Baptist Catechism?

[Dream]

As a Catholic, I am accustomed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which outlines all major beliefs and doctrines of the Catholic Church.

Is there a Baptist equivalence to this? If so, where can I access it? If not, how does a belief become verified as a Baptist belief?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[rural_preacher]

These might help...

http://www.sbc.net/bfm/default.asp

http://www.garbc.org/artfaith.php

http://www.abaptist.org/general.html (click on "What We Believe")

These are the articles of faith for three different Baptist groups. I think you will find a significant degree of agreement amongst them.

Baptists do not really have a catechism; however, each group has a statement of beliefs (such as these sites present).

Some Baptists also use a more general statement using the word "baptists" as an acrostic to outline basic baptist beliefs...

Bible as inspired Word of God and final Authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Autonomy of the Local Church.
Priesthood of all Believers.
Two Church Ordinances - Believer's Baptism & the Lord's Supper.
Individual Soul Liberty.
Saved, Baptized Church Membership.
Two Offices - Pastor (elder, bishop, overseer) and Deacon.
Separation of Church and State

Of course, each of these has a more extensive explanation. And these beliefs are not exclusive to Baptists...other groups and churches believe some or all of these things as well.

--

 

[Ave Maria]

These might help...

http://www.sbc.net/bfm/default.asp

http://www.garbc.org/artfaith.php

http://www.abaptist.org/general.html (click on "What We Believe")

These are the articles of faith for three different Baptist groups. I think you will find a significant degree of agreement amongst them.

Baptists do not really have a catechism; however, each group has a statement of beliefs (such as these sites present).

Some Baptists also use a more general statement using the word "baptists" as an acrostic to outline basic baptist beliefs...

Bible as inspired Word of God and final Authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Autonomy of the Local Church.
Priesthood of all Believers.
Two Church Ordinances - Believer's Baptism & the Lord's Supper.
Individual Soul Liberty.
Saved, Baptized Church Membership.
Two Offices - Pastor (elder, bishop, overseer) and Deacon.
Separation of Church and State

Of course, each of these has a more extensive explanation. And these beliefs are not exclusive to Baptists...other groups and churches believe some or all of these things as well.

--

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

 

[Dream]

These might help...

http://www.sbc.net/bfm/default.asp

http://www.garbc.org/artfaith.php

http://www.abaptist.org/general.html (click on "What We Believe")

These are the articles of faith for three different Baptist groups. I think you will find a significant degree of agreement amongst them.

Baptists do not really have a catechism; however, each group has a statement of beliefs (such as these sites present).

Some Baptists also use a more general statement using the word "baptists" as an acrostic to outline basic baptist beliefs...

Bible as inspired Word of God and final Authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Autonomy of the Local Church.
Priesthood of all Believers.
Two Church Ordinances - Believer's Baptism & the Lord's Supper.
Individual Soul Liberty.
Saved, Baptized Church Membership.
Two Offices - Pastor (elder, bishop, overseer) and Deacon.
Separation of Church and State

Of course, each of these has a more extensive explanation. And these beliefs are not exclusive to Baptists...other groups and churches believe some or all of these things as well.

--

Alright, thanks.

So these are all official?

 

[IM3RD]

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

Don't feel bad... I felt my calling to the Catholic Church nearly 20 years ago when I was a junior in HS and just realized this year that "catholic" means "universal" and "catechism" means "instruction"!!

Completely changed the name of the book "Catechism of the Catholic Church" for me!! Now, I just think of it as "The instruction manual for the universal Christian Church"

 

[FreeinChrist]

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

Actually it was a very important part of Baptist belief until recent years and people like Falwell. It was due to a history of persecution by State religions.

The person who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance was a Baptist and the words "under God" were added much later in the 1950's.

 

[Crazy Liz]

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

Yes. In fact, this is one belief shared strongly by all the denominations represented here - Baptist, Anabaptist, Brethren and Quaker. That's why this group are known as Free churches. The Scandinavian Free churches like Covenant and Evangelical Free also belong to this group.

 

[rural_preacher]

So these are all official?

