General Baptists, also called Arminian Baptists, are

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

died for all humanity and not only for the elect). General Baptist

soteriology Soteriology (; ' "salvation" from wikt:σωτήρ, σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and wikt:λόγος, λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of Doctrine, religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special sign ...

initially was not

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

, but over time they embraced some distinctive Arminian doctrines until completely adopting the Five Points of Arminianism, while still maintaining strong Calvinistic language and other Reformed doctrines. General Baptists have produced two major confessions of faith: The '' Standard Confession of Faith'' (1660), and the '' Orthodox Creed'' (1679). Henry Denne, Thomas Grantham and Daniel Taylor were some of the greatest theological figures for the General Baptist strand in England. Together with the Particular Baptists, the second strand, they form the Baptist tradition.

Historical Background

In the late 16th century and early 17th century, Puritan activity was strong in the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

. In this period, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

church gathered in Gainsborough, led by the

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

John Smyth, recently excommunicated for dissatisfaction with the state of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, as persecution against Puritan reforms. The church came to be known as the Gainsborough Congregation. They later developed a distinctive Baptist theology and is considered one of the precursors of General Baptists. Under

Thomas Helwys Thomas Helwys (c. 1575 – 1616) was an English barrister (lawyer), Puritan leader, and theologian. His theological beliefs is one of the forming basis of the Baptist tradition. In the early 17th century, Helwys was the principal formulator of ...

' ministry, the church was reestablished at

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

outside

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1612, after a brief period of exile in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Helwys is credited with the formation of a church in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

in 1614 or earlier when he assembled with Smyth and other Puritan leaders to lead

Puritans at the residence of Sir William Bowes and his wife, Isobel, in 1606.

Development

In 1660, selected General Baptists ministers assembled together in the City of London to draw up a confession of faith defining their theology. They elected Thomas Grantham and Joseph Wright to present the confession to King Charles II in the same year. It was adopted by their ecclesiastical organization, the General Assembly of General Baptists. Dr. Charles Marie Du Veil, a respected French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

Biblical scholar, became a General Baptist. He was baptised into the St. Paul's Alley church and published his new views. Du Veil helped the General Baptist influence after 1685. In 1733, a case against several Northamptonshire churches was presented to the General Assembly for "singing the psalms of David or other men's composures" which determined no fixed rule on congregational singing, but deferred to the local church to set forth their own reasons as the General Assembly had in 1689.

In America

In 1825, opponents of General Baptists in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

dubbed them as "Freewillers" for their Arminian belief. Then, these Baptists assumed the name Free Will Baptists. Arminian Baptists who accepted the existence of a

second work of grace According to certain Christian traditions, a second work of grace (also second blessing) is a transforming interaction with God that may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are th ...

during the Holiness movement established associations such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and Holiness Baptist Association.

Denominations

* All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists * Evangelical Free Baptist Church * General Association of General Baptists * General Six-Principle Baptists * Holiness Baptist Association * Some Independent Baptist churches * Marianas Association of General Baptists *

National Association of Free Will Baptists } The National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB) is a national body of Free Will Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, organized on November 5, 1935 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The Association traces its hist ...

* New Connexion of General Baptists * Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God * Old Baptist Union * Original Free Will Baptist Convention * Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church * Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists * Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Kazakhstan * United American Free Will Baptist Church * United American Free Will Baptist Conference

References

External links

The Standard Confession
- confession of faith upheld by General Baptists
The Orthodox Creed
- confession of faith upheld by General Baptists Protestant theology English Reformation Baptist movements Arminian denominations Christian terminology {{Baptists-stub