Baptisten

portal Baptisten

The Baptistenkirchen is a family of free churches in evangelikaler tradition, whose special characteristic is the baptism due to the personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Titelseite des von Johann Ludwig Hinrichs 1840 abgefassten „Glaubensbekenntniß der Evangelischen Taufgesinnten (Baptisten) Gemeinden in Amerika, Großbritanien, Hamburg pp und Jever“
Title page of Johann Ludwig Hinrichs 1840 drawn up „faith-admit-eat the Evangelist Taufgesinnten (Baptisten) municipalities in America, Grossbritanien, Hamburg ppand Jever “

table of contents

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Etymologie

the designation Baptisten is derived from the Greek „baptizein “, which submerge „“and in the transferred sense „baptize “meant. As is the case for many Christian religious communitiesalso with the Baptisten a former mockery name became the denomination designation. Official names of the Baptistenkirchen in other nations are among other things:

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spreading

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general overview

in approximately 160 countries in the world exist Baptistengemeinden with zirka 47 million members. Denomination statistics count thoseChildren and those alive the municipality part taking friends in addition, in order to make the numbers in approximately comparable with those by people churches. The numbers for the individual countries must be doubled thus at least. Most national Baptistenunionen belongs to the world league of the Baptisten (BaptistWorld Alliance /BWA). Important exceptions are here among other things the US-American federation of the southern Baptisten (Southern Baptist Convention) with approx. 11 million baptized members and the rear wall other municipalities of the Russian-Germans Baptisten with approx. 350,000 members. The number of the Baptisten has itself since 1905versiebenfacht. The strongest baptistischen groups are in the USA, the countries of the former USSR as well as in Brazil, Burma and in India. The official name of the German Baptisten reads since 1941 federation of Evangelist-freechurch municipalities in Germany (BEFG). This Districts organization forms with round85.000 baptized members (without children and friends) in 862 municipalities the largest free church in Germany.

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statistic comparison 1958 and 2004

World region of members 1958 (1) members 2004 (2) local municipalities 2004
Africa 279,241 6 126,307 25 389
Asia/Australia 769,875 4,718,530 25 937
Europe 1,142,127 ,793,507 12 973
Central America and west India 104,829 ,465,538 4 188
North America 19,804,632 17 901,569 61 817
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) (the USA) (3) (contained under North America) 16,053,006 -
South America 146,988 1 447,745 10 126
total 22,247,692 47 512,077 (inclusive. SBC) approx. 210,000

1 source for the statistics 1958: J.D. Hughey, aaO, S. 140ff

2 source for the statistics 2004: Official statistics BaptistiWorld league

3 since October 2004 no more BWA member!

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teachings

Anstecknadel deutscher Baptisten (um 1934)
sticking on needle of German Baptisten (around 1934)

a substantial characteristic of the Baptisten are still their refusal of the child baptism, which does not correspond to the Biblical requirement after its understanding. Instead Baptisten leave themselves inage capable of making decisions baptize. Not only adults, but also young people are baptized. Therefore the Baptisten rejects the term adult baptism and rather speaks of faith baptism.

A uniform baptistisches Glaubensbekenntnis does not exist. Large agreement prevails however with the following principles:

  • For teachings, faith and life is those Bible exclusive guide.
  • The highest requirement represents thereby the next love how Jesus Christ announced it. From this logical-prove all other requirements follow. Who loves its next one, bestiehlt or kills it not.
  • The municipality Jesu is a creation of the word of God. The Verkündigung wakes,strengthens and corrects the faith of individual humans and requires for its answer. The Verkündigung of the gospel is the condition for the fact that humans come to the faith. Who came to the faith in Jesus Christ, one invites, to be able to be baptized due to its personal confession.
  • Not the baptism, but the faith in God as father, son and holy spirit is welfare crucial.
  • The local municipality of the believing “administers” the word and the indications baptism and communion used by Jesus Christ. It delegates this task to individual municipality members.
  • Principle is that Priestertum of all Gläubigen. All actions, also baptism, communion and lecture can be carried out by each municipality member.
  • The communion is celebrated once in the month as memory meal.
  • Baptisten see into the Evangelisation the most urgent task both the individual municipality member (Johann Gerhard Oncken: „Each Baptista Missionar! “) and the municipality and its regional and national unions.
  • Baptisten occur world-wide for freedom of conscience and faith of humans. State and church are to be separated. No religion may be treated preferentially by the state (see in addition: Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams and Julius Köbner, the communist manifesto of the free Urchristentums of 1848).

