Baptist successionism
\Baptist successionism is the theory that there exists an unbroken chain of churches that have held the beliefs (though not always the name) of the current Baptist churches since the time of Christ. This theory is most commonly associated with Landmark Baptists, though not exclusively. Some Primitive Baptists, Regular Baptists and United Baptists hold a similar view. This view is distasteful to Catholics and Protestants who trace their origins through the Catholic Church. Much of the evidence that supports this theory has been lost or never existed. It is also impossible to disprove because it only requires the existence of at least one single church (could be as small as two or three people) during any particular point in history to be true. Adding to the problem is the fact that many of the groups that held the beliefs that Baptists now hold suffered great persecution by governments, as well as Catholics and Protestants alike. If these churches existed, as Landmark Baptists claim, the historical records required to prove the theory many never have existed. Dissident anti-paedobaptist groups, such as Anabaptists, Waldenses, Albigenses, Cathari, and Paulicians, are often considered to be within this chain of tradition. John T. Christian and his History of the Baptists are associated with this belief, but J. M. Carroll's Trail of Blood is the best known work promoting Baptist successionism.
External linksA Critique of the English Separatist Descent Theory in Baptist HistoriographyA History of the BaptistsThe Trail of Blood
References
ProBryan, Philip, A Critique of the English Separatist Descent Theory in Baptist Historiography. Unpublished M.A. dissertation, Baylor University, 1966Christian, John Taylor, A History of the Baptists. 2 vols. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1922Ford, S. H., The Origin of the Baptists, Traced Back by Milestones on the Track of Time. rev. ed. Memphis: Baptist Book House, 1876Jarrel, W. A., Baptist Church Perpetuity. Dallas: W. A. Jarrel, 1894Ray, D. B., Baptist Successionism. Rosemead, Ca.: The King's Press, 1949
ConMcGoldrick, James Edward, Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History. Metuchen, NJ: The American Theological Library Association and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1994Patterson, William Morgan, Baptist Successionism: A Critical View. Valley Forge, Pa.: The Judson Press, 1969Tull, James E., A Study of Southern Baptist Landmarkism in the Light of Historical Baptist Ecclesiology. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1960Tull, James E., A History of Southern Baptist Landmarkism. New York: Arno Press, 1980
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