Yesterday, I received my father's day gift in the mail, John T. Christian's, "A History of the Baptists". John Tyler Christian (1854–1925) was a Baptist preacher, author and educator. Dr. Christian was educated at Bethel College, Russellville, Ky., and was strongly influenced there by Dr. W. W. Gardner. In June, 1876, he graduated from that college with a Bachelor's Degree. In 1880, he earned his Master of Arts degree from Bethel, and in 1888 the college conferred on him the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity. In 1898, Keachie College, La., honored him with the title LL.D. He was well known for his skills both as a debater and as a prolific and gifted author. His book, "A History of the Baptists", was recommended to me by Ben Stratton. Brother Ben holds to a Landmark Ecclesiology and a belief in Baptist Perpetuity. This is a subject that I am most interested in. So far, I have only finished chapter 1. However, I love the logic of Christian. For example, Christian begins by noting the Apostle Paul's promise in Ephesians 3:21... "Unto him be the glory in the church of Jesus Christ throughout the ages, world without end. Amen." Christian comments... "The glory of Christ was to exist in all of the ages in the church. The church was, therefore, bound to exist in all of the ages." This makes sense to me.
Upon this promise, Christian then makes his claim... "The author believes that in every age since Jesus and the apostles, there have been companies of believers, churches, who have substantially held to the principles of the New Testament as now proclaimed by the Baptists". Personally, I have always believed the early church was "baptistic". My struggle comes in with the concept of succession and perpetuity. On this point, Christian has answered my concern with the concept of the perpetuity of principles.
To Christian the perpetuity of the Baptists is not seen in a succession of bishops or baptisms, but in a "perpetual proclamation of principles." For proof of this theory of perpetual proclamation, Christian uses examples from the New Testament. This is the part I really like. Christian writes... "Some of the apostles were disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35), but there is no record of the baptism of others, though they were baptized. Paul, the great missionary, was baptized by Ananias (Acts 9:17,18), but it is not known who baptized Ananias. Nothing definite is known of the origin of the church at Damascus. The church at Antioch became the great missionary center, but the history of its origin is not distinctly given. The church at Rome was already in existence when Paul wrote to them his letter. These silences occur all through the New Testament, but there is a constant recurrence of type, a persistence of fundamental doctrines, and a proclamation of principles."
What do you think? Is it possible to see a Baptist perpetuation of principles without actually tracing a direct link or line from one church to another?
At the end of chapter 1; Christian writes his conclusion... "Baptist churches have the most slender ties of organization, and a strong government is not according to their polity. They are like the river Rhone, which sometimes flows as a river broad and deep, but at other times is hidden in the sands. It, however, never loses its continuity or existence. It is simply hidden for a period. Baptist churches may disappear and reappear in the most unaccountable manner. Persucuted everywhere by sword and by fire, their PRINCIPLES(emphasis mine) would appear to be almost extinct, when in a most wondrous way God would raise up some man, or some company or martyrs, to proclaim the truth."
