ArtCatDom
Posts: 478
Joined: 1/20/2005 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: popeye1250 quote:
ORIGINAL: ArtCatDom quote:
ORIGINAL: popeye1250 Slaveboy, Baptists are not "Protestants." The Baptist Movement existed before the Catholic Church and was never a part of the Catholic Church so how could they be a part of the Protestant Reformation? Are you actually serious? ArtCatDom, yes, "Baptist" is a seperate religion. "Protestant" means a "declaration" against the Pope, "one who protests." Martin Luther originated that declaration and "Lutherins", Methodists, Anglicans, Episcopals, Calvinists and Presbytarians also "declared" they were against rule by the Pope. But, they were all Catholics previously and had belonged to the Catholic Church. Baptists were never Catholics and therefor had no reason to "protest" against the Pope. They never "protested" or "declared" and never took part in the protestant reformation. Also, they are not "offshoots" from any of the above groups and existed long before those groups and the Catholic Church. If you read about the Protestant Reformation it says nothing about Baptists because they were never involved in it being a "stand alone religion" which already existed. I once mistakenly called a Baptist Minister a "Protestant" and he said; "Oh, we're not Protestant we're Baptists. Read the Baptist "perpetuity." I'm sorry, but you've been misinformed by a vocal fringe group among the Baptists that is long past its peak. The Baptists clearly have their roots in the Reformation, starting with the Anabaptists. You can even call them doubly protesting, as their early history is also strongly associated with Anglican Nonconformism. Additionally, one of the principal religious splits among Baptists is firmly rooted in Protestant theology, with a broad divide existing between Calvanist and Wesleyian Baptists. Most Baptists openly acknowledge and firmly embrace their Reformation roots. A small minority of Baptists do hold to a belief that they can be traced back to the original church in Jerusalem. This movement arose among Baptists during the height of Restorationist movement in the mid-19th century. Restorationism produced numerous movements and churches claiming to be the original Christianity, such as the Mormons, Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. From a historical or academic point of view, the claims of the Successionist Baptists are no more credible or convincing than those of any other Restorationist group. It may be worth noting that some "Originalist" Baptists, while claiming to best represent original Christianity, have no relation to the the movement mentioned above. They form a somewhat larger minority among the Baptists. They make no claim to an unbroken succession or a continually recurring sequence of Baptist practices throughout history. Indeed, they reject the Restorationist claims, finding assertions of kinship with such heretics as the Cathari deeply distasteful and repugnant. This portion of Baptists claim that their faith is the most authentic in relation to primitive Christianity, based on scriptural study and obedience.
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