1.
Kelvedon
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Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, near to the town of Witham. It had a population of 4,717 in 2001, reducing to 3,587 at the 2011 Census, the existing village of Kelvedon has been a settlement since the Early Middle Ages, though it stands near the site of a Roman settlement, probably Canonium. Kelvedon expanded significantly in the Victorian era, the reason was the Norwich to London railway making it a place to live yet get to work as rail was the only fast method of transport. Victorian Kelvedon was set along one street, High Street, in the 1930s, with the advent of the automobile, High Street became the A12, the main road through Essex. Ribbon development saw houses sprawl along the road for miles, the village suffered major congestion until a bypass was built in the 1960s. Suburbanization started to place in the 1980s - a large development called Riverside Park was constructed containing hundreds of homes. Kelvedon is situated next to the village of Feering and is separated from it by the River Blackwater. In the late 19th century, Kelvedon became famous for seed growing, the village is bounded to the north by the river Blackwater where the adjacent village of Feering starts. Kelvedon contains a school called Kelvedon St Marys, the original school in Kelvedon was founded by Thomas Aylett in Maldon Road, Kelvedon, in 1632 when he bequeathed the property along with £10 per annum to provide a salary for a master. The Ayletts building still stands today and houses the Kelvedon Library, brockwell Meadows Local Nature Reserve is south-east of the village between the houses and the River Blackwater. Kelvedon is also home to several businesses including Knight Group and Lysanda, Kelvedon railway station is on the London Liverpool St. line with trains approximately every 20 minutes. Bus services are provided by the 71 First Bus service Chelmsford–Colchester route, the A12 has links with the rest of East Anglia and the north. Kelvedon St Marys is a Church of England primary school with academy status located between Colchester and Chelmsford on the A12, which was opened in 1977 and it converted to academy status in March 2013. Spurgeon, known as the Prince of Preachers, was born in Kelvedon on 19 June 1834, charles Spurgeon was a powerful preacher of the Victorian era and boasted the largest congregation in London, to the extent that his weekly sermon was printed and sold by the thousands. The Metropolitan Tabernacle was built for him, charles Spurgeon never returned to Kelvedon to preach although he was invited in 1853 to do so in the new Independent Chapel built in the village, an invitation which he refused. There is a plaque on a building in Kelvedon High Street commemorating the place of his birth. Actress Juliet Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, actor Jeremy Sheffield, spent part of his childhood living in Kelvedon. Actor John Dagleish was born and raised in Kelvedon, Kelvedon Free Music Festival Kelvedon Parish Council
2.
Menton
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Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed perle de la France. The Menton area has been inhabited since the era, and is the site of the original Grimaldi Man find of early modern humans, as well as remains of Neanderthals. In Roman times, the Via Julia Augusta, a road connecting Placentia with Arelates passed through Menton, running along the Rue Longue in the old town. The first major settlement occurred during the 11th century CE, when the Count of Ventimiglia constructed the Château de Puypin on the Pépin hill, north, Menton was thus incorporated into the Republic of Genoa. The first mention of Menton dates from 21 July 1262, in the treaty between Charles of Anjou and Genoa. Its position on the border between the Angevin-ruled Provence and the Republic of Genoa, which at the time claimed Monaco as its western limit, acquired in 1346 by Charles Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco, Menton was ruled by the Princes of Monaco until the French Revolution. Annexed during the Revolution, Menton remained part of France through the First Empire and it belonged to the district of Sanremo in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, which at the time included Monaco and Sanremo. In 1814, Menton was included in a reconstituted principality of Monaco which, after Napoleons Hundred Days in 1815, the Princes of Monaco were obliged to do homage to the King for Menton, although not for Monaco itself. In 1848, Menton, along with its neighbour Roquebrune, seceded from Monaco, due at least in part to a tax imposed on lemon exports. The county of Nice was thus annexed to France that June, and Napoleon III paid 4 million francs in compensation to the prince of Monaco, by the end of the 19th century, tourism was an important factor in Mentons growth. The town was popular with English and Russian aristocrats who built many of the hotels, villas. Many of these hotels and palaces were pressed into service as hospitals during World War I to allow injured troops to recuperate in a pleasant climate, Menton was the only sizable settlement captured by Italy during its invasion of France in June 1940. Following the armistice of June 22,1940, two-thirds of the territory of the commune was annexed by Italy as terra irredenta, the annexation lasted until 8 September 1943. Although officially returned to Vichy France, Menton was in fact occupied by Nazi Germany until its liberation by American and Canadian troops of the First Special Service Force on 8 September 1944. Menton, nicknamed the Pearl of France, is located on the Mediterranean Sea at the Franco-Italian border, the fishing industry was devastated in the 1980s and 1990s when a combination of overfishing and hypoxia in the bay. At the time, the devastation was attributed to the dubiously nicknamed killer algae Caulerpa taxifolia spread throughout the coastal sea floor. Menton has got a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, frosts are extremely rare but occasionally occur every few year
3.
