General Baptists, sometimes calledArminian Baptists, areBaptists that hold to the doctrine ofgeneral atonement (belief thatJesus Christdied for all humanity).[1][2][3]
General Baptists have produced two majorconfessions of faith: TheStandard Confession of Faith (1660), and theOrthodox Creed (1679).[4]Henry Denne,Thomas Grantham andDaniel Taylor were some of the greatest theological figures for the General Baptist strand in England. Together with theParticular Baptists, the second strand, they form the Baptist tradition.
In the late 16th century and early 17th century, Puritan activity was strong in theEnglish Midlands. In this period, aPuritanchurch gathered inGainsborough, led by theclericJohn Smyth, recently excommunicated for dissatisfaction with the state of theChurch of England, aspersecution against Puritan reforms. The church came to be known as the Gainsborough Congregation. They later developed a distinctive Baptist theology and is considered one of the precursors of General Baptists.[5] UnderThomas Helwys' ministry, the church was reestablished atSpitalfields outsideLondon in 1612, after a brief period of exile inAmsterdam.[6]
In 1660, all General Baptists ministers and deacons assembled together in the City of London to draw up aconfession of faith defining their theology. They electedThomas Grantham and Joseph Wright to present the confession toKing Charles II in the same year. It was adopted by their ecclesiastical organization, the General Assembly of General Baptists.[7]
Charles Marie Du Veil, a respected FrenchHuguenot Biblical scholar,[8] became a General Baptist. He was baptised into the St. Paul's Alley church and published his new views. Du Veil helped the General Baptist influence after 1685.[9][10]
In 1733, a case against several Northamptonshire churches was presented to the General Assembly for "singing the psalms of David or other men's composures" which determined no fixed rule on congregational singing, but deferred to the local church to set forth their own reasons as the General Assembly had in 1689.[11]
In 1825, opponents of General Baptists inNorth Carolina dubbed them as "Freewillers" for their Arminian belief. Then, these Baptists assumed the nameFree Will Baptists.[1][2][3]
Arminian Baptists who accepted the existence of asecond work of grace during theHoliness movement established associations such as theOhio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God andHoliness Baptist Association.[12]
General Baptists in North Carolina (the Palmer/Parker heritage) were often called "free willers" by their Regular (Reformed) Baptist neighbors. The name was becoming popular by the beginning of the nineteenth century, and in 1828 the group there adopted the name "Free Will Baptists." The reference, of course, was to the doctrine of General Atonement taught by the General Baptists.
isbn:9780231127028.
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