Baptist

The Baptist tradition is one of the largest of the Protestant Christian denominations. Most Baptist churches agree with the basic Protestant doctrines, but they stress the belief that only Christian believers should be baptized (called "believer's baptism") and that this baptism should occur by immersion, a practice they trace back to the early Church. Baptist churches have local church autonomy but are connected to each other through various associations. Most Baptists trace their heritage to early 17^th-century C.E. differences with the Church of England and the subsequent decision to form Christian communities with local autonomy, an emphasis on believer's baptism, and an understanding of the church as primarily a community of believers. The Baptist tradition would see massive growth in the United States during the Great Awakening in the mid-18th century, followed by an increased interest and effort in foreign missions. Within the Baptist tradition, there are several branches. In the U.S., a significant split occurred within the Baptist tradition along a north/south distinction in 1845 with the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention. There are still significant differences between northern and southern Baptists regarding theology, missions, and worship. The Baptist Church also has a strong tradition within black communities. Most Baptist churches tend to be evangelical in doctrine, and vary greatly from extremely conservative to liberal socially and politically.

Contributors : W. David Buschart, Jacob N. Kinnard, Kathleen A. Mulhern

Seeking more pure and biblically based expressions of Christianity, the earliest Baptists established new, autonomous church congregations, independent from the established churches.

The Baptist tradition of Christianity arose in the 17th century largely in reaction against the state churches in England and the Netherlands. The emergence of a "new world" in and from the American colonies eventually provided a context in which the Baptist tradition could flourish.

While there is no single "founder" of the Baptist tradition who occupies a place such as that of Martin Luther within Lutheran Christianity, there are leaders who are rightly associated with the rise of each of the three sub-traditions within Baptist Christianity, and with the Baptist tradition in America.

The Bible is the authoritative scripture of Baptist Christians, encompassed in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.

While some Baptists have attempted to draw a clear line of historical lineage more or less directly back to Jesus Christ and his apostles, most Baptists recognize the tradition as having its origins in dissenting movements in 17th-century England, and less directly in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

The Baptist tradition is embodied in a wide range of churches and associations that reflect historically conditioned differences over such matters as theological beliefs, organizational structures, race, and culture.

The unity that exists within the Baptist tradition is understood to be primarily spiritual, not structural or organizational. Thus, divisions within or from the tradition are not necessarily "schisms" or "sects" as this is often thought of.

Baptists have been the subjects of persecution and, at times, allowed cultural context to distort their beliefs and practices in ways that are inconsistent with their own standard, the Bible.

From its beginnings in England and the Netherlands, the Baptist tradition soon spread to the colonies of the United States in the mid-17th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, large numbers of Baptist missionaries went to virtually every region of the world.

The 20th and 21st centuries have witnessed significant controversies, challenges, and advances for the Baptist tradition. Many of these are related, directly or indirectly, to changes in contemporary society, both domestic and global.

With many other Christians, most Baptists view the world through an overarching narrative of creation-fall-redemption. God created the world good, including human beings. Though the entire creation was corrupted through evil, God has responded by acting redemptively in Jesus Christ.

Baptists share with other Christians belief in one, triune God (Father, Son [Jesus Christ], Holy Spirit), the sovereign and supreme being. Most Baptists also believe in the existence of angels (good and evil), and the devil.

Baptists believe that human beings were created good, and this included being created for worshipful relationship with God. Though human beings chose to rebel against God and assert their own will, the true purpose of human existence is to love and worship God in word, thought, and deed.

With many other Christians, Baptists believe that God created the world good, that contrary to God's ultimate desires the world is now corrupted by evil, and that "in the end" God will triumph over evil.

Baptists believe that because of our sinful state, all human beings stand in need of salvation. The way in which salvation is realized is through personal, entrusting faith in Jesus Christ. People who so trust in Christ will be saved; people who do not trust in Christ will enter into eternal condemnation.

Generally speaking, "sacred time" is not a category of thought in the Baptist tradition, and the tradition has no formally articulated view of it.

As is the case with sacred time, generally speaking "sacred space" is not a category of thought in the Baptist tradition, and the tradition has no formally articulated view of it.

The two primary rites and ceremonies of the Baptist tradition are baptism and communion, or the Lord's Supper.

In the Baptist tradition, both worship and devotion in daily life reflect the characteristic Baptist emphases on the centrality of the Bible and the importance of the individual Christian's direct, immediate relationship with God.

Though symbolism per se is not a predominant category in Baptist thought and worship, there is important symbolism within the tradition, most notably representations of the cross of Jesus Christ, the rites of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and copies of the Bible.

The leadership of a Baptist church usually consists of one or more ordained, professional ministers or "pastors," as well as a board consisting of elected members of the congregation and some of the pastoral staff.

The Baptist view of the church is fundamental to both its theology and its practices, and is of one of the core elements that distinctively shape the tradition.

The ways in which Baptists approach moral thought and action reflect their emphasis upon the Bible, particularly on the New Testament, as well as their consistent emphasis on individual responsibility.

Baptists maintain that societies best serve their members when societies are ordered in accord with God's will as revealed in the Bible. This includes the separation of Church and state but not the exclusion of religion from the public arena.

Historically, Baptists have held to views of gender and sexuality that are consistent with Protestant views in general. More recently, as with other Protestant traditions, a significantly increased diversity of views has emerged.