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Theories of Baptist Origins

This document discusses various theories about the origins of Baptists: 1. Successionism theories argue Baptists have existed continuously since the 1st century by tracing a direct line of churches, baptisms, or ideas back to Jesus or John the Baptist. 2. The Anabaptist Kinship theory sees Baptists as spiritually related to 16th century Anabaptists who influenced early English Separatists. 3. The English Separatist Descent theory contends Baptists originated from certain English Separatist congregations that adopted believers' baptism in the late 16th/early 17th centuries.

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Daniel Petre Ursu Slavu
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990 views

Theories of Baptist Origins

This document discusses various theories about the origins of Baptists: 1. Successionism theories argue Baptists have existed continuously since the 1st century by tracing a direct line of churches, baptisms, or ideas back to Jesus or John the Baptist. 2. The Anabaptist Kinship theory sees Baptists as spiritually related to 16th century Anabaptists who influenced early English Separatists. 3. The English Separatist Descent theory contends Baptists originated from certain English Separatist congregations that adopted believers' baptism in the late 16th/early 17th centuries.

Uploaded by

Daniel Petre Ursu Slavu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THEORIES OF BAPTIST ORIGINS

BAPTIST HISTORY RAP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLPw7nFQ ns

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? BAPTIST BELIEFS, PRINCIPLES, DISTINCTIVES


1. Salvation by grace through faith. 2. Inspiration and supreme authority of Scripture. 3. Priesthood of all believers. 4. Believers baptism by immersion. 5. Separation of church & state/religious liberty. 6. Regenerate church membership. 7. Autonomous congregational church govt. yet wider cooperative relationships.

SUCCESSIONIST THEORY

Leon McBeths Baptist Heritage separates continuation of Baptist teachings through the ages and succession of Baptist churches through the ages.both are really variations of successionism successionists believe that Baptists (or their ideas) have been in existence since the 1st centurythey posit an unbroken historical chain back to John the Baptist (or Jesus) some similarities to apostolic succession taught by Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Anglicanism (chain of bishops back to the apostle Peter)

CHURCH SUCCESSIONISM
Using Matt. 16:13-20, successionists see an unbroken chain of local Baptist churches showing true marks of the church going back to 1st century G. H. OrchardEnglish Baptist who wrote A Concise History of Baptists in England (1838)pub. in America in 1855 with intro. By J. R. Graves (context of denominational rivalry on American frontier)in 1931 J. M. Carroll offered a more condensed version of Orchards thesis with his famous Trail of Blood

J. M. CARROLL (1852-1931): AUTHOR OF THE TRAIL OF BLOOD

CHURCH SUCCESSIONISM (CONT.)


J. M. CrampCanadian Baptist who wrote Baptist History: From the Foundations of the Christian Church to the Close of the Eighteenth Century (1868) John T. Christianprof. at Baptist Bible Institute (now NOBTS) in New Orleans wrote 2-vol. A History of the Baptists (1922)

BAPTISMAL SUCCESSIONISM
sees a chain of true and proper baptisms dating back to 1st centurysometimes baptismal successionism tied in with church successionism Joseph Ivimey published 4-vol. History of the English Baptists (1812-1830)

IDEOLOGICAL SUCCESSIONISM
argument that principles/ideas evident in groups or individuals who have essentially maintained a Baptist witness since the 1st centurythere was never a time when all the basic principles/ideas needed for a true church were absent Thomas Crosbyanother English Baptist wrote 4-vol. The History of the English Baptists (1738-40) David Benedictpub. 2-vol. A General History of the Baptist Denomination in America and Other Parts of the World (1813)

IDEOLOGICAL SUCCESSIONISM (CONT.)

Thomas ArmitageAmericanwrote A History of the Baptists (1887)specifically repudiated church successionism A. H. NewmanA History of Antipaedobaptism (1897) McBethnot a successionist, but note statement from pamphlet Baptist Beginnings: The earliest Baptists recovered and proclaimed anew the old faith that has come down the centuries from the Lord and his apostles. The Baptist denomination dates from the seventeenth century; the Baptist faith, we believe, dates from the first century.

IDEOLOGICAL SUCCESSIONISM (CONT.)


McBeth in The Baptist Heritage (p. 61): The seventeenth-century Baptists did not invent these doctrines; they rediscovered and articulated them afresh for a new era. at the same time, it does not appear that McBeth holds to an unbroken ideological line

ISSUES RE: SUCCESSIONISM


ecclesiologynature of the churchis it local only or local and universal? successionists say local assembly only are Baptists Protestants? successionists say no

CRITIQUES OF SUCCESSIONISM
W. Morgan PattersonBaptist Successionism: A Critical View (1969) James McGoldrickBaptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History (1994) critiques have focused on problem of historical data (missing links) and the reality that many dissenting groups identified by successionists as Baptist or Baptistic were heretical

ANABAPTIST KINSHIP THEORY


traces a spiritual relationship or kinship between Baptists and 16th-century Anabaptiststhis theory can overlap with successionism with the Anabaptists viewed as a key link in the chain or trail this theory argues that Anabaptists were forerunners of English Separatism and helped some Separatists move from infant baptism to believers baptism

ADVOCATES OF ANABAPTIST KINSHIP


Walter RauschenbuschGerman-American social gospeler who identified Baptists with socially radical Anabaptists A. C. UnderwoodEnglish Baptist who emphasized influence of Anabaptists on John Smythsee A History of the English Baptists (1947) William Esteptaught at SWBTSarticles in the Quarterly Review in 1968 & 1969 promoted Anabaptist kinshipsee also his The Anabaptist Story (orig. pub. in 1963)

WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH (1861-1918)

ADVOCATES (CONT.)
Glen Stassenformerly of SBTS, now at Fuller Seminary2 articles in Baptist History & Heritage in Spring 1998 drew links between Menno Simons (1496-1561) and the 1st London Confession (1644) Paige Patterson, et al. at SWBTS attempting to revive interest in Anabaptistshe established an annual Radical Reformation Day (Jan. 21) problemseven though there were similarities between Baptists and Anabaptists, we will see that there were also significant differences

ENGLISH SEPARATIST DESCENT THEORY


contends that Baptists came from certain English Separatists who practiced congregational church polity and came to embrace believers baptism alone as valid according to NT this theory focuses on context of English Puritanism and Separatism in late 16th, early 17th centuries as most significant for rise of the Baptists

ADVOCATES OF SEPARATIST DESCENT THEORY


William Whitsittprof./president of SBTSpub. A Question in Baptist History (1896)dated origin of Baptists to recovery of immersion in 1641this view endorsed by A. H. Strong of Rochester Seminary in a 1904 address John ShakespeareEnglish Baptist wrote Baptist and Congregational Pioneers (1906)traced Baptist roots to English Particular Baptists, cutting out General Baptist line

WILLIAM H. WHITSITT (1841-1911)

ADVOCATES (CONT.)

Henry Vedderprof. at Crozer Seminary pub. A Short History of the Baptists (1907)misleadingly categorized by McBeth (p. 58) under continuation of biblical teachings viewVedder wrote: After 1610 we have an unbroken succession of Baptist churches and from the year 1641, at the latest, Baptist doctrine and practice have been the same in all essential features that they are

ADVOCATES (CONT.)

English Separatist descent theory the most widely held view by modern Baptist historianse.g., Robert Torbet, Winthrop Hudson, Robert Baker

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