Ashamed of being a Baptist

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Reading thru this thread, is it just me, or does this seem a lot like when catholics claim to be the "Only true church?"

Thought God knows us as Christians first, not baptists!

Obviously you have never been and/or have limited experience with Catholics.

Depends on the age bracket & what flavor of roman Catholicism was being distilled in ones formative years. My mother was fond of saying that the RC church was the one & only & true church, for years. I was indoctrinated into that. My father (a secret non-catholic) circumvented it with stories of Luther & slights into comments made about RC Dogma.

But yes RC's have high opinions of their beliefs & ways....even after they leave the RCC they look for similar liturgical services (which are still steeped in error). The Pope just isnt there.

 

[Gregory Perry Sr.]

Say WHAT?

It is ridiculous only because people have lifted the name "Baptist" up to lofty and ridiculous heights. I am not ashamed to be a Baptist, but I AM ashamed of how many Baptists act, even (or perhaps ESPECIALLY) here on the BB.

The Devil must rejoice and God must weep when they see threads like this and the KJVO threads.

I'm not trying to derail the thread and this is the only comment about this that I will post here ....but I think you are stepping over a line when you suggest that the Devil rejoices and God WEEPS when I take a stand for a conviction that I have a perfect Bible supplied to me by a perfect God without any mixture of errors or mistakes (since that is what I believe as a KJVonlyist. God weeps when I believe and trust His word?? I don't think so. Sorry Mex....I can't accept that.

As for being a Baptist...if we are going to say we are Baptists for the reasons we believe in being one then we should NOT back away from calling ourselves that. It is less than honest to try to "sneak up on" Catholics or others by deleting the name Baptist from our signs. I believe that what "a person is won by,they are won TOO).

Bro.Greg

 

[preachinjesus]

The amount of accusation and belittling of other Christians in this thread is both tiresome and just plain disturbing.

 

[Mexdeaf]

I'm not trying to derail the thread and this is the only comment about this that I will post here ....but I think you are stepping over a line when you suggest that the Devil rejoices and God WEEPS when I take a stand for a conviction that I have a perfect Bible supplied to me by a perfect God without any mixture of errors or mistakes (since that is what I believe as a KJVonlyist. God weeps when I believe and trust His word?? I don't think so. Sorry Mex....I can't accept that.

As for being a Baptist...if we are going to say we are Baptists for the reasons we believe in being one then we should NOT back away from calling ourselves that. It is less than honest to try to "sneak up on" Catholics or others by deleting the name Baptist from our signs. I believe that what "a person is won by,they are won TOO).

Bro.Greg

Don't take this personally, but...

Yes, I say God weeps when we make MAN-MADE rules a test of doctrine or fellowship. And I can say it with conviction based on the book of Galatians, which is written to warn against such errors.

 

[Tom Butler]

I think it would be fair to say that if you describe yourself as merely a Christian to a lost person, he very well may have no clue as to what you mean, except that he isn't one.

Same thing with Baptist, Methodist, etc. Those labels mean little to lost people.

They do mean something to church-going folks, though. Even some of them may see little difference, but they understand there are some. Maybe all they know is that Baptists dunk and Methodists sprinkle.

So, it seems to me, that if one is dumping Baptist from the name to lure the lost to his church, it's probably a useless exercise.

And, let me add this: If you ask a Catholic, a Mormon, even a JW, if they are Christians, they'll say yes. And, in my part of the country, some people who say they belong to the Christian church mean they are members of the Disciples of Christ denomination.

The best one can hope for with the label Christian is that nobody will confuse them with Jews or Muslims.

A denominational label can be helpful.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

I say Im a Radical Christian...that tends to mess them up! :laugh:

 

[Michael Wrenn]

Let's narrow the focus of this thread a bit.

A local assembly is formed with the word Baptist in their name. Then, after x period of time, the church drops the word Baptist from their name.

Why?

IMO, it isn't much ado about nothing, if a local assembly, drops "Baptist" in order to conform to the world in some measure. If I understand correctly, the purpose of a church is to serve the needs of those already in the body of Christ. Then, those members go out to proclaim the gospel.

If that is true, why should a church act like a movie theater or sports arena -- ie make itself a lure to bring in crowds? If the crowds don't like the "entertainment, then, the individuals in the crowds won't come back.

There's a drive-in theater in a nearby town. All the others that I know about have either been torn down or converted to other uses, such as flea markets when drive-in's lost their appeal to John Q Public. Back in the 60's, going to a drive-in was the "thing to do" on a Friday/Saturday night, here in the south.

The remaining drive-in survived by switching from family rated entertainment to triple XXX rated movies. The sign out front was changed to reflect what was going on inside.

I know that's an extreme example, and I don't in any way mean to imply worship of our Lord is being compared directly to x rated movies. It is being used to reflect changing what's on the sign in front of a church is important.

If Baptists (whatever the flavor) stop proclaiming their faith, then aren't they, indeed conforming to the world in some manner? I am a Baptist. This is what I stand for. I am not a Catholic, Morman, Jehovah's Witness, Methodist, Congregational Christian, Church of God, Muslim, Hindu, or any other "religious" belief system.

Over the centuries, Baptists have been persecuted by "Christians" and non-Christians, alike. That's happened here in this country, even though it was founded on freedom of religion.

Outline of Baptist Persecution in Colonial America
http://www.brucegourley.com/baptists/persecutionoutline.htm



Protestant Persecution of Baptists in Early America
A Historical Account of the Brutal Punishment Inflicted Upon Elder Obadiah Holmes and Other Baptist Brethren
http://www.reformedreader.org/history/bp.htm

Lengthy article on Baptist persecution in England and the US.


Yesterday, men upholding the banner of BAPTIST suffered much.

Today, men are hiding the banner of BAPTIST because others might not like it.


"but this seems much ado about nothing"

Are you sure?

That is an excellent post.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

That is an excellent post.

I quite agree! :applause:

 

[Arbo]

Is this a question of identification, or doctrine?

 

[Iconoclast]

here is a church that has taken the name baptist out of their church....yes they have....and they are so ....sooo..... seeker friendly:
[link removed for content]

 

[Alive in Christ]

I'm sorry, but to me, if you don't have "Baptist" as part of your name, then you aren't a Baptist church

WHAT!!! ??

Are you serious??

 

[Dr. Bob]

Thread is past-limit. BTW, I am teaching elder/pastor of Sovereign Grace Church. We are Reformed Baptist (1644 London Confession - oldest English Baptists) and not ashamed of it. The second line of our title is "A Reformed Baptist Congregation".

But our name only says Sovereign Grace - emphasizing what God is all about, not our distinctives.