Baptists

Protestant Christians who accept the basic tenets of the 1 6th-century Reformation (justification by faith, the authority of the Scriptures, and the priesthood of the believer) but have added other beliefs and practices, including baptism of believers by immersion only, the separation of church and state, and the autonomy of the local church. The Baptists are important for their emphasis on these and other beliefs and for their numbers.

The great majority of Baptists (almost 30 million in the early 1980s) are located in 27 denominations in the United States, where they make up between one-third and one-half of the Protestant population. Other countries of Baptist strength in descending order of total membership are India, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, and Nigeria. Baptists espoused some of the religious convictions of the Anabaptists, although no established connection existed between the two groups. Organisationally, Baptists originated in the early 17th century in Holland and England, with John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, English separatists from the Anglican church, as leaders.

Distinctive Beliefs

Baptists believe in a church composed only of regenerated or converted individuals, that is, people who have had a personal experience of the Christian religion. The theological term is “a gathered church”. Individuals join voluntarily following repentance for sin and affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. This is in contrast to a state church, in which all who are born within a given geographical territory and receive the sacraments automatically become members, or a church in which infants who are baptised are considered members. Baptists’ conviction regarding regenerate membership, even more than their belief in believer’s baptism by immersion, led to their early persecution.

The Baptist emphasis on believer’s baptism, by immersion rather than by sprinkling or affusion, implies sufficient maturity to make a religious decision and is a specific rejection of infant baptism. Baptists feel that infants have no comprehension of repentance and faith; consequently, they reserve the ordinance until a time of understanding (usually early teenage years and after), when joining the church will be by personal choice and therefore more meaningful. Furthermore, Baptists believe that no biblical precedent exists for the baptism of infants. The mode of immersion is employed because it most closely follows the example of Jesus when he was baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan and because it corresponds symbolically with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as well as with the Pauline symbolism of the death” of the old, selfish nature and the “resurrection” of the new, unselfish individual. Baptists do not, however, consider baptism a sacrament through which special grace is received, but rather an ordinance whereby one makes public confession of a faith already received. In addition to the ordinance of baptism, Baptists also observe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, or communion; many congregations do so on the first Sunday of each month. They interpret this as a memorial experience. See Eucharist.

The Bible, interpreted by the individual, is regarded as the ultimate religious authority in matters of faith and practice. This is in contrast to other possible authorities, such as tradition, reason, and human experience. Infrequently, Baptists have adopted creeds to give expression to their faith and to clarify their beliefs, but they have not elevated these to a place of equal or superior authority to the Scriptures. Individual biblical interpretation, in terms of theology, has resulted in a variety of Baptists.

Baptists follow the doctrine of separation of church and state, with a corresponding emphasis on religious liberty. In both England and America, Baptists were among the forerunners protesting an established church or a union between church and state. This was based on the conviction that religion is a personal relationship between the human soul and God, a relationship with which no one may interfere, Early in the 17th century, as advocates of such religious liberty, the Baptists led in the founding (in what is now Rhode Island) of the first civil government in the world to be based on a separation of church and state (see Church and State). Although Baptists have opposed an official tie between the state and any religious organisation, nevertheless they feel a responsibility to exert moral and spiritual influence on the state.

Baptists believe in the autonomy of the local church, which is the key unit in Baptist polity. The local church ordains and calls its own clergy and theoretically may dismiss its own clergy. No power—ecclesiastical or secular—may dictate to a local Baptist congregation. Voluntarily, however, most Baptist churches unite with other Baptist churches in associations, state conventions, national denominations, and the Baptist World Alliance for the purposes of fellowship, mutual assistance, and the support of common educational, evangelistic, and missionary goals. Baptists argue that the self-government of the local church preserves the spirit of democracy, encourages the participation of lay people in the church, and permits a wide range of theological expression.

Baptists have never adopted a universal creed, although on occasion they have adopted confessions of faith (Philadelphia, 1742; New Hampshire, 1832). More frequently they have adhered to church covenants that are not doctrinally oriented but set forth general ethical standards by which Baptists are expected to live.

History

John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, English separatists of Congregational persuasion, founded the first Baptist church, on Dutch soil, at Amsterdam in 1609. Smyth eventually joined the Mennonites and Helwys returned to an unfriendly England. There, in 1611 or 1612, he led a small group of Christians in establishing the first Baptist church on English soil, at Spitalsfield, near London. As they grew in number, English Baptists came to be divided between General Baptists and Particular Baptists. The former, who were Arminians (see Arminianism), believed that the spiritual benefits of the death of Jesus applied potentially to all people; the latter believed, with the Calvinists, that those benefits applied only to the elect (see Predestination). Eventually these two groups united in the 19th century, when theological issues had changed and the need of an effective missionary advance helped to draw them more closely together. From their base in England, Baptists have grown to number more than 1 million members in Europe.

