how to become a baptist?

[Armchair Apologist]

It is held by many Baptists but is not listed as being among those "distinctive baptist doctrines"

Agreed. Pretty much their inception, there has been a battle between the "Particular" and "General" Baptists.

That is, unless you hold to the view of Baptist Perpetuity ("Trail of Blood") which perhaps some here would tout?

 

[David Lamb]

It is held by many Baptists but is not listed as being among those "distinctive baptist doctrines"

Indeed. Here in the UK, at one time, most Baptists believed the doctrines of Grace. The 1646 and 1689 London Baptist Confessions of Faith reflect that. Nowadays, the majority of Baptist churches in the UK are part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the very denomination Spurgeon came out from in the "Downgrade Controversy," and tend to be Arminian. (Those Baptist churches here that remain Calvinistic tend to be called "Grace Baptist churches" or "Reformed Baptist churches."

 

[Jerome]

Here in the UK, at one time, most Baptists believed the doctrines of Grace. The 1646 and 1689 London Baptist Confessions of Faith reflect that.

Oh? And what did all the General Baptist Confessions of the 1600s reflect?

List of Baptist confessions of faith - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"1611 Helwys Declaration of Faith (General Baptist)
1644 First London Confession of Faith - revised in 1646, 1651, and 1652 (Particular Baptist)
1651 The Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations (General Baptist)
1654 The True Gospel-Faith Declared According to the Scriptures (Particular Baptist)
1655 Midlands Confession of Faith (Particular Baptist)
1656 Somerset Confession of Faith (Particular Baptist)
1660 Standard Confession of Faith - revised in 1663 and 1691 (General Baptist)
1677 Second London Confession of Faith - revised in 1689 (Particular Baptist)
1679 Orthodox Creed (General Baptist)
1691 Short Confession (Particular Baptist)"

Timeline of Baptist and Reformed History, 17th Century | The Reformed Reader

The Reformed Reader is committed to the historic Baptist faith.

www.reformedreader.org

In 1660 "There were more than 200 Baptist churches in England (about 130 Particular Baptist, and 110 General Baptist), with more in Wales."

 

[David Lamb]

Oh? And what did all the General Baptist Confessions of the 1600s reflect?

List of Baptist confessions of faith - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"1611 Helwys Declaration of Faith (General Baptist)
1644 First London Confession of Faith - revised in 1646, 1651, and 1652 (Particular Baptist)
1651 The Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations (General Baptist)
1654 The True Gospel-Faith Declared According to the Scriptures (Particular Baptist)
1655 Midlands Confession of Faith (Particular Baptist)
1656 Somerset Confession of Faith (Particular Baptist)
1660 Standard Confession of Faith - revised in 1663 and 1691 (General Baptist)
1677 Second London Confession of Faith - revised in 1689 (Particular Baptist)
1679 Orthodox Creed (General Baptist)
1691 Short Confession (Particular Baptist)"

Timeline of Baptist and Reformed History, 17th Century | The Reformed Reader

The Reformed Reader is committed to the historic Baptist faith.

www.reformedreader.org

In 1660 "There were more than 200 Baptist churches in England (about 130 Particular Baptist, and 110 General Baptist), with more in Wales."

Yes, and I think I am correct in saying that most of those early General Baptists were led astray into Unitarianism. Perhaps somebody who knows history better than I do could confirm or deny this. I found this website The Future of Baptist Theology with a Look at Its Past which includes the following:

"Second, Baptists have continued to affirm those basic Christian doctrines that they share with other professing Christians and with all Protestants. Baptists have adhered to the patristic consensus regarding the Trinity and the person of Christ, or made the march from Nicaea I to Chalcedon, even when they did not acknowledge such. Note John Gill on the Trinity. Hence Baptists were able to identify heresy, such as the earliest English General Baptists becoming Unitarian in belief by the early 18th Century. "

It's a university website, so I imagine it is probably accurate, but I don 't know for certain.

 

[Jerome]

Your linked article also says this!

"Hyper-Calvinism plagued the Particular Baptists during the 18th Century"

 

[David Lamb]

Your linked article also says this!

"Hyper-Calvinism plagued the Particular Baptists during the 18th Century"

That may well be true. Certainly that doesn't mean that all Particular Baptists are/were Hyer-Calvinists.

 

[Jerome]

I found this website The Future of Baptist Theology with a Look at Its Past which includes the following:

"...English General Baptists becoming Unitarian in belief by the early 18th Century."

And certainly that doesn't mean that all General Baptists are/were Unitarian.

 

[David Lamb]

And certainly that doesn't mean that all General Baptists are/were Unitarian.

The impression I have, not only from the site I linked to, is that the early General Baptists almost died out because of the f8all into Unitarianism. Have we got any history buffs here who know for certain?

 

[Armchair Apologist]

Yes, and I think I am correct in saying that most of those early General Baptists were led astray into Unitarianism. Perhaps somebody who knows history better than I do could confirm or deny this. I found this website The Future of Baptist Theology with a Look at Its Past which includes the following:

"Second, Baptists have continued to affirm those basic Christian doctrines that they share with other professing Christians and with all Protestants. Baptists have adhered to the patristic consensus regarding the Trinity and the person of Christ, or made the march from Nicaea I to Chalcedon, even when they did not acknowledge such. Note John Gill on the Trinity. Hence Baptists were able to identify heresy, such as the earliest English General Baptists becoming Unitarian in belief by the early 18th Century. "

It's a university website, so I imagine it is probably accurate, but I don 't know for certain.

We should all take a pause and ask why it is that the Particular Baptists often remain stable and doctrinally strong while the General Baptists have slid into theological liberalism and apostacy. I would say it goes far beyond one being right and the other being wrong. It has much to do with what you do with things that are difficult and whether you choose to stick with the scriptures or with the popular opinion of your day.

Case in point (that is not related to Calvinism) is regarding the origins of the Southern Baptist Convention here in the United States. The Southern Baptists separated from the Triennual Convention (American Baptist Convention today) supposedly to uphold the institution of slavery but the real issue was over the authority of scripture and whether the scriptures actually condemned slavery. Long story short is that the SBC has been able to remain somewhat theologically conservative while the ABCUSA has largely slipped into theological liberalism and apostacy! It was not that the SBC was right about slavery but that they refused to dismiss the authority of scripture.

Coming back to the modern SBC (and returning to the issue of Calvinism - sorry!), there is an ongoing battle between the conservatives and moderate/liberals that surfaces at pretty much every SBC convention. I believe it is safe to say that not all SBC Conservatives are Calvinist but that all SBC Calvinists are Conservative! It therefore behooves non-Calvinist SBC Conservatives to not alienate the Calvinists who are very much their allies in the fight against modernism and liberalism that is creeping into and attempting to take over our institutions!

 

[Jerome]

there is an ongoing battle between the conservatives and moderate/liberals that surfaces at pretty much every SBC convention. I believe it is safe to say that not all SBC Conservatives are Calvinist but that all SBC Calvinists are Conservative!

Oh brother.
It moreso conservatives disagreeing with other conservatives at the Annual Meetings. There were Calvinists on both sides of this year's big issue.

and Southern Baptists refusal to do a confession of faith is what hamstrung Northern Convention conservatives' effort to do so in the early 1920s.