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A Baptist is a Christian who subscribes to a theology of salvation coming through personal faith in Jesus Christ, who acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who is Trinitarian in understanding of God, who insists upon believer's baptism by immersion of the body of the believer in water (as opposed to infant baptism and affusion and sprinkling), who recognizes the autonomy of the local church, disavows authoritative creeds and who believes in the authority of Scripture. Baptists are usually known as supporting, among other principles, separation of Church and State, priesthood of the believer, justification by faith, and the eternal security of the believer.
The term Baptist can also be used as an adjective to describe a church or organization holding to the same principles. Baptist churches are often regarded as being Evangelical and Protestant.
Baptists number over 110 million worldwide in more than 220,000 congregations and are considered the largest world communion of evangelical Protestants with an estimated 38 million members in North America. Most Baptists consider 2009 to be the year of their 400th birthday.
A diverse group from their beginning, Baptists differ today—and they did from their beginning—in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be creeds—to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists.
Etymology
The term Baptist comes from the Greek word βαπτιστής (baptistés, "baptist," also used to describe John the Baptist), which is related to the verb βαπτίζω (baptízo, "to baptize, wash, dip, immerse"), and the Latin baptista.
The English Anabaptists were called Baptists as early as 1569. The name Anabaptist continued to be applied to English and American Baptists, even after the American Revolution. Into the 19th century, the term Baptist was used as a general epithet for churches which denied the validity of infant baptism, including the Campbellites, Mennonites, Brethren and others which are not normally identified with modern day Baptists.
Origins
While most modern scholars agrees that the denomination traces its origin to the 17th century via the English Separatists, some scholars hold to a variety of other positions. Baptist Historian Bruce Gourley writes that many perspectives of the origins of Baptists are biased by personal agendas. Mr. Gourley cautions:
This is most evident when one reads online Baptist history resources: many seem bent on proving that their particular view of Baptist history is the one and only true understanding of Baptist history.
He teaches that there are four main views.
Outgrowth of English Separatism
The predominant view of Baptist origins is that Baptists came along in historical development in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations. It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical "truth" had been discovered.
This perspective on Baptist history holds that the Baptist faith originated from within the Separatist movement. Prior to the Reformation, the Church of England (Anglicans) had broken away from the Catholic Church. Then came the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as "Puritans" and are described by Gourley as cousins of the Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists.
This Separatist view of the origin of Baptists traces the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor. Even prior to that, in 1606, John Smyth, a Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge, had broken his ties with the Church of England. Reared in the Church of England, he became "Puritan, Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist," and ended his days working with the Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60-70 English Separatists, in the face of "great danger." The persecution of religious nonconformists in England led Smyth to go into exile in Amsterdam with fellow Separatists from the congregation he had gathered in Lincolnshire, separate from the established church (Anglican). Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helways were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others. In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled "The Character of the Beast," or "The False Constitution of the Church." In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism." Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith He rejected the Separatist movement's doctrine of paedobaptism. Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group, and layman Thomas Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611. Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy.
Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Thomas Helwys and others kept their baptism and their Baptist commitments.
According to all authors cited in the present section, the modern Baptist denomination is an outgrowth of Smyth's movement. Wanting neither to be confused with nor identified with Anabaptists, Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. MacBeth writes that as late as the eighteenth century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though falsely—called Anabaptists."
According to Gourley, this view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted view of Baptist origins. Representative writers include William H. Whitsitt, Robert G. Torbet, Winthrop S. Hudson, William G. McLoughlin and Robert A. Baker. This position considers the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal.
Influence of Anabaptists
This view holds that although Baptists originated from English Separatism, some early Baptists were influenced by some Anabaptists. According to this view, the Dutch Mennonites (Anabaptists) shared some similarities with General Baptists (believer's baptism, religious liberty, separation of church and state, and Arminian views of salvation, predestination and original sin). However, there were significant differences between Anabaptists and Baptists. Anabaptists tended towards extreme pacifism. They promoted communal sharing of earthly goods, and an unorthodox optimistic view of human nature. Therefore, few Baptists hold to this theory of Baptist origins. Representative writers include A. C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gorley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback.