Yes...for each of those groups. They are independent of each other. But as I stated, you will find they are in agreement with each other for the most part.

------

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

Actually it was a very important part of Baptist belief until recent years and people like Falwell.

It is still a very important part of Baptist belief.

Separation of Church and State
God established both the church and the civil government, and He gave each its own distinct sphere of operation. The government's purposes are outlined in Romans 13:1-7 and the church's purposes in Matthew 28:19, 20. Neither should control the other, nor should there be an alliance between the two. Christians in a free society can properly influence government toward righteousness, which is not the same as a denomination or group of churches controlling the government.

Christians who involve themselves in political activity are not "violating" such teaching. We should vote and involve ourselves in other legal ways in an attempt to influence our government toward what is right.

 

[Matthan]

Rural Preacher, I sure would like to give you a big Christian hug some day.

Your brother in Christ,

Matthan <J><

 

[Ave Maria]

So would most Baptists be for secularizing our country in such ways as taking the Ten Commandments out of courthouses and things like that?

 

[FreeinChrist]

I don't know if you can say that, Holly. We can believe as we wish in regards to that.


For myself, I hear someone complain that taking out the words "under God" is removing God from the country...but that can't happen unless EVERY Christian is gone and it still will not happen because God is in control. The words were not added to the Pledge til the 50's, and God was in the US before that.

The courts are suppose to judge according to the laws of the land, so it is HOW the law reads that keeps the Ten Commandments - in regards to thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill - in our courts. However, by our own bill of rights, the government cannot impose a state religion, and demanding that all obey the Commandment to 'Keep the Sabbath' would be against the constitution. It would be the establishment of a state religion. Our laws need to be constitutional.

The way to 'keep God in the country' is not through a state religion or a few words in the pledge but by Christians themselves reaching out to others for Christ. Witnessing through word and deed. Regarding the constitution - I believe God is there through the words "endowed by our Creator..."

 

[rural_preacher]

So would most Baptists be for secularizing our country in such ways as taking the Ten Commandments out of courthouses and things like that?

Certainly not! We are in no way wanting a secularized country. Separation of church and state simply means that each has its sphere of God given responsibility without one having any type of official control over the other. All Christians should desire to see godly people in government positions leading our nation according to the moral and spiritual standards of Scripture. For that to happen does not require an establishment of religion in government.

When our founding fathers said "there shall be no establishment of religion", they meant that no denomination can be established as the "official" denomination of our government. They did not mean that the government should be a purely secular system with no regard for the principles and morality of the Bible.

-------

Rural Preacher, I sure would like to give you a big Christian hug some day.

Your brother in Christ,

Matthan <J><

Thanks!




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[Gold Dragon]

Wow, I never realized that Separation of Church and State would be listed as a Baptist belief.

The historical development of the idea of Separation of Church and State came about in the 1500s during a time when each state in Europe had a "State Church" that the state would exert a significant level of control over. Religious persecution became a state enforced activity. So it was more about getting states out of the church than it was about getting the church out of the state.

Since there are very few states with official state churches left and the popularity of the idea of religious freedom in the western world, the practice of separation of church and state is used beyond its original intent to remove religious favoritism and sometimes any religiously connected idea/symbol/law from the state. In some ways this is good but sometimes it gets taken a little too far.

 

[puriteen18]

Here is a Link to the old standard Catechism:

http://www.creeds.net/baptists/keach.htm

It was written to be coupled with the 1689 Confession, the Classical Baptist Confession. Here is a link to the Confession rendered into modern English:

http://www.rbc.org.nz/library/1689.htm

The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith was actually written in 1677 by the Presbytery Assembly, but was not published untill after the Act of Tolerance in 1689.

The Catechism was written to aid the laity with the understanding of the Confession. Only Reformed Baptists still practice catechizing their children and converts.

Another Baptist Catechism is the Orthodox Catechism, based on the Dutch Reformed Heildelberg Catechism and written by the Rev. Hercules Collins in 1680. Keach's catechism eventually took its place because Keach's was almost always published with the Confession of Faith. However, both teach the same doctrine.