of all churches scattered by this Convention was formed Triennial and Missionary Society, who would ensure maintaining organizational cohesion to all Baptist congregations in the country, something similar happened in England with the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
But there were other trends to external influences, for example, several American Baptists, Sabbatarian influenced by currents began to observe the Sabbath or seventh day from mid-seventeenth century. In 1672 it organized a Seventh Day Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The only major difference with other Baptists is the Sabbath, which is not in a legalistic or tax, but that was enough to become independent and create a group minority, but of strong convictions.
In North America, a large community of Baptists settled farther south, and over time because of disagreements over slavery in 1845 took a break between them and the north, forming the Southern Baptist Convention , who was slave to the law established the illegality of such shame. Over time, due to the split with the Northern Baptist Convention, the trend in the south has been an approach to evangelism today, without actually copying all its methods, in any case are the largest community of all Baptists with more 16 million passive members.
As mentioned above, the original Baptists first period, the eighteenth century, fell into theological liberalism, and virtually disappeared from the scene in England. Conversely during the same period, the Particular Baptists moved toward each doctrinal conservatism in extreme cases, some call it hyper-Calvinism or Antiarmianismo. The main exponent of strict Calvinism was John Gill (1696-1771), perhaps best known for his "Exposition of the Whole Bible", the first comment, covered in his explanation of verse by verse through the Bible.
other hand in 1785, Andrew Fuller published "The Gospel worthy of all acceptation." Fuller was a zealous in the defense of governmental theory of atonement against traditional Calvinism and Unitarianism side or Socinianism on the other, he founded with William Carey Baptist Missionary Society, to which he devoted all the energies of his life. He became the gospel in the law, so that the gospel was made the means by which sinners were convicted.
of this came a new aspect that was called "cheat" and that lead to a division among the Particular Baptists of England. Among
fullerite branch of the Particular Baptists, Calvinism declined and practice of open communion grew. In 1891, most of General Baptists were still merged with the so-called Particular Baptists Baptist Union of Great Britain.
A recent trend among the Baptist community are called "Reformed Baptists' who hold the Covenant of Grace, which is made only to the elect, as taught individuals. In fact, some modern Reformed Baptists are considered as the spiritual heirs of the English Baptists Johnn Bunyan and Charles Spurgeon, who came to accept infant baptism, the first author of the bestselling "The Pilgrim's Progress," Congregationalist and becoming second called Prince of Preachers, was associated with the Presbyterians, far away is therefore in them the spirit of pure Baptist. Thus the Calvinist theology of the Reformed Faith is similar to that of the early English Particular Baptists, but to many outside influences.
in the final chapters talk more about the development of the Baptist church and its current situation.
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