Baptist belief in perpetuity
Main article: Baptist successionismThe traditional view of Baptist origins dates the Baptist churches back to New Testament times or to John the Baptist. The Baptist perpetuity view considers the Baptist movement as historically separate from Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation. The historians who advocate this position consider Baptists and Anabaptists as one and the same people and point out that many Reformation era historians and apologists considered the Anabaptists to pre-date the Reformation. For example, Cardinal Hosius (1504–1579), a Roman Catholic prelate of the sixteenth century, wrote,
For not so long ago I read the edict of the other prince who lamented the fate of the Anabaptists who, so we read, were pronounced heretics twelve hundred years ago and deserving of capital punishment. He wanted them to be heard and not taken as condemned without a hearing."
Baptist historian John T. Christian writes in the introduction to his History of the Baptists: "I have throughout pursued the scientific method of investigation, and I have let the facts speak for themselves. I have no question in my own mind that there has been a historical succession of Baptists from the days of Christ to the present time." Other Baptist historians holding the perpetuity view are Thomas Armitage, G.H. Orchard, David Benedict, J. Jackson Goadby, Thomas Crosby, I.K. Cross, S.F. Ford, D.B. Ray, W.A Jarrel, J.M. Cramp, Phillip Bryan, and Richard B. Cook. This view was also held by the renowned English Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon as well as Jesse Mercer, the namesake of Mercer University.
Baptists in North America
Both Roger Williams and John Clarke, his compatriot in working for religious freedom, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."
Baptist associations
Many Baptist churches choose to associate with associational groups that provide fellowship without control. The largest Baptist association is the Southern Baptist Convention, but there are many other Baptist associations. There are also autonomous churches that remain independent of any denomination, organization, or association.
In 1905, Baptists worldwide formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). The BWA now counts 214 Baptist conventions and unions worldwide with 36 million members. The BWA's goals include caring for the needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom. Though it played a role in the founding of the BWA, the Southern Baptist Convention severed its affiliation with BWA in 2004.
Membership
Statistics
See also: List of Christian denominations by number of members See also: List of Baptist sub-denominationsAccording to the Barna Group researchers, Baptists are the largest denominational grouping of born again Christians in the U.S. Barna defines Born again Christians as "people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior." A 2009 ABCNEWS/Beliefnet phone poll of 1,022 adults suggests that fifteen percent of Americans identify themselves as Baptists.
Besides North America and Europe, large populations of Baptists also exist in Asia, Africa and Latin America, notably in India (2.4 million), Nigeria (2.5 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1.9 million), and Brazil (1.7 million).
According to a poll in the 1990s, about one in five Christians in the United States claims to be a Baptist. U.S. Baptists are represented in more than fifty separate groups. Ninety-two percent of Baptists are found in five of those bodies—the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).
Qualifications
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The primary external qualification for membership in a Baptist church is baptism. General Baptist churches will accept into membership people who have made a profession of faith but have not been baptized as a believer. These are included as members alongside baptized members in the statistics. Some Baptist churches do not have an age restriction on membership, but will not accept as a member a child who is considered too young to fully understand and make a profession of faith of their own volition and comprehension. In such cases, the pastor and parents usually meet together with the child to verify the child's comprehension of the decision to follow Jesus. There are instances where persons make a profession of faith but fail to follow through with believers' baptism. In such cases they are considered saved and usually eligible for membership. Baptists do not believe that baptism has anything to do with salvation. It is considered a public expression of one's inner repentance and faith.
Baptists believe that the act of baptism is a symbolic display of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. When a person who has already been saved and confessed Christ submits to scriptural baptism, he or she is publicly identifying with Christ in His death to old self, burial of past sinful thought and action, and resurrection in newness of life, to walk with Christ the remainder of their days.
Some churches, especially in the UK, do not require members to have been baptized as a believer, so long as they have made a believer's declaration of faith—for example, been confirmed in the Anglican church, or become communicant members as Presbyterians. In these cases, believers would usually transfer their memberships from their previous churches. This allows people who have grown up in one tradition, but now feel settled in their local Baptist church, to fully take part in the day to day life of the church, voting at meetings, etc. It is also possible, but unusual, to be baptized without becoming a church member immediately.
Baptist beliefs and principles
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Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by doctrine—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups and a portion of it importantly distinctive. Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but Baptist beliefs can vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played a key role in encouraging religious freedom and separation of church and state.
Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth; miracles; atonement through the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus; the Trinity; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God, his death and resurrection, and confession of Christ as Lord); grace; the Kingdom of God; last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs.
Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control. Exceptions to this local form of local governance include a few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists that have an Episcopal system. Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.
Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists include the following:
- The supremacy of the canonical Scriptures as a norm of faith and practice. For something to become a matter of faith and practice, it is not sufficient for it to be merely consistent with and not contrary to scriptural principles. It must be something explicitly ordained through command or example in the Bible. For instance, this is why Baptists do not practice infant baptism—they say the Bible neither commands nor exemplifies infant baptism as a Christian practice, even though nowhere does the Bible forbid it. More than any other Baptist principle, this one when applied to infant baptism is said to separate Baptists from other evangelical Christians.
- Similarly prominent is their insistence on regenerate ("saved") members who have received Believers' Baptism. To Baptists, the "church universal" is the entire body of those who have personally become partakers of the salvation of Christ.
- Baptists believe that faith is a matter between God and the individual (religious freedom). To them it means the advocacy of absolute liberty of conscience.
- Insistence on immersion as the only mode of baptism. Baptists do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. Therefore, they do not consider it to be a sacrament, since it imparts no saving grace.
The following acrostic backronym, spelling BAPTIST, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:
- Biblical authority (Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Timothy 3:16–17)
- Autonomy of the local church (Matt. 18:15–17; 1 Cor. 6:1–3)
- Priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5–9; 1 Timothy 5)
- Two ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) (Acts 2:41–47; 1 Cor. 11:23–32)
- Individual soul liberty (Romans 14:5–12)
- Separation of Church and State (Matthew 22:15–22)
- Two offices of the church (pastor-elder and deacon) (1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1–2)
Most Baptist traditions believe in the "Four Freedoms" articulated by Baptist historian Walter B. Shurden:
- Soul freedom: the soul is competent before God, and capable of making decisions in matters of faith without coercion or compulsion by any larger religious or civil body
- Church freedom: freedom of the local church from outside interference, whether government or civilian (subject only to the law where it does not interfere with the religious teachings and practices of the church)
- Bible freedom: the individual is free to interpret the Bible for himself or herself, using the best tools of scholarship and biblical study available to the individual
- Religious freedom: the individual is free to choose whether to practice their religion, another religion, or no religion; Separation of church and state is often called the "civil corollary" of religious freedom
Beliefs that vary among Baptists
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Despite some common doctrines and practices which characterize the greater part of Baptists, there are many beliefs and practices which vary from church to church and between associations. Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are eschatology, Calvinism and Arminianism), the doctrine of separation from "the world" and whether to associate with those who are "of the world, glossolalia (speaking in tongues), how the Bible should be interpreted (hermeneutics), the extent to which missionary boards should be used to support missionaries, the extent to which non-members may participate in the (Lord's Supper) services, which translation of Scripture to use from the pulpit and in Bible classes (See King-James-Only movement), the very nature of Gospel, the role of women in marriage, and the ordination of women as deacons or pastors.
Some of the smaller Baptist groups are devoted to some peculiar traditional practice or doctrine. Some Primitive Baptists practice the laying on of hands after baptism and footwashing, as do some Freewill Baptists. The Seventh Day Baptists insist biblical worship should be conducted on the traditional Sabbath (Saturday) rather than on Sunday. Landmarkism holds to strict closed communion wherein only the members of the church can participate in the Lord's Supper. Each of these differences stem from the inherently Baptist desire to re-create the New Testament church.. On the other hand, some Baptists have embraced modernistic trends, such as The Alliance of Baptists which officially affirms homosexual relationships
Controversies which have shaped Baptists
Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of the level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word "crisis" comes from the Greek word meaning "to decide." Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even schism, though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion crises among Baptists each have become decision-moments that shaped their future. Shurden writes of three controversies that reached crisis proportions:
- Missions crisis
- Racial crisis
- Landmark crisis
Missions crisis
Early in the 19th century, the rise of the modern missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists. During this era the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary and a substantial secession of Baptists went into the Campbellite movement Emboldened by the English Baptist participation in the abolition of slavery, the American Baptist anti-slavery movement arose during this same era and resulted in the division of American Baptists between the north and south
Slavery crisis
Leading up to the American Civil War, Baptists became embroiled in the controversy over slavery in the United States. Northern Baptists opposed slavery and in 1844 the Home Mission Society declared that a slave owner could not be a missionary under its patronage. This instigated the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, which was formed on the premise that the Bible sanctions slavery and that it was acceptable for Christians to own slaves (in the 20th century, the Southern Baptist Convention renounced this scriptural doctrine). As early as the late 1700s black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies, especially in the northern states, while many of the slaves remained members of the same churches with the whites up until the Civil War. After emancipation there was a general separation of the black Baptists from the whites Currently American Baptist numerical strength is greatest in the former slave-holding states and the Baptist faith is the predominant faith of African-Americans.
