ILLINOIS UNITED BAPTIST ASSOCIATION (IL) NOT CALVINIST

 The following information comes from "Baptist Memorial and Monthly Record", December 1846, pp. 366-369 by Elder John M. Peck and "Illinois Baptists--A History"  1930 pp. 54-57 by Edward P. Brand.  

The Illinois United Baptist Association was probably formed in 1807.  That is the earliest record found of it, though some of its churches were founded before that time. This association was anti mission, along with many other general atonement associations. These associations would be in harmony with today's Independent Baptists. The general atonement Baptists that were "anti mission" were not "anti missionary" or against evangelism as many of the Calvinistic Baptists were. They simply believed there should be no one sent out to preach unless it be from a local church, not a "society" or board.



The articles of faith are as follows;

 

1st. There is one only true God; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
2d. We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only rule of Faith and Practice.
3d. We believe that by nature we are fallen and depraved creatures.
4th. That salvation, regeneration, sanctification, and justification, are by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
5th. That saints will finally persevere through grace to glory.
6th. That believer's baptism by immersion is necessary to the receiving of the Lord's Supper.
7th. That the salvation of the righteous and punishment of the wicked are eternal.
8th. We believe that no ministers ought to administer the ordinances until they come under the imposition of hands.
9th. That it is our duty to be tender and affectionate to each other, and study the happiness of the children of God in general, and be engaged singularly to promote the glory of God.
10th. We believe in election by grace.
11th. We believe that it is our duty to commune with orderly Baptists.
12th. That each church may keep their own government as to them may seem best.


There is no "definite number" clause, nor any mention of irresistible grace or unconditional election, no total depravity. These articles follow the same pattern as most other Non Calvinist Baptist associations of the time. There are other facts to be shown, that can confirm this association was not Calvinist. In 1809 there was a controversy among Baptists in the area over the question of slavery. Those churches and associations which opposed slavery adopted the name "Friends of Humanity". I won't go into all the history of that here, but anyone who has studied Illinois Baptist history knows that those Baptists who adopted that name were opposed to Calvinism, and believed every human was loved by God equally, and held to general atonement.

There was thought for a while that those who adopted the "Friends" name, should separate from the Baptists and form a new denomination, but that never happened. They did adopt the following statement in 1809;

 "We whose names are hereunto subscribed agree to unite and be constituted on the Bible of the Old and New Testaments, and to be known by the name of the Baptized Church of Christ, Friends to Humanity, denying union and communion with all persons holding the doctrine of perpetual, hereditary, involuntary slavery." 

 Long afterwards, in 1828, when the Friends to Humanity churches were flourishing, further explanation was given in a Circular Letter written by James Lemen Jr.:

"Being accused by some of not having been sufficiently explicit in our former addresses, relative to who and what we are as a religious society, we will therefore simply reply that we profess to be scripture advocates, or Bible christians, having adopted the word of God both as our constitution and book of discipline. In our church records, and in our circular publications, we subscribe our names, The Baptized Churches of Christ, Friends to Humanity. We say Baptized Churches instead of Baptist Churches because the word Baptized includes both preachers and private members, while the word Baptist includes the preachers only. We add Friends to Humanity because we believe it to be our duty to extend our friendship (that is justice and mercy), to human nature, let it appear in whatever dress or complexion God may see fit to order, whether white, yellow or black, and not when it appears in white only."

More can be read about the "Friends" movement here.

 


 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE USHER - A BAPTIST HERO

 In 1934, in Charlotte North Carolina, A baptist evangelist was holding a tent revival. Every night the tent was filled to overflowing. One night, two young teen aged boys came by, heard the preaching and decided to check it out. As the neared the tent, they realized every seat was taken. They turned and walked away. One man, whose name we will never know, was an usher at the revival, having volunteered from a local Baptist church, helping people to their seats. How did this man end up being an usher in a tent revival? Let's go back to April 1855. A man named Edward Kimball taught a boys Sunday School class at the Congregational church in Boston. The class was full of anxious teen aged boys, unruly at times, but Edward Kimball made a commitment that he would seek out every single boy and present the gospel in a way that related that Christ had come for each one. One of the boys worked in his uncle's shoe store, and Kimball decided to pay him a visit at work. Later, Kimball reca...
Read more

Comparing Calvinist and Non Calvinist Articles of Faith

Image
When discerning whether old Baptist articles of faith are Calvinist or Non Calvinist, it is important to know the nuances of how they are written. Below are the articles of faith of the Concord Association in Georgia and the Coosa Association right next door to them. You may notice a few spelling "errors" but I have posted these exactly as originally written. The similarities between the two are striking, especially considering they hold two different doctrines. The Coosa Association is the OLDEST of the two, being founded in 1835, from churches in in an even older association founded in 1796, in a rare example of being called simply "the Association of the Baptist Churches of Christ" carrying with them the same articles of faith. Concord Association Articles of Faith  1. We believe in the only true and living God: and that there is a trinity of persons within the God-head, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 2. We believe that the Scr...
Read more

EASTERN DISTRICT ASSOCIATION OF PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS (VA) NOT CALVINIST

Image
To date I have found many Primitive Baptist (PB's) associations who were not Calvinists, some even calling it heresy. The reason many historians teach that all PB's are highly Calvinistic, is because the non Calvinist ones gradually rejoined their Missionary Baptist counterparts as their opposition to mission societies softened, The Non Calvinist portion of PB's, adopted Sunday Schools, musical instruments, revivals and other church activities that the Calvinistic PB's rejected. As an example, read the further down in this article from the Eastern District Association of PB's. Originally organized in 1835 as the Mulberry Gap Association of United Baptists, the Eastern District Association was organized in 1848 with the first meeting being held at Blackwater Lick (Big Door), when they broke away from the Mulberry Gap United Baptists over "new innovations not warranted by scripture", namely mission societies and anything beyond the associationa...
Read more