Thomas Spurgeon
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Thomas Spurgeon was a British Reformed Baptist preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, one of the fraternal twin sons of the famous Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Thomas and his brother were born a month before the tragedy at the Royal Surrey Gardens Music Hall of 19 October 1856 while their father was preaching. Their mother, Susannah became an invalid at the age of 33 while the boys were still in their teens, after serving some time to an engraver, Thomas Spurgeon, like his brother Charles, decided to give his life to preaching the gospel. But his health prevented him from remaining in England, while he was still young he sailed to Australia, and spent one year in evangelistic labors there. After his return to England it was decided that he must return to a climate for his health. Thomas returned to England after the death of his father and succeeded him in his ministry after a brief period under Arthur Tappan Pierson. During Thomas fifteen-year pastorate, the Tabernacle burned in 1898 and was rebuilt along similar lines and his brother Charles was pastor of the Greenwich Baptist Church
4.
Pastor
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A pastor is usually an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, the term may be abbreviated to Pr or Ps, a pastor also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. The word pastor derives from the Latin noun pastor which means shepherd and relates to the Latin verb pascere - to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat. The term pastor also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament, many Protestant churches call their ministers pastors. Present-day usage of the word is rooted in the Biblical image of shepherding, the Hebrew Bible uses the Hebrew word רעה. English-language translations of the New Testament usually render the Greek noun ποιμήν as shepherd, the two words occur a total of 29 times in the New Testament, most frequently referring to Jesus. For example, Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd in John 10,11, the same words in the familiar Christmas story refer to literal shepherds. 1 Corinthians 9,7 - Paul says, of himself and the apostles, in the United States, the term pastor is used by Catholics for what in other English-speaking countries is called a parish priest. The Latin term used in the Code of Canon Law is parochus, the parish priest is the proper clergyman in charge of the congregation of the parish entrusted to him. Many Protestants use the term pastor as a title or as a job title, United Methodists, for example, ordain to the office of deacon and elder, each of whom can use the title of pastor depending upon their job description. These pastors may be lay people, seminary students, or seminary graduates in the ordination process, and cannot exercise any functions of clergy outside the charge where they are appointed. The use of the pastor can also be regional in some denominations, including some parts of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Seventh-day Adventist, American Churches of Christ. The use of the pastor to refer to the common Protestant title of modern times dates to the days of John Calvin. Both men, and other Reformers, seem to have revived the term to replace the Catholic priest in the minds of their followers, the pastor was considered to have a role separate from the board of presbyters. In some Lutheran churches, ordained clergy are called priests, while in others the term pastor is preferred, ordained clergy are called priests in the Episcopal Church, as in all other branches of the Anglican Communion. Bercot, David W. Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up, newAdvent. org, The Catholic Encyclopedias entry on the term pastor. LifeWay. com, Articles to help the pastor in the roles of preacher, missionary, leader, shepherd, and person
5.
Christian denomination
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
6.
Baptist successionism
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Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches. The tenet of the theory is there has been an unbroken chain of churches since the days of John the Baptist, who baptized Christ. The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood, other Baptist writers who held the perpetuity view are John T. Christian, Thomas Crosby, G. H. Orchard, J. M. Cramp, William Cathcart, Adam Taylor and D. B. This view was once commonly held among Baptists, since the end of the 19th century, however, the theory has increasingly come under attack and today has been largely discredited. Nonetheless, the continued to be the prevailing view among Baptists of the Southern United States into the latter 20th century. It is now identified primarily with Landmarkism, though not exclusively so
7.
