Historical Development and Evolution of Baptist Teachings

I. Origins

We can trace Baptists origin from the Anabaptists (member of a fringe, or radical, movement of the Protestant Reformation and spiritual ancestor of modern Baptists, Mennonites, and Quakers.), a 16th-century Protestant movement on the European continent. Most scholars, however, agree that Baptists, as an English-speaking denomination, originated within 17th-century Puritanism (a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify” the Church of England of remnants of the Roman Catholic) as an offshoot of Congregationalism.

There were two groups in early Baptist life:

The Particular Baptists and the General Baptists. The Particular Baptists adheredto the doctrine of a particular atonement—that Christ died only for an elect—and were strongly Calvinist (following the Reformation teachings of John Calvin-total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints);

The General Baptists held to the doctrine of a general atonement—that Christ died for all people and not only for an elect—and represented the more moderate Calvinism of Jacobus Arminius (was a theologian and minister of the Dutch Reformed Church who opposed the strict Calvinist teaching on predestination and who developed in reaction a theological system known later as Arminianism.), a 17th-century Dutch theologian.

The two currents were also distinguished by a difference in churchmanship related to their respective points of origin. The General Baptists had emerged from the English Separatists, whereas the Particular Baptists had their roots in non-Separatist independency.

Both the Separatists and the non-Separatists were congregationalist. They shared the same convictions with regard to the nature and government of the church. They believed that church life should be ordered according to the pattern of the New Testament churches, and to them this meant that churches should be self-governing bodies composed of believers only.

They differed, however, in their attitude toward the Church of England. The Separatists contended that the Church of England was a false church and insisted that the break with it must be complete. The non-Separatists, more ecumenical in spirit, sought to maintain some bond of unity among Christians. While they believed that it was necessary to separate themselves from the corruption of parish churches, they also believed that it would be a breach of Christian charity to refuse all forms of communication and fellowship. While many non-Separatists withdrew and established a worship of their own, they would not go so far as to assert that the parish churches were devoid of all marks of a true church.

II. Growth outside the United States

While Baptists were troubled by divisive tendencies during the 20th century, there was also a tendency toward greater unity and cohesiveness through the Baptist World Alliance. The 19th century was a period of great Baptist missionary activity. The endeavour in Asia was led by William Carey in India, Adoniram Judson in Burma, and Timothy Richard and Lottie (Charlotte) Moon in China. The initial Baptist presence in Africa began in 1793 when David George, a former slave from South Carolina, reached Sierra Leone by way of Halifax, Nova Scotia. More organized activity was initiated in 1819 by Black Baptists of Richmond, Virginia, who sent Lott Cary to Sierra Leone in 1821 and then shifted his base of operations to Liberia in 1824. By the late 20th century there were major concentrations of Baptists in Congo (Kinshasa), Nigeria, and Cameroon. Of later origin is the Baptist community in Latin America.

III. Teachings

History

Initially Baptists were characterized theologically by strong to moderate Calvinism.

The theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant reformer in the 16th century, and its development by his followers.

The five points of Calvinism come to us today in a form that is quite traditional: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints.

The dominant continuing tradition in both England and the United States was Particular Baptist. By 1800 this older tradition was beginning to be replaced by evangelical doctrines fashioned by the leaders of the evangelical revival in England and the Great Awakening in the United States.

Most nineteenth-century evangelicals preached a kind of practical Arminianismwhich emphasized the duty and ability of sinners to repent and desist from sin.

By 1900 the older Calvinism had almost completely disappeared, and evangelicalism was dominant. The conciliatory tendency of evangelicalism and its almost complete preoccupation with “heart religion” and the experience of conversion largely denuded it of any solid theological structure, thereby opening the door to a new theological current that subsequently became known as modernism.

Modernism, which was an attempt to adjust the Christian faith to the new intellectual climate, made large inroads among the Baptists of England and the United States during the early years of the 20th century, and Baptists provided many outstanding leaders of the movement, including Shailer Mathews and Harry Emerson Fosdick.

Many people regarded these views as a threat to the uniqueness of the Christian revelation, and the counterreaction that was precipitated became known as fundamentalism (a movement emphasizing biblical literalism).

As a result of the controversy that followed, many Baptists developed a distaste for theology and became content to find their unity as Baptists in promoting denominational enterprises.

By 1950, outside the South, both modernists and fundamentalists were becoming disenchanted with their positions in the controversy, and it was from among adherents of both camps that a more creative theological encounter began to take place.

While the majority of Baptists remained nontheological in their interests and concerns, there were many signs that Baptist leadership was increasingly recognizing the necessity for renewed theological inquiry.

IV. Worship and organization

Baptist worship is hardly distinguishable from the worship of the older Puritan denominations (Presbyterians and Congregationalists) of England and the United States.

It centres largely on the exposition of the Scriptures in a sermon and emphasizes extemporaneous, rather than set, prayers.

Hymn singing also is one of the characteristic features of worship. Communion, received in the pews, is customarily a monthly observance.

Baptists insist that the fundamental authority, under Christ, is vested in the local congregation of believers, which admits and excludes members, calls and ordains pastors, and orders its common life in accord with what it understands to be the mind of Christ. These congregations are linked together in cooperative bodies—regional associations, state conventions, and national conventions—to which they send their delegates or messengers. The larger bodies, it is insisted, have no control or authority over a local church; they exist only to implement the common concerns of the local churches.

The pattern of organization of the local church has undergone change since the 20th century. Traditionally, the pastor was the leader and moderator of the congregation, but there has been a tendency to regard the pastor as an employed agent of the congregation and to elect a lay member to serve as moderator/chairman of deacon at corporate meetings of the church.

Traditionally, the deacons’ functions were to assist the pastor and to serve as agents to execute the will of the congregation in matters both temporal and spiritual; there has been a tendency, however, to multiply the number of church officers by the creation of boards of trustees, boards of education, boards of missions, and boards of evangelism.

Traditionally, decisions were made by the congregation in a church meeting, but there has been a tendency to delegate decision making to various boards. The relationship of local churches to the cooperative bodies has undergone similar change, which has occasioned ongoing discussion among all Baptist groups.

V. Future of Baptist Belief and Practice

Looking forward, the interaction between Baptist theology and missiology is expected to increase, reflecting a growing global perspective within the denomination. Questions about the interpretation of biblical texts in contemporary contexts and the role of Baptists in interdenominational unity are likely to shape the future discourse within Baptist communities. As Baptists continue to engage with these theological and practical issues, their historical commitment to scriptural authority and individual conscience will remain crucial in navigating the evolving landscape of global Christianity.