CONCORD BAPTIST ASSN. LOUISIANA NOT CALVINIST

 The Concord Baptist Assn, formed in 1832 out of an even older association, the Louisiana Association. Their articles of faith sound very calvinistic to today's ear. Let's look at their articles of faith.

 

 Articles of Faith.
1. We believe in one only true and living God, and that he has revealed himself unto men under the characters of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

 2. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and are of divine authority and the only rule of faith and practice.

3. We believe in the fall of Adam, in the total depravity of human nature, and in man's inability to restore himself to the favor of God.

4. We believe in the everlasting love of God to his people, in the doctrine of election, and the perseverance of the saints in grace.

5. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Christ, which is unto all and upon all who believe.

6. We believe that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, and in becoming an offering for sin hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

7. We believe that good works are the fruits of faith and follow after justification, are evidences of a gracious state, and are performed by believers from a principle of love.

8. We believe in the resurrection of the dead and. a general judgment, and that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal.

The articles we need to look at are articles three, four and six . Article three very clearly states the total depravity of man. This is neither unusual nor typical of Non Calvinist Baptists of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some associations toned down the language by simply omitting the word "totally".  This association chose not to, so let's look further at article 4. There is no "definite number" clause. They believe the "doctrine of "election". Don't we all? How did they define "election"? It should also be noted, that article six clearly states Christ "gave himself a ransom for all". 

I could find no doctrinal queries dealing with doctrine, but the absence of a "definite number" clause made me keep digging. I already knew the answer, as for me article six is clear about general atonement, but some Calvinists might argue it means "all the elect" as if they couldn't have just added that word. In "The written history of Louisiana Baptists, we can see a biographical sketch of Elder C.S. Lee. Lee had been reared by anti mission Baptists. In the biography, the following is said of him:

 "Having dissented from the extreme Calvinistic views and anti-mission tendencies of his brethren, and especially on the extent of the Atonement, he was arraigned and excluded for heresy. At the end of two years, during which time he gave the subject of the church a thorough examination, he came to the conclusion that the Church of Christ is with the Missionary Baptists". ("Elder S.C. Lee" in The History of the Baptists of Louisiana From the Earliest Times Until The Present. W.E. Paxton. St. Louis: C.R. Barnes Publishing Co. 1888, pg 571) 

Lee was tried for heresy in his anti mission church, and he stood firm upon his beliefs, saying "how can such clarity be taught in the scriptures, and eyes so blind to see it?" Lee left them and joined a Concord Assn. church, was ordained a deacon. then ordained to preach. Since he rejected "extreme calvinistic views...especially on the extent of the atonement"  and then was ordained deacon, then elder, and then became moderator of the association, it seems clear to me that the Concord Assn. was not Calvinist in the predestination/limited atonement senses.

Let's state the obvious.

1. No mention of a 'definite number" of the election the articles of faith.

2. Not a hint at limited atonement, just the opposite appears.

3. They state God's everlasting love to his people, but there is no "from the foundation of the world" or before the world was" language. "Everlasting" can certainly have a starting point in time, just "everlasting punishment" does. In Calvinist articles, "election" and "perseverance" usually appear as two different articles. In this case, it appears to me that "everlasting love" refers to eternal security of believers, as perseverance and election are part of the same article.

4. The Concord association obviously ordained elders who were not "extreme Calvinists", and believed in general atonement. Lee was even elected moderator of the whole association. Would a bunch of staunch Calvinists ordain such a man to preach, as well as lead their association? In my opinion, "no".

 







 

 

 

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