Hoffman Christology and Baptists

Thanks!

Having raised the spectre of Arianism and Unitarian heresy amongst our spiritual ancestors, I can't say I've come across a lot of it myself; neither of the London Confessions have dodgy Christology, although arguably, they weren't drawn up with that point of theology in mind. This is in contrast to a lot of 16th century continental Anabaptism which, whilst correctly rejecting the Constantinian Settlement, also tended to reject everything that came afterwards including (wrongly) the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

It should be noted that many if not most Anabaptists rejected Hoffmanite Christology though Dutch Anabaptists had a mild version of it. Menno Simons believed Jesus was perfect God and perfect man but believed the flesh of Christ was not received from his Mother but was created separately in the womb. Simons did however affirm Christ as God in the flesh and was Trinitarian in theology. I think his error dealt more with ignorance rather than embracing Arianism.

The Swiss Brethern (whom we might call the founders of the Radical Reformation) never held to any form of the Hoffmanite view.

Baptists it should be pointed out, while certaintly influenced by Anabaptists in Ecclesiology were also influenced heavily by the Church of England in other areas. Their roots in the Anglican Reformation I think protected them from some of the more extreme views of the Mennonites. If I am not mistaken however, I believe even Simons mild form of Hoffmanitism was jetisoned by the Mennonites in the middle 1600's and this milder Hoffmanite Christology was not emphasied much by the Dutch Anabaptists and does not appear in any Anabaptist confession I am aware of.


.

 

The Calvinist Baptists became heavily influenced by Calvin's heretical rejection of the Creed of Nicaea, especially after the Act of Uniformity when their ranks were swelled by Puritans. The Generals were mainly rural, and their association refused to discipline arianism, with the result that many left, resulting in the apostacy of the general baptists into unitarianism which emphasised religous liberty.

Dean

 

All I can suggest is that the principals of individualised religious liberty, and of private judgement, attracted all kinds of humanistic, rationalist, and deist types into the General Baptists. We must keep in mind that a similar apostasy took place in other denominations....firstly in the Presbyterians, but also among the Puritans and Anglicans. Only the Particular Baptists seem to have been unscathed, and they were the only group which by and large rejected seminary and a professional clergy.

The 1678 Confession of the General Baptists shows a strong influence of Calvinism and Protestantism. This may have had something to do with the exodus of the best of the General Baptists into the Particulars and Friends.

Dean

 

No, I haven't been able to get the full text of the Orthodox Creed either....just bits and pieces. Hopefully it will be available on the net soon.
Dean