New Park Street Chapel
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The New Park Street Chapel was a Reformed Baptist church in Southwark in London built in 1833. The fellowship began worshipping together in 1650 and its first pastor was William Rider, and many notable others have filled the position since, including Benjamin Keach, Dr. John Gill, Dr. John Rippon, and C. H. Spurgeon. The Metropolitan Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle still worships and holds to its principles under its present pastor. At this point, the group built their first chapel, in the Tower Bridge area, in 1720, Dr. John Gill became pastor and served for 51 years. In 1773, Dr. John Rippon became pastor and served for 63 years, during these times, the church experienced great growth and became one of the largest congregations in the country. The congregation moved to New Park Street from the Baptist meeting-house in Carter Lane, the New Park Street chapel could seat 1200 people. In 1854, the most famous of all the pastors at New Park Street started serving at the age of 20. His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he became the most popular British preacher of his day. The church soon became so full that services had to be held in hired halls such as the Surrey Music Hall, during Spurgeons ministry, it was decided that the church should be expanded to accommodate the overflowing crowds who sat in window sills and lined up outside. In 1856 the expansion removed the wall behind the pulpit and allowed for about 200 more seats, as this was still not enough room the elders decided to move permanently to a larger premises. The location chosen was the Elephant & Castle, a prominent location near the River Thames in South London. The church was finished in 1861 and dedicated on March 18
8.
Metropolitan Tabernacle
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The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large Independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861, the Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. Its first pastor was William Rider, other notable pastors and preachers include Benjamin Keach, Dr. John Gill, Dr. John Rippon, the Tabernacle still worships and holds to its Biblical foundations and principles under its present pastor, Dr. Peter Masters. The Tabernacle fellowship dates back to 1650, when the English Parliament banned independent Christian organisations from meeting together and this congregation braved persecution until 1688, when the Baptists were once again allowed to worship in freedom. At this point, the group built their first chapel, in the Tower Bridge area, in 1720, Dr. John Gill became pastor and served for 51 years. In 1771, Dr. John Rippon became pastor and served for 63 years, during these times, the church experienced great growth and became one of the largest congregations in the country. Afterwards decline set in and by 1850 the congregation was small, in 1854, the most famous of all the pastors at the Metropolitan Tabernacle started serving at the youthful age of 20. His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he became the most popular British preacher of his day. During Spurgeons ministry, it was decided that the church should move permanently to larger premises. The location chosen was the Elephant and Castle, a prominent location near the River Thames in South London, the building, designed by William Wilmer Pocock, was finished in 1861 and dedicated on March 18. Spurgeon also founded a college for preachers and church workers and orphanages for girls and boys, in 1887, the church left the Baptist Union because of the widening influence of theological liberalism within the Union. Spurgeon was adamant that the church would not downgrade the faith as he believed other baptist churches were doing, at the end of 1891, membership was given as 5,311. Spurgeon served for 38 years and died in 1892, once again, the portico and basement survived and in 1957 the Tabernacle was rebuilt to a new but much smaller design accommodating surviving original features. The war led to the Tabernacle fellowship being greatly diminished as few members of the old congregation were able to return to heavily blitzed central London and it rejoined the Baptist union in 1955. By 1970 the congregation had fallen to the point where it occupied only a few pews and it left the Baptist union again in 1971 Feb 22, just after Dr. Peter Masters became the pastor, over the same issues as under Spurgeon in 1887. There later an increase in numbers and this rise to the full church and galleries of today. It hosts an annual School of Theology, runs a part-time Seminary for pastors, has five Sunday schools, the current assistant pastor at the Tabernacle is Ibrahim Ag Mohamed, originally of Mali. The church holds two services on Sundays, a teaching service in the morning at 11am, and the other at 6. 30pm
9.
