![]() As such, General Baptists hold to a theological position known as Arminianism. This association consisted of what came to be referred to as “General Baptists.” These churches took a “general” view of the atonement, which is to say that they believed that Christ’s atoning death was for all people but that it is effective only for those who respond in faith. ![]() By 1624 there were several other Baptist congregations in England, and five of them joined together to form what would be the earliest association of Baptist churches. This belief in believer-only baptism (or credobaptism) was and remains a primary distinctive of all Baptists.Īfter starting another congregation in the Netherlands, Hellwys returned to England in 1612 and went on to establish a Baptist church near London. They formed their own church which, even though they had not yet returned home, is often considered the first English Baptist church.īecause they did not believe that other churches followed the Bible’s teaching on baptism – which was to be administered to believers only – Smyth baptized himself and then proceeded to baptize other adult believers in the congregation. General Baptistsĭue to persecution in their home country (it was illegal for them to be outside of the Church of England), the congregation of John Smyth and Thomas Helwys fled to Amsterdam in 1606. The Baptist church as we know it was not founded until the 17 th Century, and there were two distinct groups that came about simultaneously in England: The General Baptists and the Particular Baptists.īoth groups practiced believer’s baptism by immersion, had a congregational form of church government, and came out of the English Separatist Movement (which consisted of churches seeking to separate from the Church of England). Current religious affiliations descending from the Anabaptist movement include the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites. While there are some similarities, the differences in theology, geography, and historical development are significant. Although some have believed that the Baptist church descended directly from the historical Anabaptist movement, this is not the case.
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