Peculiarities of the Baptist Church - Research Paper Example

The Baptist Church Introduction Religion has always been a very important factor determining the national identity of the US people. It contributes a lot to the values of our people, and influences our perception of events both in the USA and abroad. The United States are diversified when it comes to religious beliefs and confessions. The Baptist community originated from the groups of believers who disagreed with the actions of the official Catholic Church, and their first Church was founded in Amsterdam in 1609. The first Baptists were the English people who immigrated to the Netherlands because of the religious oppressions. When some of these people returned back to England they founded the Baptist Church of England, and that is where the basics of the doctrine were formulated and established. Baptism is one of the trends of Protestantism and it originated among the English puritans. The Baptists reject the christening of the young kids and proclaim that people should be baptized when they grow up and make it their conscious choice, apart from that when they possess firm Christian beliefs and refuse to live in sin. Just like the other Protestants, the Baptists acknowledge the Bible consisting of the 66 books of the Old and the New Testament. For them, the Bible is the Holy Book that has knowledge about and the power over everything happening in the world. In the practice of their everyday Church live, the Baptists keep to the principles of the universal priesthood and the independency of each separate church community. The Presbyteral Elders do not possess an absolute power – the most important issues are being tackled at the general church meetings of the believers. The divine services are often of a creative character, and they consist of a sermon (preaching), singing to the accompaniment of instrumental music, improvised prayers and reading spiritual poems. The main weekly divine service is being conducted on Sundays. On the weekdays the Baptists sometimes organise additional meetings that are specifically devoted to prayers, reading and discussing the Bible, etc. Afro-American Baptists The Baptist movement is especially popular in the North America, and the American Baptists are active missionaries. The Baptism is widely spread among the Afro-American population of the USA. Nowadays, in the USA there are several Afro-American Baptist communities. All in all, Afro-American Baptists have been making a great contribution into the American society – in many aspects they have formed the basis – both in moral and political aspects – of the civil rights movements. One of the famous representatives of the Baptist movement was Martin Luther King – the leader of the non-violent opposition to racism in the USA. Martin Luther was one of the activists of the fight for the civil rights of the Afro-American people in the United States and a Baptist Elder from 1954. In October 1964, Martin Luther King was honored the Nobel Prize for his precious and constant contribution into the movement of non-violent opposition to the racial oppression. Thanks to his effort the fight for the civil rights of the Afro-Americans spread into the Northern states of the country. He was one of the first leaders to criticize the Vietnam war, and was fighting poverty. Among his most famous works were “Stride Toward Freedom” (1958), “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” (1967), “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963). All in all, Martin Luther King propagated the idea of mass non-violent opposition. King was the one to develop this idea thoroughly and use in practice. For him, non-violence was his life philosophy. The main principles of Martin Luther King’s doctrine are very close to Biblical ones: one should not reply to the insult with an insult (however, should not also “turn the other cheek”). The principles of Christian philosophy therefore penetrate his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He refers to the Bible and the lives of the apostles directly, comparing himself with these apostles who brought to life the ideas of Christianity just as M. L. King himself brought to life his humane ideas, quotes the words of Jesus Christ: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” The main thing that Martin Luther has shown to the world community is that civility is not only respecting state symbols, and defending the motherland: it is Martin Luther King’s persistent struggle against the laws of his country. The role of Martin Luther King as the main prophet of the civil rights of the American people reflects the bonds that exist between the Afro-American religious communities and the fight for the racial and social justice in the USA. Martin Luther was the powerful symbol of how the personal identity of an Afro-American and a Christian can successfully be combined. The Afro-American Baptist confessions in the United States appeared after the emancipation of the Afro-American slaves. The Baptist religion initially provided them with the much craved for feelings of reassurance and comfort in the conditions of oppression and humiliation. Apart from that, as we have stated earlier, the religious doctrine of Baptism helped form the basis of civil disobedience tactics and non-violent opposition. The Church also helped the Afro-American activists of the liberation movement to create powerful ideology that allowed them to go on with their fight for civil rights, no matter what – for the sake of the entire Afro-American community and the whole world. The basics of the Baptist religion The leading Afro-American Baptists confessions in the USA are the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. and the National Baptist Convention of America. For them, Christian doctrine is especially important, not just the Christian ethics. The Baptists believe that because of the sin that Adam and Eve performed, the humankind is unable to follow moral way of living. Any attempts of human beings to follow ethical norms stated in the Bible and thus to redeem their sin are going to be failures. Only Christ’s death and resurrection are able to save the humankind. Therefore, for the Baptists it is essential to acknowledge that a human being is sinful by its nature, and in order to be saved it is necessary to accept Christ’s sacrifice. For the Baptists, the difference between the “saved” and “non-saved” people is very huge: they believe that those who die without accepting the Christ will never be able to reunite with God, and for them the “natural” people (i.e. those who have not been “saved”) are totally unable to do any good to anyone. The Baptists believe in the General Judgment that will destroy all attempts of humans to create peace on Earth. However, according to their doctrine, every person is potentially able to be saved by God – they should only wish for that and make this choice. The idea behind the Baptism religion is the Evangelic thesis about the Christening (Greek “baptising”): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 28:19) He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”. (Mark 16:15-16). The basic symbol of the religious doctrine of the Baptists is the Apostles’ Creed. The Baptists are also guided by the following principles, each of them is proved by the Scripts in the Bible (Mckee, np): 1. There is only one true and living God/ 2. God is sovereign, the only creator, is all wise and powerful. 