The Baptists: A Short History
Who are the
Baptists?
The Baptist family consists of 43
million members (year 2000 figures) in a world community of over 100 million
people found in over 200 countries. Baptist origins are in the radical wing
of the Reformation, though groups holding to Baptistic principles are found
throughout the history of the Church. Baptist churches in England began in
the early 17th Century and in Scotland in the middle of the 18th Century.
The first Baptist church in Scotland was founded by Sir William Sinclair in
1750 on his estate at Keiss, north of Wick in Caithness. The Baptist Union
of Scotland comprises some 15,000 members in over 170 churches, located in
cities, towns, villages, rural areas and islands from the Shetland Isles to
the Solway Firth, - and also includes two in England at Berwick and
Carlisle.
So, where do the
Baptists come from?
After the early apostolic era
there was a tendency for organized religion. In 313 A.D. the Roman emperor
Constantine Christianized his empire and gradually the Church became
a corrupt and ineffective system. However, there were always those who
despised the escalating apostasy and held on to Biblical principles, but
unfortunately they were hounded and persecuted for their faith. Such groups
included the Petrobusians1,
the Paulicians2, from
Asia Minor, the Waldensians, the Lollards and the Hussites.
During the Reformation when Martin
Luther and John Calvin confronted the Church of Rome a group known as the
Anabaptists argued that the Reformation had not gone far enough! They
claimed absolute religious freedom from the State and emphasised that each
individual was accountable to God. They sought to bring into existence the
“Common Man’s Reformation”.
The Anabaptists were generally
doctrinally sound, - although sometimes their Christology was dubious. Some
of them also expressed the belief that the New Testament was superior to the
Old Testament. Some of them rejected predestination, unconditional election,
and irresistible grace3. They rejected infant baptism, and sought
to form themselves into groups of ‘regenerates’ with a simple church
government. They had a commendable view of the Lord’s Table. Some of them
also
practised foot-washing. They
argued for universal toleration and opposed military service and political
involvement.
The first anabaptist church was in
Zurich and they soon spread throughout Switzerland. However, they became
unpopular and many were persecuted, drowned, burnt, beheaded. The Anabaptist
movement came to be discredited by the actions of some of its members, for
example, the infamous Jan Mattthys. However, under the guidance of Menno
Simons (the founder of the Mennonites) the Anabaptists reorganised and
enjoyed protection under the Dutch King William of Orange.
In England Henry VIII’s quarrel with
Rome allowed Protestantism to flourish. The Bible was translated and placed
in every church (1539). Edward VI (1547-53) protected the Protestants but
his successor, Mary (r. 1553-58), burned 288 of them. Under her reign many
fled to Geneva and returned during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. Those who
returned advocated the ways of Calvin but Elizabeth was less than impressed
and imprisoned some of them. Her successor, James VI (1603-25), disliked the
Puritans but sought to heal the growing rift between them and the Anglicans
with the introduction of the King James Version of the Bible (1611).
The origin of the Baptists is traced
back to John Smyth who was an Anglican clergyman-turned Puritan-turned
Separatist before becoming a Baptist. He fled to Holland where he became
involved with a church in Amsterdam. However, he dissolved that church,
baptized himself and his colleague, Thomas Helwys, and formed the church
again. This was the first English Baptist Church founded in Holland (1609).
After Smyth’s death Helwys returned to England and founded the first Baptist
Church in Spitalfields, London (1612). He, as a General Baptist, rejected
Calvinism and retained the anabaptist view that Church and State should
remain separate. He published “A Short Declaration of the Mystery of
Iniquity” (200 pages) and submitted a copy to the king, demanding liberty of
conscience. He also informed the king that his authority was in earthly
matters alone, and that a man’s religion was between himself and God.
However, the king failed to agree with Helwys and promptly imprisoned him.
He died in 1616.
Although the beginnings of the Baptist
movement date back to about 1609 total immersion was not practised until
1642. The General Baptist movement spread throughout England and was
marked by a strong Arminian emphasis. However, they began to decline for the
following reasons: they did not have any churches in the larger towns; they
tended to look to the past rather than to the future; there was no
evangelism; they had a low view of the ministry. Many became unitarian.
The Particular Baptists
were heavily influenced by hyper-Calvinism which paralysed their preaching
and discouraged evangelism. However, many of them were great men and women
of God. In England Particular Baptists have remained until this day under
their new title, “Grace Baptists”.
The following are names of notable
Baptist ministers and leaders worthy of further study.
John Smyth John Gill
Dan Taylor F.B.
Meyer
Andrew Fuller Alexander Carson
C.H. Spurgeon Wm. Carey
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