The theology of the Baptisten is usual evangelikal. Influences of the Calvinismus (federal theology), the arousing movement, the Puritanismus (in the angloamerikanischen area) and the Pietismus (within the German-language range) are clearly perceptible. Between individual Baptistenbündenas well as there can be local municipalities however considerable differences.

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no certain Liturgie

is subject to service and practice the organization of the services, thus by each municipality is handled individual. The Verkündigung of the word of God is the center of attention however clearly. That mostly dividesService into an introduction part is arranged, by municipality members or - groups and a lecture part. The lecture can be held quite also by laymen. The music is often modern. Many municipalities are charismatisch aligned. An important element is the open prayer of the municipality, with everyoneService visitor the possibility has to along-pray loud. Isolated thereby the tongue prayer one practices. For children parallel to the service the Sundays school is offered.

The baptism is done via complete submerging. For the baptism it gives in most Baptistenkirchen a Baptisterium (Taufbecken). Many Baptistengemeinden baptize also gladly infree waters. Generally one can become only by a faith baptism member of a Baptistengemeinde, her must however not in a Baptistengemeinde have been carried out.

Baptistische Taufe in der Weser bei Bremen
Baptisti baptism in the Weser with Bremen

the communion stresses the community of the Gläubigen among themselves and with Jesus Christ.All, which know themselves reconciled with God and humans by Jesus Christ , are invited. It applies the Biblical reminder: “Around it examine yourself everyone and eat in such a way from this bread and drink from this cup!” (1. Kor 11) Usually plates with broken becomeBread as well as cups with wine by the rows handed. Frequently thereby out of consideration for addicted grape juice instead of wine one hands. Also different communion forms are practiced.

Baptisten comes along it not so much on the outside form of the service on, as rather on the intensive communitythe other municipality members and Jesus. Therefore the following church coffee or even a common lunch is in the meantime mandatory in many municipalities.

Guests are welcome apart from the municipality meetings, where on all important questions of the municipality life one decides, to all meetings.

As places gives the personal meetingit house circles. These consist of approximately 8-10 persons and meet regularly (usually wöchtentlich or every fourteen days). With it personal sympathy at the other members and common growing are important in the faith. Here also the “Priestertum of all Gläubigen “comes strongly to the expression.

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Are

organization the Baptistenkirchen kongregationalistisch organized, i.e. the individual municipalities are autonomous. On regional, national and international level Baptisten however usually unite to working groups, combinations and federations. The local municipality plays however in the self understanding of the Baptisten the crucial role. Oftenexist in a city several Baptistengemeinden, which belong for historical, ethnical, theological or practical reasons different national or international Zusammeschlüssen. It is quite possible that - for example in the context of the Evangelist alliance - a local Baptistenkirche maintains too konfessionell differently coined/shaped municipalities more intensive contactsas to the other local municipalities of baptistischen confession.

The individual municipalities exclusively finance themselves by freiwillige donations and member contributions. The German federation maintains a theological seminar in wild Marks beside dia.-conical mechanisms also - Elstal with Berlin, in which own ministers are trained. Also graduates of a Bible schooland/or. an Evangelist or catholic theology study can (after a structure study, and/or. Candidate year) as ministers in the municipalities become active.

