ROAN MOUNTAIN BAPTIST ASSN. NOT CALVINIST

 The Roan Mountain Baptists Association now known as the Mitchell Baptist Association, in North Carolina, is found to be Non Calvinist at its formation in 1849. The churches that formed the association came out of the French Broad Association, shortly after the ending of the controversy over "eternal election and reprobation". The French Broad Assn. adopted the articles of faith of the Big Ivy Assn. which reunited with them after the doctrine of eternal election and reprobation had been repudiated. The Roan Mountain Assn. adopted similar, but not identical, articles of faith as follows;

 1. We believe in one only living and true God and that there are three persons in the godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that these three are one in substance and equal in power and glory.

2. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the word of God and the only rule of faith and practice.

3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin.

4. We believe in man's impotency to recover himself from the fallen state he is in by his own free will and ability.

5. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.

6. We believe that saints shall persevere on grace and that — they never shall fall finally away.

7. We believe that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ and that true believers are the only proper subjects thereof.

8. We believe the true mode of Baptism is by immersion.

9. We believe that no person has a right to administer the Ordinances but such as are regularly called and qualified thereunto.

10. We believe that no man should be ordained to the ministry without the unanimous voice of the church to which he belongs.

11. We believe in the resurrection of the dead and a general judgement, that punishment of the wicked shall be everlasting, and the joys of the righteous eternal.

12. We the members of the Roan Mountain Baptist Association agreeing to the above Articles of Faith for and in behalf of the churches whom we represent covenant, agree, and give ourselves up to each other in church and Christian fellowship in order to keep up the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace and to assist each other in all matters of distress and to pray for each's prosperity.

 Once again, we have articles of faith that have no mention of Calvinistic fatalism. However, a person using these articles as some sort of "proof" that this association was Calvinist by today's usage of the term, could imply that there is nothing in these articles with which a Calvinist would disagree. Many historians simply "looking" for what they want to see, will stop here. They will fail to mention the association from which Roan Mountain sprang and the controversies involved. The honest historian will have known these things, but the proof lies within the constitution of the Roan Mountain Assn, not their articles of faith. Their constitution in articles 6 and 7 reads as follows;

" 6. That this Association will encourage a sound ministry, such as exhibits Christ a whole Saviour having made salvation possible to every human being on the terms of the gospel which is freely offered to all.

7. That this Association will discountenance and repudiate the doctrine of particular personal unconditional and eternal election and reprobation."

What else can be said? it is clear that Roan Mountain was founded as a Provisionist association and totally repudiated both calvinistic determinism and fatalism.  Feel free to read the attached pics for validation, as these are the facts as recorded by James Oliver Young in "A Baptist Looks Back, The origin and Early History of the Roan Mountain Baptist Association, Now Mitchell Baptist Association" 





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