Baptists Together
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Baptists Together is the association of Baptist churches in England and Wales. The Baptist Union of Great Britain was formed when the General Baptists, the Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen was organised in 1792, under the leadership of Andrew Fuller, John Sutcliff, and William Carey. When the Baptist Union was founded in 1813, it was a Particular Baptist organisation, in 1833, it was restructured to allow for membership of General Baptists. General and Particular Baptist work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891, the Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908. The basis of fellowship in the Baptist Union is a three-part Declaration of Principle stating belief in Jesus, Christian baptism, the national resource and offices are in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, having moved from Baptist Church House 2–6 Southampton Row, London in 1989. In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against and she was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included I believe that our union is ready for generational change. It is time to cast off the institutional mindset that has served us well in the past, also in 2013, the Union publicly rebranded itself as Baptists Together and introduced a new logo to reflect the change. The Baptist Union of Great Britain consists of about 2,150 churches with a membership of almost 140,000 individuals. Baptists in the organisation are also part of the wider Fellowship of British Baptists, the European Baptist Federation, and it is itself a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services because of its work to promote young peoples personal and social development. This led to controversy, and some charged him with denying the Deity of Christ, payne, Ernest Alexander, The Baptist Union, A Short History. Brown, Raymond, The English Baptists of the Eighteenth Century, briggs, JHY, The English Baptists of the Nineteenth Century. Clements, Keith, Baptists in the Twentieth Century
10.
Charitable organization
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A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization. It differs from types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals as well as social well-being. The legal definition of charitable organization varies according to the country, the regulation, tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also varies. Financial figures are important indicators to assess the sustainability of a charity. This information can impact a charitys reputation with donors and societies, and thus, Charitable organizations often depend partly on donations from for-profit-organizations. Such donations to charitable organizations represent a form of corporate philanthropy. Until the mid-18th century, charity was mainly distributed through parish relief, churches, almshouses, Charities were also responsible for education, health, housing and even prisons. It was in the Enlightenment era that charitable and philanthropic activity among voluntary associations, societies, gentlemans clubs, and mutual associations began to flourish in England and the upper-classes increasingly adopted a philanthropic attitude toward the disadvantaged. This new social activism was channeled into the establishment of charitable organizations and this emerging upper-class fashion for benevolence resulted in the incorporation of the first charitable organizations. This was the first such charity in the world and served as the precedent for incorporated associational charities everywhere. Jonas Hanway, another notable philanthropist of the era established The Marine Society in 1756 as the first seafarers charity, by 1763, the Society had recruited over 10,000 men and it was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1772. Hanway was also instrumental in establishing the Magdalen Hospital to rehabilitate prostitutes and these organizations were funded by subscription and run as voluntary associations. Charities also began to adopt campaigning roles, where they would champion a cause, the process was however a lengthy one being finally concluded when Saudi Arabia abolished slavery in 1962. This period also saw growing philosophical debate between those who championed state intervention and those who believed that private charities should provide welfare, thomas Malthus, the political economist, criticized poor relief for paupers on economic and moral grounds and proposed leaving charity entirely to the private sector. His views were influential and informed the Victorian laissez-faire attitude toward state intervention for the poor. During the 19th century, a profusion of charitable organizations were set up to alleviate the conditions of the working class in the slums. The Labourers Friend Society, chaired by Lord Shaftesbury in the United Kingdom in 1830, was set up to working class conditions. This included the promotion of allotment of land to labourers for cottage husbandry that later became the allotment movement and this was one of the first housing associations, a philanthropic endeavour that flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century brought about by the growth of the middle class
11.
