CHATTAHOOCHEE UNITED BAPTIST ASSOCIATION (MIDDLE GA) NOT CALVINIST

 The Chattahoochee United Baptist Association was founded in 1835 as a United Baptist Association, from churches whose heritage was Separate Baptist. They were not Calvinists at all. Their articles of faith definitely sound Calvinist to today's ear, but we shall see the proof in the same set of minutes, that their articles of faith are taken from. In the minutes of 1848 their articles of faith appear as follows:

 (A.):_ADSTRACT OF PRINCIPLES.
· I. We believe in one only true and living God, the' Creator and Prcserver
of all things, and only Law-Giver, and that there are three persons in the
God Head, The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and thtese three are one.
2. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word
of God, and only rule of faith. and practice .
. 3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin.
4. We believe in man's inability to recover himself from the fallen state
which he is in by nature, by his own strength.
' 5.. We believe in a Covenant between hte Father and Son, in which all
Grace is treasured up; and in the doctrine of Election according to the
foreknowledge of God; through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of thc
truth according to l st Peter, 1st chapter, 2nd verse; and 2d Thessalonians 2(1
chapter. 13th verse,:' God hath from the beginning chosen you, to salvation,
through sanctification of tile Spirit and belief of the truth " But that Elec-
tion should not be so construed as to make God the author of sin either di
rectly or indirectly.. Nor on the other hand do we believe the creature can
do anything meritorious in his salvation.
6. We believe al1at good works are the fruits of faith, and follow after jus-
tification; that they 'are the evidences of faith , and absolutely necessary to
justification before men.
7. We bc1ieve in general Judgment, when all shall be judged according
to their works; that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of
the wicked will be eternal.
8. We believe that the saints will persevere in Grace to the end of their lives.. 

9.We believe that, baptism and the Lord's Supper are standing ordinan-
ces of the Church of Christ, and that immersion only is Baptism, and be-
-lievers the only subjects..
10. We believe that no minister has a right to administer the ordinances
of ilie Lord's house, except such as arc called of God, approved by the 

churches, and regularly ordained. 
11 . We believe that men by nature are so morally depraved that they will
not come to God for life and salvation, and but for the influences of the Holy
Spirit none would ever come to him. 
'12. We hold that it is the command of God to his people, to establish His
Word, and promulgate the Gospel of Christ to all nations, making known
to the human family the plan of redemption through the atonement or Christ;
and we believe it is the duty of every rational descendant of Adam, to whom 
the Gospel message of reconciliation is addressed, to exercise repentance
towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

These articles certainly will ring loud in the Calvinist's ear today. However, 200 years ago it's a different story. As with many other Non Calvinist Baptist articles of faith, we have the phrase "through sanctification of the Spirit and be1ief of the truth."  This is interpreted by Non Calvinist Baptist as requiring "belief", which by default means they reject regeneration before faith. Belief itself brings one into "election." 

Next, noticeably absent is any mention that the atonement was for a definite number, a clause almost universally found in Calvinist articles of faith. Original sin is affirmed but not defined. Inability is affirmed but defined as saving himself by his own strength, NOT that he is unable to see his lost condition.

Article 11 is most interesting. Total depraviy is not necessarily affirmed, but depravity is. Notice how they say no one will come except for the influence of the Holy Spirit, but does not say irresistibly drawn. Article 12 seems to affirm general atonement by the use of "human family". Is this the case? On page 6 of the minutes we se a letter indicating that there was division in some associations over missions, and along with that came accusations that different doctrines were being preached by the Chattahoochee Assn. We can see at the bottom of the letter (see pics) that the Chattahoochee claimed to preach the same doctrines as those who defected from other associations. On the last page of the minutes of 1848 in which these articles are printed, we see something very interesting.

 "In conclusion we readily admit a disagreement existing, and which has
ever existed, between us and other Baptists, relative to the 4th article of what
is termed the ORIGINAL CONFESSION OF FAITH, to wit: (We believe in the
Eternal Election of a definite number of the human race, to grace and glory,
' and-that there was a covenant of grace or redemption made between the
.Frather and the Son before the world began, in which their salvation is se-
cure, and that they in particular are redeemed.) Believing as we do that
this doctrine is not in accordance with the Word of GOD, and inconsistent
with christian and ·missionary operations. Finally. we say to the world that
in accordance with the Doctrine and Principles set forth in these minutes,
we heartily desire a union and co-operation with all Baptists.
JOHN REEVES, Chairman Select Committee"

This removes any doubt as to what the Chattahoochee Association believed . they definitely were not Calvinists or predestinarian in doctrine. They went further in staing that the calvinist doctrine of eternal, particular election "is not in accordance with the Word of God". This, among other associations, was an issue begun by some Calvinist associations to exclude those who leaned Arminian. However, if you follow the history of these arguments, you will find the Non Calvinist/ Provisionist Baptists  always came to the rescue of the Arminian leaning Baptists using the words of the Separate Baptists of the 1700's which said "To exclude such as these from their communion would be like tearing the limbs from the body." (History of the Baptists in Virginia, Robert Baylor Semple, First Published, 1810, pp 68-69 emphasis mine).""You may notice in article 8 that the phrase "and none will finally be lost" which is common to so many other Baptist articles, is absent. This may be a hint at the future of this association, as they would eventually join with other Arminian United Baptists in joining the Free Will Baptist Convention in Georgia, known as the "Georgia Association of Liberal Baptists" in the 1890's, after having been part of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 50 years. This is further proof that Arminians were present among the Separate Baptists, later the United Baptists.

At some point, the Chattahoochee Assn joined the Free will Baptists, as stated before. As of now, their articles of faith are basically the New Hampshire Confession of Faith. So much for the Calvinist who claims this as a strict Calvinist confession, and those Calvinists who reject it saying it doesn't support a single point of TULIP are vindicated. There are many Calvinist churches who use this confession, and it has always baffled me as to why. Yes, it can be interpreted thru a Calvinist lens, but this only proves my thesis as to Non Calvinists having articles that sounds calvinistic. If you are going to accept that the New Hampshire Confession, which does not "sound" calvinistic to most ears, can be interpreted multiple ways, then you have placed yourself within my proofs that 200 years ago the same was true of calvinist "sounding" article being interpreted in a Non Calvinist way. To see the minutes of 1982 which shows their modern articles of faith, see here. To see their minutes from 1842 thru 2020 see here. This is the Free Will Baptist History site, which proves that this association did indeed have the articles of faith I posted above, showing that this association has always believed what they believe now, and that modern readers simply do not know how to interpret the articles of faith of Baptist associations in the 18th and 19 centuries.


 




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