General Baptists facts for kids
General Baptists are a group of Baptists, who are a type of Christian. Their main belief is that Jesus Christ died for everyone in the world. This idea is called "unlimited atonement." It means they believe God's love and salvation are available to all people, not just a select few.
This belief makes them different from another group called Reformed Baptists. Reformed Baptists believe Jesus died for a specific group of people chosen by God. General Baptists are often called "Arminian" because their beliefs are similar to the ideas of a theologian named Jacob Arminius.
Some groups, like the Free Will Baptists, are also General Baptists. In the past, people in North Carolina called them "Freewillers," and they later adopted that name. General Baptists have written down their beliefs in important documents like "The Standard Confession" (1660) and "The Orthodox Creed" (1678).
The Start of General Baptists
The very first Baptists, who lived in the late 1500s and early 1600s, were General Baptists. Two important leaders were John Smyth and Thomas Helwys.
Under Thomas Helwys's leadership, the first Baptist church in England was started. It was built in a place called Spitalfields, just outside London. Helwys also helped form a General Baptist group in Coventry around 1614.
Later, in 1660, a leader named Thomas Grantham and others shared their beliefs with King Charles II. After 1685, a respected Bible scholar named Dr. Charles Marie Du Veil joined the General Baptists. He wrote about his new views, which helped spread the influence of General Baptists.
In 1733, there was a discussion about whether churches should sing psalms or other songs. The General Assembly of General Baptists decided that each local church could choose its own rules for singing.
General Baptist Groups Today
Many different groups of Baptists follow the General Baptist beliefs. Here are some of them:
- Evangelical Free Baptist Church
- General Association of General Baptists
- General Six-Principle Baptists
- Holiness Baptist Association
- Some Independent Baptist churches
- Marianas Association of General Baptists
- National Association of Free Will Baptists
- New Connexion of General Baptists
- Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God
- Old Baptist Union
- Original Free Will Baptist Convention
- United American Free Will Baptist Church
- United American Free Will Baptist Conference