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history

Täuflinge
Täuflinge

also in the context of the reformation movement gave it to groups, which wanted to baptize only humans, who had bekehrt themselves before. This is the so-called.Täufertum. They belonged wing of the reformation to „linking to “. The Reformatoren sat down with at that time so-called. „Re+rope far from “intensively apart. From this movement groups followed like the Mennoniten .

On the British islands its own reformation developed. 1529 came it into England under Heinrich VIII. to the separation of the Roman catholic church and the establishment of the national anglikanischen church. After Heinrichs death also here the effects of the continental reformation made themselves noticeably - among other things in the development of the calvinistisch coined/shaped „Puritanismus “.

The Baptistenby these developments were strongly coined/shaped. They may not be seen however as part of the continental-European or English reformation and also not as part of the reformatorischen “Wiedertäufer”. The history of the Baptisten begins only approx. 100 years later. Always are not their beginnings clearly tooseize. The main line of development can be represented as follows:

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the Netherlands, united kingdom as well as Asia and Africa

emigrant, who was pursued in the united kingdom due to their nonkonformistischen convictions, formed a first independent taufgesinnte municipality under the direction of John Smyth for 1609 in Amsterdam.

A small group of this municipality decreased/went back under line of the lawyer Thomas Helwys 1611 again to England and became the germ cell of the baptistischen movement in the united kingdom. Helwys used itself above all literary for religion and conscience liberty, which brought in prison and death for him. Already 1644 gave it alone in London - despite pursuits - to seven Baptistengemeinden. The Baptistengemeinden in England and Wales diffenzierten itself in this period into the calvinistischen Prädestinationslehre the attaching Particular Baptists and the arminianischen general Baptists apart - splitting a which until 1833 continued. To 1689 came it in the united kingdom to a strong growth of the British Baptisten. Only with the grant of the general freedom of religion it came to a certain stagnation, which could be overcome however by the influences of the methodistischen arousing movement under John Wesley.

By of William the Carey justified Particular Baptist Missionary Society found the baptistische movement 1792 their way to Asia and Africa, where the commitment of baptistischer mission acres led within the British colonies 1838 to the abolishment of the slavery.

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United States

apart from the united kingdom were the United Statesof America a further starting point of the baptistischen movement. As many other trailers of reformatorisch coined/shaped faith movements preferred it finally also the Puritaner to emigrate into the area of the later USA. There (Rhode Island) 1639 under the direction of Roger Williams became a first Baptistengemeindebased. Particularly starting from that 18. The there municipalities of the north a large upswing experienced century, among other things because of their compromiseless attitude against the slave trade. The Baptisten of the south saw however completely differently. Although both the black ones and the white ones completely predominantly Baptistenwere, the churches into the 1960er-Jahre were nearly throughout partial rassisch separately, are them it this very day. In the south of the USA the Baptisten to today the dominant factor is denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant Denomination in the USA. The Baptismusthe second largest denomination of the USA forms after the catholicism.

Calvary Baptist Church, Lexington

US Federal States with the highest population portion of Baptisten:
Mississippi 55,00%
Alabama 51,40%
Georgia 50,80%
North Carolina 47,10%
Washington (D.C.) 46,80%
South Carolina 46,50%
threshing floor lake 43,00%
Kentucky 42,50%
Arkansas 42,40%
Oklahoma 32,60%
Texas 32,00%
Virginia 31,20%
west Virginia 29,30%
Louis IANA 29,20%
Missouri 24,90%
Florida 22,20%
Maryland 17,40%
Indiana 16,50%
Kansas 16,40%
Michigan 15,70%
(Conditions: 1990)

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Germany and Continental Europe

in 19. Century returned the Baptismus again to Continental Europe. The Hamburg buyer originating from Varel Johann Gerhard Oncken had itself first on England travels in a Evangelist methodistischen municipality bekehrt. Returned to Germany, he came into contact with an American baptistischen theologian, who carried out the Gläubigentaufe at him. Oncken created to 23. April 1834 the first municipality in Hamburg,the germ cell of many continental-European Baptistenkirchen became.

