Baptist successionism

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Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of the Baptist Church (or Baptist churches) - also known as "Baptist Church perpetuity".

Definition and history

Baptist successionism is the theory that there exists an unbroken chain of churches that have held the beliefs (though not always the name) of the current Baptist churches since the time of Christ. This theory, once commonly held among Baptists, is now mostly identified with Landmarkism, though not exclusively. Some Southern Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Regular Baptists and United Baptists hold a similar view.^{[citation needed]}

This theory is built more on a theological and scriptural foundation rather than a historical one. Much of the historical documentation needed to support this theory has been lost or never existed. It also rejects falsifiability because it only requires the existence of at least one single church (could be as small as two or three people - according to Christ's promise to be with His church where even two or three were gathered together (Matthew 18:20) during any particular point in history to be true.

Many of the ancient churches that held baptistic beliefs suffered great persecution by governments, instigated by Catholics and Protestants alike.^{[citation needed]} This raises the possibility that the writings of such groups may have been destroyed. Furthermore, the records of them written by the persecuting groups were colored with bias. For example, it is charged by the old Catholic writers that the pre-Reformation anti-paedobaptists were dualistic in their theology.^{[citation needed]} But one notes the same accusation was made against Martin Luther when he initiated his attempt to reform the Catholic church;^{[citation needed]} the charge of dualism was a standard charge used to defame anyone who challenged the Catholic hierarchy.^{[citation needed]}

Ancient anti-paedobaptist groups, such as Mennonites, Waldenses, Albigenses, Cathari, and Paulicians, are often considered to be within this chain of tradition. However, some of those mentioned groups that has continuate existence up today, such as the Mennonites, Waldenses, and Paulicians, deny any link with the modern Baptist churches.

John T. Christian's History of the Baptists is the most scholarly^{[citation needed]} general Baptist history written from a successionist perspective. Christian also wrote two other books (Did They Dip? and Baptist History Vindicated) which deal with the narrower question of baptism for immersion among the 16th and 17th century Anabaptists. J. M. Carroll's The Trail of Blood is a widely distributed popular pamphlet promoting Baptist successionism.

A pre-Landmark work defending the concept of successionism is A Vindication of the Continued Succession of the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ (Now Scandalously termed Anabaptist) from the Apostles unto this present time published in England in 1652.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• A Critique of the English Separatist Descent Theory in Baptist Historiography
• A History of the Baptists
• A Vindication of the Continued Succession of the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ

References

Pro

• Bryan, Philip, A Critique of the English Separatist Descent Theory in Baptist Historiography. Unpublished M.A. dissertation, Baylor University, 1966
• Christian, John Taylor, A History of the Baptists. 2 vols. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1922
• Christian, Did They Dip? An Examination into the Act of Baptism as Practiced by the English and American Baptists Before the Year 1641, Louisville: Baptist Book Concern, 1896
• Christian, Baptist History Vindicated, Louisville: Baptist Book Concern 1899
• Ford, S. H., The Origin of the Baptists, Traced Back by Milestones on the Track of Time. rev. ed. Memphis: Baptist Book House, 1876
• Jarrel, W. A., Baptist Church Perpetuity. Dallas: W. A. Jarrel, 1894
• Ray, D. B., Baptist Successionism. Rosemead, Ca.: The King's Press, 1949

Con

• McGoldrick, James Edward, Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History. Metuchen, NJ: The American Theological Library Association and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1994
• Patterson, William Morgan, Baptist Successionism: A Critical View. Valley Forge, Pa.: The Judson Press, 1969
• Tull, James E., A Study of Southern Baptist Landmarkism in the Light of Historical Baptist Ecclesiology. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1960
• Tull, James E., A History of Southern Baptist Landmarkism. New York: Arno Press, 1980

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