Sermon
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A sermon is an oration, lecture, or talk by a member of a religious institution or clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation and practical application. In Christianity, a sermon is delivered in a place of worship from an elevated architectural feature, variously known as a pulpit. The word sermon comes from a Middle English word which was derived from Old French, the word can mean conversation, which could mean that early sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, and that only later did it come to mean a monologue. In modern language, the sermon is used in secular terms, pejoratively, to describe a lengthy or tedious speech delivered with great passion, by any person. A sermonette is a short sermon, in Christianity, a sermon is typically identified as an address or discourse delivered to an assembly of Christians, typically containing theological or moral instruction. Although it is called a homily, the original distinction between a sermon and a homily was that a sermon was delivered by a clergyman while a homily was read from a printed copy by a layman. In the 20th century the distinction has become one of the sermon being likely to be longer, have more structure, homilies are usually considered to be a type of sermon, usually narrative or biographical, see sermon types below. The word sermon is used to describe many famous moments in Christian history, the most famous example is the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus of Nazareth. This address was given around 30 AD, and is recounted in the Gospel of Matthew as being delivered on a mount on the end of the Sea of Galilee. It is also contained in some of the gospel narratives. During the later history of Christianity, several figures became known for their addresses that later became regarded as sermons, examples in the early church include Peter, Stephen, Tertullian and John Chrysostom. These addresses were used to spread Christianity across Europe and Asia Minor, and as such are not sermons in the modern sense, the sermon has been an important part of Christian services since Early Christianity, and remains prominent in both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Lay preachers sometimes figure in these traditions of worship, for example the Methodist local preachers, the Franciscans are another important preaching order, Travelling preachers, usually friars, were an important feature of late medieval Catholicism. During the Middle Ages, sermons inspired the beginnings of new religious institutes, pope Urban II began the First Crusade in November 1095 at the Council of Clermont, France, when he exhorted French knights to retake the Holy Land. The academic study of sermons, the analysis and classification of their preparation, composition, a controversial issue that aroused strong feelings in Early Modern Britain was whether sermons should be read from a fully prepared text, or extemporized, perhaps from some notes. Many clergymen openly recycled large chunks of published sermons in their own preaching, such sermons include John Wesleys 53 Standard Sermons, John Chrysostoms Homily on the Resurrection and Gregory Nazianzus homily On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ. The 80 sermons in German of the Dominican Johannes Tauler were read for centuries after his death, martin Luther published his sermons on the Sunday lessons for the edification of readers
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Languages
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Language is the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any specific example of such a system. The scientific study of language is called linguistics, questions concerning the philosophy of language, such as whether words can represent experience, have been debated since Gorgias and Plato in Ancient Greece. Thinkers such as Rousseau have argued that language originated from emotions while others like Kant have held that it originated from rational and logical thought, 20th-century philosophers such as Wittgenstein argued that philosophy is really the study of language. Major figures in linguistics include Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky, estimates of the number of languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. However, any precise estimate depends on an arbitrary distinction between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken or signed, but any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, in whistling, signed and this is because human language is modality-independent. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings, human language has the properties of productivity and displacement, and relies entirely on social convention and learning. Its complex structure affords a wider range of expressions than any known system of animal communication. Language is processed in different locations in the human brain. Humans acquire language through interaction in early childhood, and children generally speak fluently when they are approximately three years old. The use of language is deeply entrenched in human culture, a group of languages that descend from a common ancestor is known as a language family. The languages of the Dravidian family that are mostly in Southern India include Tamil. Academic consensus holds that between 50% and 90% of languages spoken at the beginning of the 21st century will probably have become extinct by the year 2100. The English word language derives ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s tongue, speech, language through Latin lingua, language, tongue, and Old French language. The word is used to refer to codes, ciphers. Unlike conventional human languages, a language in this sense is a system of signs for encoding and decoding information. This article specifically concerns the properties of human language as it is studied in the discipline of linguistics. As an object of study, language has two primary meanings, an abstract concept, and a specific linguistic system, e. g. French
13.
