What Makes a Church Baptist?

The claim that Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church in America, in Providence, Rhode Island, is widely disputed. Williams and Dr. John Clark did help establish the colony of Rhode Island.

Williams and Ezekiel Holloman did start a society in Providence, and baptized each other. Williams repudiated his action four months later, became a seeker, and the society he founded dissolved. Williams, to his credit, did have baptistic views on infant baptism, soul competency and liberty of conscience.

Some claim that the first Baptist church in America was founded by Dr. Clark in Newport, R. I. in 1638--before Williams was even baptized. The claim is that Dr. Clark had been scripturally baptized in England.

The view that Smith and Helwys were the founders of English Baptists is also disputed.

Google John Clarke, Roger Williams, John Smith, etc., and you'll find plenty of material challenging the popular views.

 

I can t speak for anyone else but what makes me Baptist and Ill take it a bit further, Southern Baptist is that I believe to the letter this.

Southern Baptist Faith and message

This and this alone is why I am a Baptist.:jesus:

 

Yes, Tom, there were Baptist Churches in Wales before Smith in England. In fact, the Welsh church established a Baptist Church in Gloucestershire, England.

There is some discussion that the St. Patrick of Ireland was schooled in Wales and was also baptistic when he was sent to England as a missionary..........He never did drive the snakes out of Ireland though; they never existed!

The Pope claimed St. Patrick after his death and he became the patron saint of Ireland.

Cheers,

Jim

 

W. A Jarrell wrote an article supporting this position. Here's an exerpt:

Patrick was a Baptist. - (1) He baptized only professed believers. (2) He baptized by only immersion. Dr. Catchcart says: "There is absolutely no evidence that any baptism but that of immersion of adult believers existed among the ancient Britons, in the first half of the fifth century, nor for a long time afterwards." In St. Patrick's "letter to Crocius" he describes some of the persons whom he immersed as "baptizedc captives," "baptized handmaidens of Christ," "baptized women distributed as rewards" and then as "baptized believers." (3) In church government St. Patrick was a baptist. Though this appears in the note to this page, I will add proof to it. "Patrick founded 365 church-es and consecrated the same number of bishops, and ordained 3000 presbyters." "If we take the testimony of Nennius, St. Patrick placed a bishop in every church which he founded; and several presbyters after the example of the New Testament churches

William Cathcart edited an Encyclopedia of Baptists in 1881.

For the other side of the issue go here: It's too long to paste:

http://christian-apologetics-society.blogspot.com/2008/03/saint-patrick-baptist-not.html

 

One of the things for which we should be most thankful is the place God put us to worship. Think about all the countries you could be worshiping in which might cost one their life. Think about all the off the wall denominations one could have been placed in only to listen to a barrage of false doctrine.

Praise God for the Baptist faith. I think this is why churches that hide the name because of embarrasment or some stigma and those who worship there really irk me. It should be a badge of honor.

 

Men and women in the past have paid a price just to be Baptist. The problem today is that too many Baptist churches are seen as polemical and having an attitude as "us 4 and no more." A number are seen as proud of their heritage instead of doing what they are supposed to be doing. They are spending their time fighting and splitting hairs because they are not doing what God has called them to do. The attitude of having pride in their heritage reminds me of what Jesus addressed among the Jews.

My hunch is that a number of them are just as separatist as those who claim to be, just for a different reason.