Unto These Hills

The Bakers Creek Association of United Baptists formed in 1818 in Indiana, are found to be Non Calvinist. Baker Creek United Baptist Church was the founding church, and this church was constituted by a presbytery consisting of elders Thomas Downs, Benjamin Talbot (sometimes Tolbert or Tolbart) and John Weldon.  We certainly know that Elder Benjamin Talbot (Tolbert) was not a Calvinist, You can read about him here  . It should also be noted that the Bakers Creek Baptists had the same articles of faith as the Pigeon Creek Baptist Church, also in Indiana, of which Abraham Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln, was a member. Pigeon Creek was a Regular Baptist church when formed, so this would be another instance of the deletion of  portions dealing with limited atonement and irresistible grace of the Philadelphia Confession by Regular Baptists.  William E. Barton, D.D., LL.D., in "The soul of Abraham Lincoln ," published in 1920, pg 36, says "Thomas Lincoln is alleged by Hern...

 Though my research is largely about showing that Non Calvinist or Provisionist Baptists were indeed far from being a small minority among Baptists, to even a majority, of Baptists who were once called Separate and Regular Baptists, it is worth noting that many General Baptists were also part of the equation. There were General Baptists very early on in American history, especially in New England. Later, the Free Will Baptists begun by Elder Paul Palmer in the mid 1700's entered the scene. In the 1820's Elder Benoni Stinson formed the Liberty Baptist Association in Indiana. This was the beginning of the modern General Baptist denomination, which is separate both in history and theology, from the Free Will Baptists. The General Baptists were composed mostly of Separate Baptists, excepting those in New England. They were not shy about showing their Separate Baptist roots through the way they worshiped, with shouting, evangelical preaching and lively singing. In 1824 Elder Stinson...

 In my research, I would venture to say that 30% to 40% of Regular Baptists would not be considered Calvinists today by the modern usage of the term. One example is the Ketoctin (sometimes spelled Ketocton) which can be read here  . In that article, we see that the Ketoctin Association, was so close to the beliefs of the Sandy Creek Association, that they inquired about a possible union between the two.    In Robert Boyle C. Howell’s 1857 "History of Early Baptists in Virginia" he records that as early as 1769 the " Ketocton, a Regular, or Calvinistic Association in Northern Virginia, addressed the Sandy Creek, a Separate, or Arminian Association" in Southern Virginia and North Carolina about a possible union. ( Robert Boyle C. Howell, The Early Baptists of Virginia (Philadelphia: The Bible and Publication Society, 1857), 45-46. This is further proof that the Ketocton Assn. wasn't Calvinist by today's usage of the term. They obviously thought t...

 The Sweetwater United Baptist Association (now Sweetwater Baptist Association) Founded in 1830 is found to be Non Calvinist. In The History of the Sweetwater Baptist Association by Glenn Toomey, we see the Abstract of Principles on page 34, as follows; 1) We believe in the one true and living God; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and these three are one.  2)  We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God and the only rule of saving knowledge.  3)We believe in election according to the fore knowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 4) We believe in the doctrine of original sin. 5)  We believe in man's impotency to recover from the fallen state he is in by his won free will and ability. 6) We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. 7) We believe that the saints will persevere in grace and never fall finally away. 8) W...

 The North Liberty Baptist Association in Missouri was founded in 1844 at New Hope Baptist Church. One of the founding elders was Robert Sallee James, the father of the infamous Jesse James and Frank James. The elder James died from cholera when the boys were very small, in California, where he had gone to preach to the gold miners. Robert James founded and pastored New Hope Church, where the North Liberty Association was formed. He was also one of the founders of William Jewell College, a Baptist school in Missouri. No articles of faith are found printed in any of the minutes, but the minutes do state that their articles of faith are "the same as those recorded in the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge page 191" which is the New Hampshire Confession of faith. When churches and associations began to adopt that confession, it was too lengthy and costly to have it printed every year. Most ordained elders would have had a copy of the encyclopedia. Given that many Calvinists say...

 The Laurel River Baptist Association in Kentucky, was formed in 1831. Originally titled as United Baptists, they later adopted the name Missionary Baptists after the mission/anti mission controversy. The Committee which was comprised of men in the Laurel Association to write the history, wrote about a Hardshell Calvinist faction which rose up under the influence of  Rev. B.R. Caudill. An article on the history of this association which was prepared for the 1898 session, records the following statement, showing another instance of Calvinist infiltration, prying to change the doctrine and practice of the entire association. We can also see that this faction was evidently "Baxterian Calvinist" in belief. You can read about Baxterian Calvinists  here   and a Baxterian association here  . " In the year 1881 Rev. B. R. Caudill, a regular predestinarian Baptist, came among us and effected an organization of that faith and secured a following in a number of our...

 This information is from the biography Henry Holcombe, by J.H. Campbell, 1874, page 191 and the "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ELDER JACOB KNAPP", introductory essay by  R. Jeffery  page VI. Henry Holcombe, born 1762, was a Baptist evangelist who held "protracted meetings" in the Philadelphia area. He  was known as a revivalist of the first degree, and was opposed by many Calvinists. A Calvinist named R. Jeffery, who wrote an introductory essay for the Autobiography of Elder Jacob Knapp, another Non Calvinist evangelist, said of Holcombe " amid a storm of abuse, which scrupled at no outrage, persisted in preaching a free salvation, and in urging men to repent ." As shown in previous articles, "free salvation" refers to general atonement and whosoever will, while "free grace" at that time, referred to Calvinism.  Holcombe officiated in the presbytery that ordained Elder William T. Brantly, another Non Calvinist who pastored the First Baptist Church ...