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Baptisten in Germany during the third realm

the responsible persons of the Baptisten in Germany were anxious during the third realm not to endanger and to remain missionary active be able achievement. But compromises are with the principlecomplete independence been received and increasingly this principle was abandoned. Instead national forms of the municipality organization were introduced, as for instance the introduction of the leader principle for the Districts organization 1933-36. During the third realm one counted in Baptistengemeinden up to 120.000 members. At the latest since 1936 had gotten all Denominationen the generally anti-Christian course of the LV religion politics to feel. In relation to the church fight one held back neutrally or desolidarisierte themselves publicly from the admitting church, e.g. to the conference of world church 1937 in Oxford. Under the pressure of conditions that closedFederation of the Baptistengemeinden 1942 with the brother municipalities fighting for their existence together. The common federation received to the official, this very day valid name federation Evangelist-freechurch municipalities in Germany K.d.ö.R. Years after the German federation on the congress of the European Baptisti federation has fifty 1984 in Hamburgin a word to the NS time among other things explained: “We connected ourselves and likewise missed not publicly with the fight and the suffering of the admitting church to resist clearly the injuries of göttlicher requirements and orders. It bends us that we as German federation of the ideological seduction of thoseTime are often hunted and not larger courage to the confession for truth and justice proved. “

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religion and conscience liberty

Baptisten were from the outset engaged representatives of the freedom of religion. The first baptistische Glaubensbekenntnis of 1610 explains that Jesus Christ „the office thatlay government with the offices of his church did not connect “. 1639 were guaranteed in the colony Rhode Island - as first country in the world -, settled by Baptisten, complete freedom of religion. Beside the Quäkern Baptisten sat down then later (1777) for the admissionthe freedom of religion into the condition of the United States. In Germany Julius Köbner with its communist manifesto of the free Urchristentums similar convictions vetrat.

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important Baptisten

roofridge Baptist Church Ottawa/Canada
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Ökumene

the Baptisten maintain many contacts to other churches, free churches and international organizations. “Jesus Christ builds its municipality in different churches and communities”, is called it in a BEFG Bekenntnisschrift. They engage themselves in the German Evangelist allianceand belong to the initial members of the working group of Christian churches. They cooperate also in the combination of Evangelist free churches .

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literature

  • Charles Willams: The Principles and Practices OF the Baptists - A Book for Inquirers, London 1880
  • Henry C. Vedder: A shortHistory of the Baptisten, Hamburg 1896
  • Ernest A. Payne: The Fellowship OF Believers - Baptist Thought and Practice Yesterday abd Today, London 1944
  • J.D. Hughey: The Baptisten - teachings, practice, history, Kassel 1959
  • Rudolf Donat: Like the work began - emergence of the GermansBaptistengemeinden, Kassel 1958
  • Rudolf Donat: The increasing work - propagation of the German Baptistengemeinden by 60 years (1849-1909), Kassel 1960
  • Günter Balders: The federation of Evangelist-freechurch municipalities in Germany (Baptisten), in: Hans Beat motel (Hrsg.): Members at a body - free churches in self-manifestation, Stuttgart1975, S.95-133 [ISBN 3-7673-6520-0]
  • Günter Balders (Hrsg.): A Mr. - a faith - a baptism - 150 years Baptistengemeinden in Germany, Wuppertal/Kassel 1985, [ISBN 3-7893-7883-6]
  • franc Fornaçon: Open doors. A Evangelist-freechurch municipality thinks of, Kassel, 2004
  • Andrea Strübind: Baptisten, Baptistengemeinden in Germany since 1945, in: KZG 13, 2000, S. 391-413
  • Albert Wardin: Baptists Around the World - A Comprehensive Handbook, Nashville, the USA, 1995
  • Heather J. Coleman: Russian Baptists and mirror-image ritual revolution, 1905-1929. Bloomington 2005 ISBN 0-253-34572-3
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See also

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Web on the left of

 

  > German to English > de.wikipedia.org (Machine translated into English)