Baptist successionism

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Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches – also known as "Baptist perpetuity."

Definition and history

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2009)

Baptist successionism is the theory that there has been an unbroken chain of churches since the days of Christ which have held the beliefs (though not always the name) of the current Baptist churches. Advocates of Baptist successionism consider Anabaptists and other ancient anti-paedobaptist groups, such as the Montanists, Paulicians, Cathari, Waldenses, Albigenses and Cathari, as the predecessors of modern day Baptists.

This theory, once commonly held among Baptists,^[1] is now mostly identified with Landmarkism, though not exclusively so.^{[citation needed]} Many Southern Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Regular Baptists, United Baptists and Independent Baptists hold a similar view.^{[citation needed]} The concept finds its parallels in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican doctrine of apostolic succession and stands in sharp contrast to the restorationist views of the Mormons and the Stone/Campbell Restoration Movement.^{[citation needed]}

Baptist successionsm is built more on a theological and scriptural foundation rather than on documentary historical proofs.^[opinion] Historical documentation confirming this theory is sparse though not entirely lacking.^{[citation needed]} The concept does not admit of falsifiability because its validity requires the existence of only one single congregation at any point in history, which 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).^{[clarification needed]}

Baptist sucessionist writers have relied chiefly on the statements of Roman Catholic and Protestant historians and apologists as to the antiquity of the Anabaptists.^{[citation needed]} One such statement often cited in successionist histories^{[citation needed]} is that of Dutch Reformed scholars Annaeus Ypeij and Izaak Johannes Dermout who wrote (in their work Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Hervornude Kerk, Breda, 1819):

"We have already seen that the Baptists—those who in former times were named Anabaptists, and in later days Mennonites—were originally Waldensians, the men who, in the history of the church, in times so far back, have obtained a well-deserved renown. In consequence, the Baptists may be regarded as being from of old the only religious denomination that have continued from the times of the apostles, as a Christian society who have kept the evangelical faith pure through all the ages hitherto. The constitution, never perverted internally or externally, of the society of the Baptists, serves them as a proof of that truth, contested by the Romish Church, that the reformation of religion, such as was brought about in the sixteenth century, was necessary, was indispensable, and serves, too, as the refutation, at the same time, of the Roman Catholic delusive fancy, that their own is the oldest church society."^[2]

John T. Christian's History of the Baptists^[3] is a 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 by immersion among the 16th and 17th century Anabaptists. J. M. Carroll's The Trail of Blood^[4] is a widely-distributed,^{[citation needed]} popular pamphlet promoting belief in "Baptist successionism." Jesse Mercer, namesake of Mercer University, wrote a circular letter for the Georgia Baptist Association in 1811 in which he defended the Baptist rejection of alien immersion on the basis of Baptist succession.^[5]

Since the end of the 19th century the trend in Baptist historiography has been away from the successionist viewpoint to the view that modern day Baptists are an outgrowth of 17th century English Separatism.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Additional reading

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (November 2009)

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