Baptists
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Other tenets of Baptist churches include soul competency, salvation through faith alone, Scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local congregation. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, elders and deacons, Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity. Historians trace the earliest church labeled Baptist back to 1609 in Amsterdam, in accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christs atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect. Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of English dissenters under King James I. In 1638, Roger Williams established the first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies, in the mid-18th century, the First Great Awakening contributed to Baptist growth in both New England and the South. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent, the largest Baptist denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, with the membership of associated churches totaling more than 15 million. Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the English Separatist movement in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations and this view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal and it was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical truth had been discovered, during the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation, there also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Churchs direction, some chose to stay and they became known as Puritans and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction, historians trace the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor. Three years earlier, while a Fellow of Christs College, Cambridge, reared in the Church of England, he became Puritan, English Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist, and ended his days working with the Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60–70 English Separatists, in the face of great danger, Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helwys were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others, in 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled The Character of the Beast, or The False Constitution of the Church. In it he expressed two propositions, first, infants are not to be baptized, and second, Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism. Hence, his conviction was that a church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith
14.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
15.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
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Puritans
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Puritanism in this sense was founded as an activist movement within the Church of England. The founders, clergy exiled under Mary I, returned to England shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, Puritanism played a significant role in English history during the first half of the 17th century. One of the most effective stokers of anti-Catholic feeling was John Pym, Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within and were severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practice of religion. They took on distinctive beliefs about clerical dress and in opposition to the episcopal system and they largely adopted Sabbatarianism in the 17th century, and were influenced by millennialism. Consequently, they became a political force in England and came to power as a result of the First English Civil War. Almost all Puritan clergy left the Church of England after the Restoration of 1660, the nature of the movement in England changed radically, although it retained its character for a much longer period in New England. Puritans by definition were dissatisfied with the extent of the English Reformation. They formed and identified with various groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal. Puritans adopted a Reformed theology and, in sense, were Calvinists. In church polity, some advocated separation from all other established Christian denominations in favor of autonomous gathered churches. The Puritans were never a formally defined sect or religious division within Protestantism, the Congregationalist tradition, widely considered to be a part of the Reformed tradition, claims descent from the Puritans. Historically, the word Puritan was considered a term that characterized Protestant groups as extremists. According to Thomas Fuller in his Church History, the dates to 1564. Archbishop Matthew Parker of that used it and precisian with the sense of the modern stickler. In modern times, the word puritan is often used to mean against pleasure, in this sense, the term Puritan was coined in the 1560s, when it first appeared as a term of abuse for those who found the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 inadequate. The term Puritan, therefore, was not intended to refer to strict morality, a common modern misunderstanding, the word Puritan was applied unevenly to a number of Protestant churches from the late 16th century onwards. Puritans did not originally use the term for themselves, the practitioners knew themselves as members of particular churches or movements, and not by a single term. Precise men and Precisians were other early derogatory terms for Puritans, seventeenth century English Puritan preacher Thomas Watson used the godly to describe Puritans in the title of one of his more famous works The Godly Mans Picture
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Anabaptism
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Anabaptism is a Christian movement which traces its origins to the Radical Reformation in Europe. Traditionally this movement is seen as an offshoot of European Protestantism, Anabaptists are Christians who believe that baptism is only valid when the candidate confesses his or her faith in Christ and wants to be baptized. This believers baptism is opposed to baptism of infants, who are not able to make a decision to be baptized. Anabaptists are those who are in a line with the early Anabaptists of the 16th century. Other Christian groups, like Baptists, who practice believers baptism but have different roots, are not seen as Anabaptist. The Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites are direct descendants of the early Anabaptist movement, schwarzenau Brethren, Bruderhof, and the Apostolic Christian Church are considered later developments among the Anabaptists. The name Anabaptist means one who baptizes again and their persecutors named them this, referring to