3. God made choice of a people before the foundation of the world. These people will never fall from Grace but will be preserved in Christ Jesus. 4. God does not love all mankind without exception. 5. Man through the fall of Adam became totally Depraved and Dead in his sins. 6. Christ redeemed only those God loved before the foundation of the world, thus redemption is particular and not general. 7. Eternal life(salvation) is the gift of God. 8. In addition to Eternal Salvation, the scriptures teach us of a salvation (or deliverance) which God’s children experience here in time by exercising faith, repentance and obedience. 9. The Scriptures of the Old and New testaments are the inspired word of God. 10. The true Church of Christ was set up by Christ himself and He is her Head, not man made organizations. 11. The pattern for church practices is contained in the inspired scriptures. Any thing else is unauthorized and heretical. 12. Godly Church discipline is necessary. It glorifies God and promotes peace and unity among his people. 13. God called only men to the ministry, not women. 14. The Gospel is to be preached without charge. 15. The Gospel is good news to the burdened sinner. It is not an invitation to accept Christ as your personal savior, in exchange for eternal life. 16. True Gospel Believers in Christ Jesus are believers because of the Work of God, not because of man's effort. 17. True Gospel Preaching saves only believers, it is not an invitation to save them that will believe it. 18. The preaching of the Gospel and its propagation is dependent on the power and spirit of God, not on man and his devices. 19. Faith is the gift of God. It is not generated by man. 20. Good works, Emanating from a heart of love, is evidence of spiritual life in the doer and brings the blessings of God to him here in time. Heaven is not a reward for them. 21. Conversion. True Conversion always follows regeneration. 22. Repentance follows regeneration and is granted by God. 23. Baptism is commanded of God to all true believers who bring forth fruits meet for repentance. Baptism is dipping or immersion in water. 24. Communion is to be administered only to those who are true believers and become members of a local body of Baptized true believers. 25. There will be a resurrection of the Body. 26. There will be a General Judgment. The basis for the Baptists religious belief is the principle of individualism – according to their doctrine, the salvation of a human being is only possible by means of personal belief in Chris, not through the medium of the Church. For the Baptists, the only source of the divine information and the only medium in faith is the Holy Script. The Baptists reject the holy character of icons, the sacred ceremonies of the Church, rituals, some of the Saints, as well as some of the traditional Christian holidays. For them, baptising is not a sacred action but rather a mere ritual that is symbolic by nature as it demonstrates a person’s conscious choice to be a believer. Baptists tend to reject the Church hierarchy, and one of the peculiarities of their community is that they conduct systematic religious propaganda among people converting them into Baptism. A more strict traditional doctrine of, say, fundamentalists, tends to criticise Baptism for their practice to christen grown-ups, not little babies. According to the traditional Church, all children, even without having conducted their own sins yet, still bear the primary sin of Adam and Eve, and should therefore be released from this “heritage” by means of the procedure of baptising. On the other hand, the Baptists claim, the Bible says that people should be christened once they themselves recognise and acknowledge their religious aspirations so that their choice of religion is entirely and solely their own. One of the distinct features of the Baptists belief is that they are sure of their own salvation. According to them, only those who have faith in Christ , will be saved – so in their religion there is place for both Heaven and Hell. However, in order to be saved, it is not enough to merely believe in the Holy Father and the possibility of salvation– the faith in God should be “living” – which means it should find its realisation in the deeds of the true believers. That can be proved by the verses from the Bible: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life”. (John 6:47) One said to him, "Lord, are they few who are saved?" He said to them,"Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' then he will answer and tell you, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drink in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrown outside. They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God. Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last." (Luke 13: 23-30) The fact that for the Baptists the role of Church hierarchy is significantly lower than in the traditional doctrine of fundamentalist Christians means that for them, God seems to be the source of love, salvation and light – in other words, to make people’s lives better, happier, and therefore holier and closer to the divine power. Whereas the traditional Church tends not only to to depict God as the power that is able to destroy, punish and restrict but also attempts to control people and keep them in fear, the Baptists are not that strict, and even though they still say that in order to be saved a person should act and think in some particular way, still the medium of the Church is nearly eliminated. The most important and powerful control is the believer himself and his own faith. Baptists are much more optimistic than fundamentalists and their doctrine is saying that salvation is possible for everyone. Baptists are trying to make their religious doctrine appealing to as many people as possible, and nobody is restricted from entering this religion (something that not all confessions can boast). It allows everyone to discover God inside their souls. Baptists took active part in social life of the American community, e.g. by fighting slavery and people trade, participating in different missions, spreading among people the knowledge about the Holy Script, etc. Nowadays the Baptists are quite tolerant to other religious doctrines, and they are ready to communicate with them for the sake of common happiness and salvation of the humankind (open communion). Works Cited 1. King, Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963. Retrieved August 27, 2009 from: http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html 2. Mckee, Claude. Essential Baptist Principles. Retrieved August 27, 2009 from: http://www.essentialbaptistprinciples.org/essay_essential_baptist_principles.htm Read More