It was in America, however, that Baptists experienced their greatest growth. Roger Williams, an English Puritan clergyman, founded the first Baptist church in America at Providence, Rhode Island, in 1639. About the same time, the doctor and minister John Clarke established a Baptist congregation at Newport, Rhode Island. Frequently the subject of bitter persecution, the denomination at first grew slowly, but Baptist growth accelerated in the 18th century largely as a result of the movement known as the Great Awakening. Later in the same century, the Baptists ardently supported the American War of Independence and thus became more popular. In the 19th century the Baptists, like most other Protestant denominations, split over the issue of slavery. This led to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. In 1907 the northern Baptists formed the Northern Baptist Convention (now the American Baptist Churches in the USA). In the midst of their growth, the Baptists had a strong appeal for members of the black community. Today, seven-eighths of the black population in the United States that claims denominational affiliation belongs to either a Baptist or a Methodist church. In Canada, Baptist congregations were first formed about 1760, and the longest continuous history of a single Baptist church is claimed by a congregation organized in Horton (now Wolfville, Nova Scotia), in 1778.

Curr ent Attitudes Infant Baptism

Baptism, form of initiation (often referred to as a rite) used throughout the Christian churches. The term derives from the Greek word baptizein, which is thought to have the general meaning of “to dip repeatedly” or perhaps “to immerse”. Christian baptism is particularly associated with the use of water as a symbol of purification. There are important continuities here with the Jewish law, which stipulated that water was to be used for ritual cleansing. Some of the later Jewish prophets speak of how those returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon would cross the River Jordan and be sprinkled with its water to cleanse them of their sins. Gentiles who converted to Judaism were generally required to baptise themselves as a sign of their new religious commitment. The practice of immersing in water was associated with the ministry of John the Baptist, who baptised Jews in the River Jordan at the time of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

The Meaning of Baptism

The practice of baptism “in the name of Jesus” or “into Christ” is described at several points in the New Testament. Some of the early sermons recorded in the Acts of the Apostles make explicit reference to the need to be baptised in order to be saved. Particular importance has been laid on a passage in the Gospel According to Matthew, in which Jesus commanded his followers to baptise “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Although there is disagreement within Christianity as to how many sacraments are to be recognised, there is universal agreement that baptism is one of them. The rite of baptism has been understood in a number of ways. Particularly on account of the influence of the writings of St Paul in the New Testament, it came to be understood as participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus (see Romans 6:1-11). The associated imagery of “taking off’ one’s old nature and “putting on” the new nature in Jesus Christ also proved influential. A link was also understood to exist between baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit, by which the Christian was regenerated. The Apostle’s Creed affirms belief in “one baptism for the remission of sins”, clearly establishing a link between the rite and this central theme of the Christian gospel.

Infant Baptism

Infant baptism has been the subject of disagreement among the Christian churches. The New Testament neither explicitly affirms nor denies the need to baptise infants. It seems that infant baptism became common at an early stage, possibly reflecting the Jewish understanding that even infants belong to the covenant community. While most major Christian denominations continue the practice of baptising infants, Baptist churches and many charismatic denominations hold that only believing adults should be baptised. In Western Christianity, it is generally required that infants who are to be baptised should have the support of “sponsors” (often referred to as “godparents”) who take on special responsibilities for the child’s upbringing. Infants who have been baptised are admitted to full church membership through confirmation, which involves the laying on of hands (and, in the Roman Catholic Church, anointing with oil), and subsequent admission to first communion.

Baptism in Practice

The practice of baptism developed considerably as time progressed. The earliest practices (such as those described in the Didache, which probably dates from the early 2nd century) describe a simple rite focusing on a triple immersion in water. However, other elements were soon added, including a period of fasting and teaching before baptism, the confession of sins, the renunciation of Satan, the laying on of hands, and especially anointing with oil. The practice of anointing with oil has important roots in the Jewish tradition. Some early Christian writers report that those who had been baptised took part in a symbolic meal of milk and honey, recalling Israel’s entry into the promised land of Canaan.

Modern Christianity offers a number of different approaches to baptism. In the Roman Catholic tradition, baptism is accompanied by exorcism and the anointing with oil and chrism (a mixture of olive oil and balsam). In Protestant denominations, a simpler form is adopted, in which water alone is used. There is some variation as to the manner in which the baptism itself is carried out. Some churches prescribe that baptism must take place by total immersion, while others require that the water is only to be applied to the head of the person to be baptised. While the form of words used varies, the formula of baptism “in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is widely used.

On social issues no single “Baptist” position exists, because of the Baptist belief in religious liberty and local church autonomy. It is noteworthy, however, that by 1975 the American Baptist Churches in the United States had ordained 50 women as ministers. Theologically, the issue of biblical inerrancy remains a concern of many southern Baptists.