the practice of baptizing persons when they converted or declared their faith in Christ, even if they had been baptized as infants. Anabaptists required that baptismal candidates be able to make a confession of faith that is freely chosen, the early members of this movement did not accept the name Anabaptist, claiming that infant baptism was not part of scripture and was therefore null and void. They said that baptizing self-confessed believers was their first true baptism, but the right baptism of Christ, which is preceded by teaching and oral confession of faith, I teach, and say that infant baptism is a robbery of the right baptism of Christ. Anabaptists were persecuted largely because of their interpretation of scripture that put them at odds with official state church interpretations, most Anabaptists adhered to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, which precluded taking oaths, participating in military actions, and participating in civil government. Some groups that are now extinct, who practised rebaptism, however, felt otherwise and they were thus technically Anabaptists, even though conservative Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites and some historians tend to consider them as being outside of true Anabaptism. Conrad Grebel wrote in a letter to Thomas Müntzer in 1524, True Christian believers are sheep among wolves, Neither do they use worldly sword or war, since all killing has ceased with them. For instance, Petr Chelčický, a 15th-century Bohemian reformer, taught most of the beliefs considered integral to Anabaptist theology, medieval antecedents may include the Brethren of the Common Life, the Hussites, Dutch Sacramentists, and some forms of monasticism. The Waldensians also represent a similar to the Anabaptists. The believer must not bear arms or offer forcible resistance to wrongdoers, no Christian has the jus gladii. Matthew 5,39 Civil government belongs to the world, the believer belongs to Gods kingdom, so must not fill any office nor hold any rank under government, which is to be passively obeyed. But no force is to be used towards them, on December 27,1521, three prophets appeared in Wittenberg from Zwickau who were influenced by Thomas Müntzer—Thomas Dreschel, Nicholas Storch, and Mark Thomas Stübner. They preached an apocalyptic, radical alternative to Lutheranism and their preaching helped to stir the feelings concerning the social crisis which erupted in the German Peasants War in southern Germany in 1525 as a revolt against feudal oppression
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Universal priesthood
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The exact meaning of this belief and its implications vary widely among denominations. The universal priesthood is a concept of Protestantism. In this way we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians, there are indeed priests whom we call ministers. They are chosen from among us, and who do everything in our name and that is a priesthood which is nothing else than the Ministry. Thus 1 Corinthians 4,1, No one should regard us as anything else than ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God. The Bible passage considered to be the basis of belief is the First Epistle of Peter,2,9, But you are not like that. You are royal priests, a nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, other relevant Scripture passages include Exodus 19, 5–6, First Peter 2, 4–8, Book of Revelation 1, 4–6,5, 6–10, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. In ancient Israel, priests acted as mediators between God and people and they ministered according to Gods instruction and they offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Once a year, the high priest would enter the holiest part of the temple and offer a sacrifice for the sins of all the people, including all the priests. Although many religions use priests, most Protestant faiths reject the idea of a priesthood as a group that is distinct from lay people. They typically employ professional clergy who perform many of the functions as priests such as clarifying doctrine, administering communion, performing baptisms, marriages. In many instances, Protestants see professional clergy as servants acting on behalf of the local believers and this is in contrast to the priest, whom some Protestants see as having a distinct authority and spiritual role different from that of ordinary believers. Most Protestants today recognize only Christ as a mediator between themselves and God, the Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the supreme high priest, who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice. Protestants believe that through Christ they have given direct access to God, just like a priest. God is equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has equal potential to minister for God and this doctrine stands in opposition to the concept of a spiritual aristocracy or hierarchy within Christianity. The belief in the priesthood of all believers does not preclude order, for example, Lutheranism maintains the biblical doctrine of the preaching office or the office of the holy ministry established by God in the Christian Church. To obtain such faith God instituted the office of preaching, giving the gospel, through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit who produces faith, where and when he wills, in those who hear the gospel
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Sola scriptura
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Sola scriptura is a Christian theological doctrine which holds that the Christian Scriptures are the sole infallible rule of faith and practice. However, sola scriptura rejects any original infallible authority other than the Bible, in this view, all secondary authority is derived from the authority of the Scriptures and is therefore subject to reform when compared to the teaching of the Bible. Sola scriptura is a principle of many Protestant Christian denominations. The Catholic Church regards the Apostolic preaching and writing as equal since both came from the Apostles, the Catholic Church describe this as one common source. With two distinct modes of transmission, while some Protestant authors call it a source of revelation. Sola scriptura is one of the five solas, considered by some Protestant groups to be the pillars of the Reformation. Luther said, a simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it, the intention of the Reformation was to correct what he asserted to be the errors of the Catholic Church by appeal to the uniqueness of the Bibles textual authority. Catholic doctrine is based in Church