This study was completed in spite of my daughter's unwelcome and official attitude* Bethj in retrospect her invasions of my lap* her hieroglyphic notes on the typewriter* and her thorough reorganization of the thesis by some means are f a r more valued than the rats that were* To my two g i r l s * and Beth* I am greatly indebted to I. Mueller f i r s t stimulated my interest in Baptist history* when I served as his fellow* I was Dr. T* D* Price* friend and teacher during the last nine years*. A major advisor during the research and writing of this thesis has been Dr. W* L* Lumpkin, who preceded me in research into seventeenth-century English Baptists.
B» Weatherspoon f i r s t introduced me to the seventeenth century and has been helpful in this study, especially in connection with the composition* Professor R. Hiss Riley has shown far more interest in this thesis than her work duties require, and Doc- tor Crismon has been useful upon his return to the l i b r a r y. This study could not have been done without the pioneering work of the late vicar of Preston, W.
Baker, of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Port Worth, Texas, for their assistance in mediating, through microfilm, the benefits of Whitley's Baptist bibliography research for contemporary students. A benevolent father has given me good health and sufficient energy. Despite the heavy schedule I have followed* he is aware of my gratitude* but I wish to record it publicly * I feel that he is so kind.
INTERNAL PROBLEMS 346 LAYING ON OP HANDS
RELATIONS BETWEEN GENERAL AND PARTICULAR
The title of this thesis has been carefully chosen to specifically indicate the exact field of study*. It is therefore necessary* that the terms t i t l e be clearly defined so that no ambiguity arises from the t i t l e i t s e l f . Christian brotherhood* ^Christian brotherhood11 is a form and expression of fundamental unity and interdependence.
7* Ecclesiastical bslstlovm between Baptists and other groups foligj cos» Baptists were a small elesenfc i r e l i - l i f e of the XVII century. The source material for the study is abundant and varied* Much of the literature of the seventeenth century. This was the g e m of his doctrine* I t was identical with the Puritan opposition to the Anglican clergy on account of the latter's unbelieving element.
21. made a covenant), but the Anglican Church consists of an accursed crew, so called in the land of ^J^Lorarci^/,. Officials come from the leadership of local congregations and must not boast of the call of the church. Some members of the Church have special gifts given to them by God*, but they have the power to exercise these gifts through the Head of Christ.
Election to the o f i c e * *the true essence and form of the minister*11 is valid only if it comes from the congregation*.
In 1607, Smyth stated and later reaffirmed that the outward form of the visible church is a covenant between God and. Smyth confirmed that only confession of faith * after repentance* through believers* baptism* is among the full privileges of the Church* Those who do not confess this 50 by baptism are excluded from communion*. Hearing* that I had no doubt that the English churches would have communion with the English members of the Water.
Most of the Baptist congregation, under Smyth's leadership, applied for admission to the Waterlander* church. The last part of the r t i c l e on the universal church, quoted above, declared that every congregation has full power in the exercise of sacred things, with or without f i k e r. In a radical split, the local church was emphasized in virtual denial of the universal church.
The purpose of the confession of 1611 was to see the Helwys congregation of Smyth*s, as the long attached letter of seventeen pages (as opposed to only four and a half. I n the attractive supremacy of the Murton and his friends ) did not make a new proposal* for Anglicans* Puritans* and Separatists uniformly confessed the doctrine* as their confessions of f a i t h v e r i f y * But* 86* A Most Huatole supplication of the g.ngfs Majesty* s * Tool for all subjects * ~l?lvil Obedience* by the.
These particulars were typical objections raised by Puritans and Separatists against the Church of England*. They concerned authority, ecclesiastical administration, corruption of the minis**. 2* Concordance with the Church of England* I n 1630 the issue of infant baptism in pariah churches was raised by John Came, the minister of the Ancient Church* while in London. Shortly afterwards the covenant was renewed without any reference to the Church of England*. The Covenant retained the progressive character of the original Covenant in 1616* Dapper broke away, and he and others formed another church in conjunction with Canne's Ancient. Church but not with the.
4* Division over the validity of the Church of England* On 12 September 1633* a notable bt*b peaceful secession took place over the validity of the Church of England*. Hchard Blunt, who in 1653 was related to the seceding church which included Baton, was a member of the Jessey ehureh in 1640. Francis Bampfield reported in 1681 that two members of the original church told him that the administrator bapt.
Baptists early showed great independence of thought and advocated individual interpretation under the guidance of the S p i r i t . 1652 l i t e d many excommunications, the vast majority of which related to the rejection of the Bible and ordinances and. The religious literature of this century was rich in biblical references* regardless of the subject under discussion*.
The people were fed up * and some may have been offended by the misuse of the Bible* in the seventeenth century*. One of the purposes of the later particular Baptist creeds listed in gg was the confirmation of orthodoxy* 26. It is evident, then, that the reissue of the creed was intended for unifying and instructive purposes*.
That the elder of one church may administer the ordinance of the Lord's Supper to another. 139* Jerome Murch, A History of the Presbyterian and General Baptist Churches in the West of England, p* 70T W* T. Particular Baptists had no such office, unless Thomas Collier's oversight of the West was so classic.
Almost uniformly the main person in the church was the pastor* There are some examples of minis* discipline. In 1727, there were London ministers of three denominations11 (Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist) or The elevation of the ministry changed the expression of fellowship* The local congregation became more and more.
Coxe's view of the corporeality of the sacrament was widely disseminated in 1646 through the appendix to the Confession*. In such cases, however, the reputation of the minister was sufficient c e r t i f i c a t i o n , so the Table remained guarded*. Membership transfers and occasional communion* At the end of the century it was customary f o r letters of rec-.
The Whites Alley minutes towards the end of the century constantly mentioned withdrawals and transfers*. Towards the end of the eentt&y the custom was to issue l e t - ters only to specific address* It appears to have been. Apparently, Maidstone rejected Caffynism and desired communion with Whites Alley because of the tense situation.
By "congregation* is meant, not a local church, but the General Baptist community of the region*.
