Baptist Universalism

[Rvaughn]

[Rvaughn]

[Haruo]

[Rvaughn]

Of Winchester's Thirteen Hymns, Suited to the Present Times, Music and Richardson write, "This small collection was the first from Baptists in America by a single author."

reprintery has A Choice Collection of Hymns, In Which Are Some Never Before Printed.

[Tim Bonney]

[Rvaughn]

While I don't personally use the word "sacrament" for baptism and the Lord's supper, it wasn't bothering me in the context where it was written. My point is that the thing that unifies Baptist is believer's baptism, and once that is jettisoned a church has removed itself from unity with the rest of the Baptist denomination. The church may continue to be Baptist in name, but not really in faith and practice.

[Tim Bonney]

[Haruo]

FWIW, a woman who is near and dear to me has been baptized three times, all believer's baptisms, once by aspersion and twice by immersion, and was scheduled for a fourth (third immersion) but missed it due to influenza.

[Tim Bonney]

[Haruo]

I think Catholic canon law prescribes (or did prior to Vatican II anyhow) the formula "If you have not been baptized, I baptize you now in the Name..."

[Rvaughn]

[Sandy]

This discussion hasn't really mentioned the Alliance of Baptists, though I would imagine there are plenty of universalists within their ranks. As a group, they tend to avoid doctrinal statements, and their association rests more on what they have in common which is a more progressive theological perspective than any other group of Baptists. Initially formed in reaction to the conservative resurgence in the SBC by most of the churches on its far left, it has also attracted the far left of ABC-USA as well. It doesn't have a doctrinal statement per-se but it does allude to some universalist perspectives in several of its "statements," including on Jewish-Christian and Muslim-Christian relationships and in its ecumenical alliances, especially with the United Church of Christ.

[Rvaughn]

I agree, Sandy. I would expect some universalism among the Alliance of Baptists.

[Haruo]

I wonder how many of our Evergreen ABC congregations are also Alliance. I know we have one church that is also DOC. Not that that is really pertinent to this thread.

[Tim Bonney]

[Dave Roberts]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[Haruo]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

Perkins has a Baptist House of Studies and is connected to the Alliance through that part of the school. According to their website they also have a relationship with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Baptist Women in Ministry.

[Tim Bonney]

[Haruo]

I would be interested in knowing how the UCC pension system the Alliance uses differs from what ABC's MMBB would offer them. My impression is that historically the reason so many NBCUSA and NBCA, and maybe other kinds of Black Baptist churches dually aligned with ABCUSA was that MMBB's program was so much better than their own organizations had to offer. Also occurs to me to wonder if UCC's coverages are friendlier to gender-non-binary spouses than ours.

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]