Landmark crisis
Southern Baptist Landmarkism sought to reset the ecclesiastical separation which had characterized the old Baptist churches in an era when inter-denominational union meetings were the order of the day.James Robinson Graves was the primary leader of this movement and one of the most influential Baptists of the 19th century.While some Landmarkers eventually separated from the Southern Baptist Convention, the movement's influence on the Convention continued well into the 20th century and continues to effect Convention policies as evidenced by the decision in 2005 by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board to forbid its missionaries to receive alien immersions
The Modernist crisis
The tide of theological modernism in the latter 19th and 20th century also greatly affected the Baptists. In England, Charles Haddon Spurgeon fought against modernistic views of the Scripture in the Downgrade Controversy. The Northern Baptist Convention had internal conflict with modernism in the early 20th century, ultimately embracing it, which resulted in two new conservative associations: the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1933 and the Conservative Baptist Association of America in 1947. Following similar conflict with modernism, a conservative coup ensconced conservative theology as the official position of the Southern Baptist Convention, which occasioned the formation of two new Baptist denominations, the ultra-liberal Alliance of Baptists in 1987 and the moderately liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1991.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Baptist World Alliance Official Statistics".
- ^ Shurden, Walter B. (1993). The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing.
- ^ Shurden, Walter (2001). "Turning Points in Baptist History". Macon, GA: The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University. Retrieved 16 Jan 2010.
- Christian, John T. A History of the Baptists. Broadman Press (1922, chapter 15,pages 205-206): "The word Baptists was used by a high official of the English government in the earlier days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. That official was Sir William Cecil, afterwards Lord Burleigh, then the Secretary of State and especial adviser of the Queen. The date is March 10, 1569.".
- John T. Christian, History of the Baptists , volume I page 205 and volume II page 212|http://www.reformedreader.org/history/christian/ahob1/ahobp.htm
- "The Illustrated Book of All Religions From the Earliest Ages to the Present Time", Star Publishing Company, 1895.
- ^ Gourley, Bruce. "A Very Brief Introduction to Baptist History, Then and Now." The Baptist Observer.
- ^ Brackney, William H. (2006). Baptists in North America: an historical perspective. Blackwell Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 1405118652.
- ^ Leonard, Bill J. Baptist Ways: A History. Judson Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0817012311
- ^ Briggs, John. "Baptist Origins." Baptist History and Heritage Society. Web: 10 Jan 2010. Baptist Origins
- Beale, David (2000). The Mayflower Pilgrims: roots of Puritan, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Baptist heritage. Emerald House Group. ISBN 978-1889893518.
- Traffanstedt, Chris. "A Primer on Baptist History". Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- Nettles, Tom J. (Spring 2009). "Once Upon a Time, Four Hundred Years Ago..." Founders Journal. 76. Founders Ministries: 2–8.
- Vedder, H. C. "A Short History of the Baptists". The Reformed Reader. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- MacBeth, H. Leon. "Baptist Beginnings". Baptist History and Heritage Society. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- Hosius, Stanislaus Cardinal (1563), White, Carolinne, Ph.D (ed.), "Alberto Bavariae Duci" (PDF), Liber Epistolarum 150
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - Christian, John T (vol.1, 1922; vol.2, 1926). A History of the Baptists. Broadman Press.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - The New park Street Pulpit, Volume VII, Page 225
- Jesse Mercer (1838), A History of the Georgia Baptist Association, pages 196-201
- Newport Notables
- Moore, G. Holmes. "300 Years of Baptist History." Bible Baptist Church of St. Louis, MO, is an example of an independent Baptist church that has never been a denominational church in the sense of belonging to some convention or association. Web: 17 Jan 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Weaverwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Cooperman, Alan (16 June 2004). "Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance". Washington Post. p. A4. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- "Catholics Have Become Mainstream America." July 9, 2007. Web: 16 Jan 2010. Born again Christians in U.S.
