General Baptists

 ( Protestant Theology ) 

General Baptists, sometimes called Arminian Baptists, are Baptists that hold to the doctrine of general atonement (belief that Jesus Christ died for all humanity).

James Leo Garrett (2025). 9780881461299, Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881461299

W. Glenn Jonas (2025). 9780881461206, Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881461206

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.

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Historical Background In the late 16th century and early 17th century, Puritan activity was strong in the Midlands. In this period, a Puritan church gathered in Gainsborough, led by the cleric John Smyth, recently excommunicated for dissatisfaction with the state of the Church of England, 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. William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 243 Under Thomas Helwys' ministry, the church was reestablished at Spitalfields outside London in 1612, after a brief period of exile in Amsterdam.

Leonard, Bill J. (2025). 9780231127028, Columbia University Press. . ISBN 9780231127028

Helwys is credited with the formation of a church in Coventry in 1614 or earlier when he assembled with Smyth and other Puritan leaders to lead Coventry Puritans organizing a Conference in 1606, at the mansion of Sir William Bowes and his wife, Isobel."The City of Coventry: Protestant nonconformity, Introduction." A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8, the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick. Ed. W B Stephens. London: Victoria County History, 1969. 372-382. British History Online. Web. 28 April 2020. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol8/pp372-382.

In 1660, all General Baptists ministers and deacons 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.Taylor, Adam. (1818). The History of the English General Baptists. Printed by T. Bore, London. pp. 359f. Google Books website Retrieved 27 April 2020.

Dr. Charles Marie Du Veil, a respected French Huguenots Biblical scholar,Agnew, David Carnegie Andrew. (1886). Protestant exiles from France, chiefly in the reign of Louis XIV; or, The Huguenot refugees and their descendants in Great Britain and Ireland. Book one. Chapter VIII – Refugees being Converts from Romanism during the First Half of the Reign of Louis XIV. pp. 166f. Wikisource website Retrieved 27 April 2020. 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. Taylor, 1818, pp. 346-349. WorldCat website Retrieved 27 April 2020.

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.Julian, John. editor. (1985)."Baptist Hymnody, English." Dictionary of hymnology : origin and history of Christian hymns and hymnwriters of all ages and nations. Grand Rapids, Michigan : Kregel Publications. Vol. 2, pp. 110f. Google Books website Retrieved 27 April 2020.

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In America In 1825, opponents of General Baptists in North Carolina 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 during the Holiness movement established associations such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and Holiness Baptist Association.

(2025). 9781615927388, Prometheus Books. ISBN 9781615927388

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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
  (1996). 9781563113055, Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 9781563113055
• Marianas Association of General Baptists
• National Association of Free Will Baptists
  H. Leon McBeth (1987). 9781433671029, B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9781433671029
• 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
  (2017). 9781493406401, Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 9781493406401
• United American Free Will Baptist Conference

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External links

• The Standard Confession - confession of faith upheld by General Baptists
• The Orthodox Creed - confession of faith upheld by General Baptists

Categories: Protestant Theology, English Reformation, Baptist Movements, Arminian Denominations, Christian Terminology

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