The Church constantly veers off into the land of mistaken views, but then under the influence of the Holy Spirit’s work returns to the essential truths of scripture. Augustine helped the Church avoid many mistaken views, but planted seeds which grew bad fruit, chief among these was the merger of Church and State, based on trying to mirror the theocracy of Israel before the advent of King Saul.
As is true with all human institutions, when leadership puts down the Pied Piper’s pipe of persuasion, and picks up the whip of compulsion, the institution spirals down to its demise. When an institution becomes defensive, where divergent views are suppressed because they do not mesh with the existing views of leadership, stagnation results and turmoil eats away at the institutions foundations of willing unity.
The advent of the Protestant Reformation is generally accepted to be when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg Church in 1517. But prior to that event other “mini reformations” occurred and were suppressed. Prior to the formation of the Anglican Church, where Henry VIII took control of the Roman Catholic Church in England in 1534, other men of England had protested the errant or thought to be errant views of the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1390, one of the earliest English translations of the Bible, what came to be known as the Lollard Bible, was published in England. This translation from the Vulgate was primarily the work of John Wycliffe who had died in 1384. During the period of 1387 and 1408, the Lollards presented views at odds with Church authority. Rather than dying out, the movement, hording the treasure of God’s word, their Lollard family bibles, went underground and periodically brought the flaws, by their lights, before the Roman Catholic and later Anglican authorities.
The puritans were Anglicans who sought within the Anglican Church to purify it of errant Roman Catholic views. The separatists were Anglicans who thought the situation was hopeless and therefore a new church outside the Anglican authority needed to be formed. These separatists shared family names with their Lollard forefathers, and thus the first “Baptist” church formed in England in 1611 can trace its roots not only from John Smyth but also back to John Wycliffe.
The puritans were Anglicans who sought within the Anglican Church to purify it of errant Roman Catholic views. The separatists were Anglicans who thought the situation was hopeless and therefore a new church outside the Anglican authority needed to be formed. These separatists shared family names with their Lollard forefathers, and thus the first “Baptist” church formed in England in 1611 can trace its roots not only from John Smyth but also back to John Wycliffe.
Since “Baptists” hold divergent views, some are 5 point Calvinists, and some are 4 point Arminians, and many others holding a range of views that fall between these limits, one must be careful in identifying “Baptist” distinctives. Following the New Testament model, churches are established by trained representatives of coalitions of believers, Paul being the prototype church planting missionary. However, the next step is to raise up leaders from among those within the church plant. And then these leaders rule the church, not the establishing coalition. Thus Baptists adhere to “confessions” – what we believe – and not creeds – what others tell us to believe. We form associations with other churches, but the final say in matters of faith and practice is with the local assembly's understanding of God's word. . As described in Christ’s teaching on church discipline, the highest authority is the congregation's understanding of God's word and not the governing board.
The second distinctive is that members of the church are believers and not simply folks born into the parish. We do not believe in infant baptism, but in believer’s baptism. Again, this is based on what we see as the model of the New Testament.
And the third distinctive is that we believe the Word of God alone is the final authority in matters of faith and practice, and not necessarily the traditions or doctrines of the historical church or with the views of those associations with which we form alliances.
The first Baptists were General Baptists, believing the Christ died for all mankind, but following closely behind, the Particular Baptists established churches in England in the 1630”s. Today, the Southern Baptists contain both views, general and particular, within its wings.
[The above blurb was found stored in "My documents" and was saved as authored by Van in 2005. However, I do not now recall writing it, so their is a chance some or all was "borrowed" from another source. But it reads like something I would have written.]
Key take-a-ways:
1) Baptist tradition began as divergent from the Anglican Church before Luther started the Reformation from the Roman Catholic Church.
2) The Lollard Bible brought about "Lollardy" with its anti RCC claims found here:
en.wikipedia.org
3) The Lollard Bible was a version of the Wycliffe Bible with inflammatory Wycliffe texts added published around or before 1395. The added texts were of course heretical.
As is true with all human institutions, when leadership puts down the Pied Piper’s pipe of persuasion, and picks up the whip of compulsion, the institution spirals down to its demise. When an institution becomes defensive, where divergent views are suppressed because they do not mesh with the existing views of leadership, stagnation results and turmoil eats away at the institutions foundations of willing unity.
The advent of the Protestant Reformation is generally accepted to be when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg Church in 1517. But prior to that event other “mini reformations” occurred and were suppressed. Prior to the formation of the Anglican Church, where Henry VIII took control of the Roman Catholic Church in England in 1534, other men of England had protested the errant or thought to be errant views of the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1390, one of the earliest English translations of the Bible, what came to be known as the Lollard Bible, was published in England. This translation from the Vulgate was primarily the work of John Wycliffe who had died in 1384. During the period of 1387 and 1408, the Lollards presented views at odds with Church authority. Rather than dying out, the movement, hording the treasure of God’s word, their Lollard family bibles, went underground and periodically brought the flaws, by their lights, before the Roman Catholic and later Anglican authorities.
The puritans were Anglicans who sought within the Anglican Church to purify it of errant Roman Catholic views. The separatists were Anglicans who thought the situation was hopeless and therefore a new church outside the Anglican authority needed to be formed. These separatists shared family names with their Lollard forefathers, and thus the first “Baptist” church formed in England in 1611 can trace its roots not only from John Smyth but also back to John Wycliffe.
The puritans were Anglicans who sought within the Anglican Church to purify it of errant Roman Catholic views. The separatists were Anglicans who thought the situation was hopeless and therefore a new church outside the Anglican authority needed to be formed. These separatists shared family names with their Lollard forefathers, and thus the first “Baptist” church formed in England in 1611 can trace its roots not only from John Smyth but also back to John Wycliffe.
Since “Baptists” hold divergent views, some are 5 point Calvinists, and some are 4 point Arminians, and many others holding a range of views that fall between these limits, one must be careful in identifying “Baptist” distinctives. Following the New Testament model, churches are established by trained representatives of coalitions of believers, Paul being the prototype church planting missionary. However, the next step is to raise up leaders from among those within the church plant. And then these leaders rule the church, not the establishing coalition. Thus Baptists adhere to “confessions” – what we believe – and not creeds – what others tell us to believe. We form associations with other churches, but the final say in matters of faith and practice is with the local assembly's understanding of God's word. . As described in Christ’s teaching on church discipline, the highest authority is the congregation's understanding of God's word and not the governing board.
The second distinctive is that members of the church are believers and not simply folks born into the parish. We do not believe in infant baptism, but in believer’s baptism. Again, this is based on what we see as the model of the New Testament.
And the third distinctive is that we believe the Word of God alone is the final authority in matters of faith and practice, and not necessarily the traditions or doctrines of the historical church or with the views of those associations with which we form alliances.
The first Baptists were General Baptists, believing the Christ died for all mankind, but following closely behind, the Particular Baptists established churches in England in the 1630”s. Today, the Southern Baptists contain both views, general and particular, within its wings.
[The above blurb was found stored in "My documents" and was saved as authored by Van in 2005. However, I do not now recall writing it, so their is a chance some or all was "borrowed" from another source. But it reads like something I would have written.]
Key take-a-ways:
1) Baptist tradition began as divergent from the Anglican Church before Luther started the Reformation from the Roman Catholic Church.
2) The Lollard Bible brought about "Lollardy" with its anti RCC claims found here:
Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards - Wikipedia
3) The Lollard Bible was a version of the Wycliffe Bible with inflammatory Wycliffe texts added published around or before 1395. The added texts were of course heretical.