- Langer, Gary. "Poll: Most Americans Say They're Christian. Varies Greatly From the World at Large." 18 Jul 2009 Web: 16 Jan 2010. Poll: Most Americans Say They're Christian
- Albert W. Wardin, Baptists Around the World (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1995) p. 367
- Pendleton, J. M. (1867). Church Manual For Baptist Churches. The Judson Press.
- Nettles, Thomas J. "A Foundation for the Future: The Southern Baptist Message and Mission." Web: 17 Jan 2010.
- "Baptists." Web: 17 Jan 2010
- Pinson, William M., Jr. . Baptist History and Heritage Society.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Newman, Albert Henry (1915). A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States (3 ed.). Christian Literature.
- Articles on Baptists beliefs, polity, ministries, practices, organizations, and heritage. The information is intended to be useful for Baptists and non-Baptists alike.
- http://www.allianceofbaptists.org/learn/resources/congregationalresources.
- Shurden, Walter B. "Crises in Baptist Life" (pamphlet). Web: 16 Jan 2010. Crises in Baptist Life
- John T. Christian, History of the Baptists, volume 2 pages 404-420 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1926
- John T. Christian, History of the Baptists, volume 2 pages 421-436 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1926
- Robert A. Baker, A Baptist Source Book With Particular Reference to Southern Baptists, page 87-105 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1966).
- Leroy Fitts, A History of Black Baptists, pages 43-106 (Nashville: Broadman Press - 1985).
- Department of Geography and Meteorology, "Baptists as a Percentage of all Residents, 2000" Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.
- Robert Ashcraft, Landmarkism Revisited, pages 84-85 (Ashcraft Publications, Mabelvale, Arkansas, 2003)
- Ben M. Bogard, Pillars of Orthodoxy, page 199 (Louisville: Baptist Book Concern - 1900)
- Smith, Handy & Loetscher, American Christianity: An Historical Interpretation With Representative Documents, Volume II: 1820-1960, page 110 (Charles Scribner's Sons - 1963),
- International Mission Board Guideline on Baptism http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?LanguageID=1709&StoryID=3837
- Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, pages 424-445 (Valley Forge: Judson Press - 1975).
- Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, page 114 (Valley Forge: Judson Press - 1975).
- Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists, pages 395 and 436 (Valley Forge: Judson Press - 1975).
- http://www.allianceofbaptists.org
- Web: 16 Jan 2010 CBF History
References
- Gavins, Raymond. The Perils and Prospects of Southern Black Leadership: Gordon Blaine Hancock, 1884–1970. Duke University Press, 1977.
- Harrison, Paul M. Authority and Power in the Free Church Tradition: A Social Case Study of the American Baptist Convention Princeton University Press, 1959.
- Harvey, Paul. Redeeming the South: Religious Cultures and Racial Identities among Southern Baptists, 1865–1925 University of North Carolina Press, 1997.
- Heyrman, Christine Leigh. Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt (1997).
- Isaac, Rhy. "Evangelical Revolt: The Nature of the Baptists' Challenge to the Traditional Order in Virginia, 1765 to 1775," William and Mary Quarterly, 3d ser., XXXI (July 1974), 345–68.
- Leonard, Bill J. Baptist Ways: A History (2003), comprehensive international history
- Life & Practice in the Early Church: A Documentary Reader, New York University press. 2001. pp. 5–7. ISBN 9780814756485.
- MacBeth, H. Leon, (ed.) A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage (1990), primary sources for Baptist history.
- McGlothlin, W. J. (ed.) Baptist Confessions of Faith. Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1911.
- Pitts, Walter F. Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora Oxford University Press, 1996.
- Rawlyk, George. Champions of the Truth: Fundamentalism, Modernism, and the Maritime Baptists (1990), Canada.
- Spangler, Jewel L. "Becoming Baptists: Conversion in Colonial and Early National Virginia" Journal of Southern History. Volume: 67. Issue: 2. 2001. pp 243+
- Stringer, Phil. The Faithful Baptist Witness, Landmark Baptist Press, 1998.
- Torbet, Robert G. A History of the Baptists, Judson Press, 1950.
- Underhill, Edward B. (ed.). Confessions of Faith and Other Documents of the Baptist Churches of England in the 17th century. London: The Hanserd Knollys Society, 1854.
- Underwood, A. C. A History of the English Baptists. London: Kingsgate Press, 1947.
- Wills, Gregory A. Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South, 1785–1900, Oxford.