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| Who Are The Baptists? A Study by John of AllFaith © 9.03.08 |
Who Are The Baptists? In my opinion, if one takes the Authorized King James Version of the Bible, reads the words on the page, and accepts those words as the literal Word of God without question, one will, with a couple of exceptions, find essential Baptist doctrine presented. The main area where Baptist doctrine does not line up with the Bible in my opinion is on the matter of the biblically mandated Sabbath. Like most Christians, most Baptists fail to obey the Fourth of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath Commandment. But again, there are Seventh Day Baptists!
Does this mean that Baptist doctrine is "true" and that all other teachings are "false?" Does it mean that Baptists hold to the original teachings of Jesus and his disciples? Many Baptists believe so...
But in my my opinion, no, this does not necessarily follow. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth also requires sincere students to consider others factors. I present a different understanding of this in my Noahide Nazarene Web Site.
However for those who wish to take a biblically literalistic approach to Christianity, the Baptists have a lot to offer.
The Origin of the Baptist Faith.
Surprisingly there is no certain answer to this question accepted by all Baptists. There are three primary views held by Baptists as to their origins.
1. Baptists as the Disciples of John the Baptist:
Some Baptists believe they are the remnant and lineage of John the Baptist and his followers. They believe that John's followers accepted Jesus first and that the name Baptist was kept as a tribute to their founder. They find confirmation for this view in the following verse:
Matt 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.These Baptists believe that their denomination is the true and original version of the Christian faith. They further teach that through John the promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were passed over to the Gentile Church.
In my opinion this view is lacking in both historicity and textual support.
2. Baptists as the Disciples of Paul:
John the Baptist is viewed by these Baptists as the last of the "Old Testament" prophets also. The next major teacher after John the Baptist, not counting Jesus of course, is Paul and they consider his teachings to be the foundation of their faith.
These Baptists believe themselves to be the defenders of Paul's teachings and religion. They teach that Paul's inspired writings provide the religious link between the Judaism of the "Old Testament" and the Christian doctrines of the New Testament. They consider his teachings to be the source of Christian practice and faith.
Like the previous group, these Christians believe their predecessors maintained an unbroken lineage from the first century to the present day. Faithful Baptists, they teach, were forced underground at various times in their history and so were not always mentioned, but they managed to avoid absorption into Roman Catholicism with the rest of the Church. They existed as a secretive substratum of true Believers.
These Baptists teach that within the core of Baptist doctrine the original teachings of Jesus and his disciples survives intact. They often say that those who read the Bible and accept it as it is without interpretation will inevitably embrace Baptist understandings. Such Baptists place great stress on the inerrancy of the Bible. In support of their biblical religious views they often point to these verses:
I Cor:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.That which is perfect, they believe, is the Authorized King James Version of the Bible. This is partly why Baptists are among the staunchest supports of the KJV and among the most adamant rejectors of the New Age versions like the NIV (New International Version). I discuss the NIV and other New World Order bibles here.
3. Baptists as Protestants:
The term Protestant refers to those members of the Roman Catholic Church like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and others who protested and later left Papal religion. For this reason many Baptists do not consider themselves to be "Protestants" at all. The Reformers and their followers founded several denominations like Lutheranism.
The most likely origins of the Baptist denomination are through the Anabaptist movements inspired by Protestants like Ulrich Zwingli however many Baptists, as discussed above, maintain that Baptists have always existed as independent Bible-based Christians. Historically however Protestantism is the most likely origin.
The most historically verifiable understanding is that following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE Christianity existed in many often contradictory sects. In time the Roman emperor Constantine established the Roman Catholic Church as the only legally recognized Christian sect. All others were outlawed. Certainly there existed individuals Catholics who maintained differing beliefs but not as organized bodies. I discuss this period of Church history in some detail elsewhere. The Bible itself and all of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith were developed by the Vatican during this period. The Protestant Reformers, including the Baptists, sought to restore the original teachings of Jesus and his disciples based on the books and basic doctrines they had inherited from the Catholic Church.
In my opinion then, Baptists are Protestants who developed doctrines that are closer to the literal reading of the Vatican established Bible than most others. This does not necessarily mean they are closer to the teachings of Jesus.
Like other Protestants, those Christians who came to be known as Baptists agreed with the ninety five treatises of Martin Luther and were committed to establishing biblical Christianity. They were especially concerned about issues of salvation. According to Roman Catholicism ones salvation rests in the hands of the Papal authorities. Catholic priests and other Church officials wielded this power over the people and many people had concluded that only the blessings of the Papacy mattered. Even the most repentant would receive salvation if they were rich enough and has the right Vatican views. An essential element of these Protestants beliefs centered around biblical teachings of salvation and authority. This conviction led to standard Baptist belief known as the Priesthood of all Believers.
According to Baptists, salvation is granted directly by God to any sincere penitent without the intervention of priests, financial considerations etc. This conviction excluded infant salvation as one must be old enough to be repentant. Likewise, baptism by full-body immersion as an act of obedience to God signifying that one has received divine forgiveness and mercy. This Baptist view is basically the same as the Jewish use of mikvah that preceded it.
These Christians specifically opposed the Roman Catholic practice of infant baptism and baptism by sprinkling rather than full water immersion. Among other things, Baptists stress the biblical practice of full-immersion water baptism as a post salvation evidence of repentant Believers in Jesus. The other distinctive Baptist dogma is the Priesthood of all Believers, which is to say, that each Baptist stands or falls before God on his/her own and that only Jesus is the moderator between God and man.
The name Baptist is directly associated with and descended from the earlier group known as the Anabaptists. These 16th century Believers became the Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and, in Germany, the Baptists.
Under the persecutions of the 16th and 17th centuries many of these post-Anabaptists eventually found their way to England and came to be known as the English Dissenters. They opposed the Church of England, stressing the importance of the Church remaining unfettered from all government. They rallied around the cry: "No bishop, no king!" In time they came to be known simply as Baptists.
In 1639, Roger Williams planted a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and John Clarke began one in Newport, Rhode Island. These are the first known Baptist churches in the US.
In time the Baptist Faith spread like wildfire throughout the New World where the church gradually divided into various sects (Southern Baptists, Freewill Baptist, Independent Baptists, Missionary Baptists and so on.
"The Baptists number over 110 million worldwide in more than 220,000 congregations, and are considered the largest world communion of evangelical Protestants, with an estimated 38 million members in North America. 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).
"According to a poll in the 1990s, about one in five Christians in the United States claims to be a Baptist. U.S. Baptists are represented in more than fifty separate groups. Ninety-two percent of Baptists are found in five of those 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).
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