tradition, as well as Scripture, Sola scriptura meant rejecting the infallible authority given to the Magisterium to interpret both Scripture and Church tradition. Sola scriptura, however, does not ignore Christian history, tradition, rather, it sees the church as the Bibles interpreter, the regula fidei as the interpretive context, and Scripture as the only final authority in matters of faith and practice. As Luther said, The true rule is this, Gods Word shall establish articles of faith, Lutheranism teaches that the Bible of the Old and New Testaments is the only divinely inspired book and the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. Scripture alone is the principle of the faith in Lutheranism, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy. Lutheranism teaches that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of verbal inspiration, as Lutherans confess in the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God, a mistranslation is not Gods word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Holy Scripture, the Word of God, carries the authority of God in Lutheranism, every single statement of the Bible calls for instant. Every doctrine of the Bible is the teaching of God and therefore requires full agreement, every promise of the Bible calls for unshakable trust in its fulfillment, every command of the Bible is the directive of God himself and therefore demands willing observance. It also teaches that readers must understand the language Gods Word is presented in and it teaches that, consequently, no one needs to wait for any clergy, and pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutheranism teaches that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands and this teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it
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John Smyth (Baptist minister)
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John Smyth was an early Baptist minister of England and a defender of the principle of religious liberty. Historians consider John Smyth a founder of the Baptist churches, Smyth is thought to have been the son of John Smyth, a yeoman of Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire. He was educated locally at the school in Gainsborough and in Christs College, Cambridge. Smyth was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1594 in England and he preached in the city of Lincoln in 1600 to 1602. Soon after his ordination, he broke with the Church of England and left for Holland where he, in 1609, Smyth, along with a group in Holland, came to believe in believers baptism and they came together to form one of the earliest Baptist churches. Baptists believe that baptism is a sign of obedience to God, likewise, baptism according to the Bible does not save one from sin, but is a believers identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why Baptists reject the notion of infant baptism, because baptism follows, in the beginning, Smyth was closely aligned with his Anglican heritage. As time passed, his views evolved, first, Smyth insisted that true worship was from the heart and that any form of reading from a book in worship was an invention of sinful man. This rejection of liturgy remains strong among many Baptists still today, prayer, singing and preaching had to be completely spontaneous. This idea stemmed from the belief that worship should be ordered by the Spirit, second, Smyth introduced a twofold church leadership, that of pastor and deacon. This was in contrast to the Anglican traditional hierarchy of bishop, priest, and deacon, and the Reformed Protestant trifold leadership of Pastor-Elder, Lay-Elders, third, with his newfound position on baptism, a whole new concern arose for these Baptists. Having been baptized as infants, like the Anabaptists of the Radical Reformation they came to believe they would need to be re-baptized, since there was no other minister to administer baptism, Smyth baptized himself and then proceeded to baptize his flock. It was so dark we were obliged to have torch lights, elder Brewster prayed, Mister Smith made a good confession, walked to Epworth in his cold clothes, but received no harm. The distance was two miles. All of our friends were present, to the triune God be praise. However this account was revealed to have been a forgery connected with the rebuilding of the Baptist Church at Crowle. Before his death, Smyth regretted the fact that he baptized himself, due to some shared views, including the Christology, he began a rapprochement with the Mennonite church. This resulted in his excommunication from the church by Thomas Helwys, Smyth and part of the church joined a Mennonite church, while Helwys and another part of the church returned to England to found the first permanent Baptist church in 1611
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Thomas Helwys
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Thomas Helwys, an Englishman, was one of the joint founders, with John Smyth, of the General Baptist denomination. Thomas Helwys was an advocate of liberty at a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous. He died in prison as a consequence of the persecution of Protestant dissenters under King James I. Not a great deal of detail is known about Thomas Helwys early life and he was the second son of Edmund and Margaret Helwys who were descendants of an old Norman family which had significant holdings in Lincoln, Northampton, Nottingham, and York. Edmund had sold his land in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and had taken a lease on Broxtowe Hall in Bilborough parish, Helwys family was on the rise in London. Geoffrey Helwys, his uncle, was a merchant, an alderman. His cousin, Gervase, was knighted by King James before becoming lieutenant of the Tower of London, after completing his studies at Grays Inn in 1593, Thomas himself spent some time in the capital. Thomas married Joan Ashmore at St, Martins Church, Bilborough and they had seven children over the next twelve years and lived at Broxtowe Hall. At some point, Thomas Helwys developed a bond with dissenter John Smyth and he and his wife became committed members of Smyths separatist congregation in Gainsborough. The sixty or seventy Separatists in Gainsborough were allowed to meet in secret in Gainsborough Old Hall by the Halls sympathetic owner Sir William Hickman, inevitably, the Church authorities were unable to tolerate any significant degree of puritan independence. In 1607, the High Court of Ecclesiastical Commission resolved to clamp down on the Gainsborough and Scrooby dissenters. Sometime later in the winter of 1607/08, Helwys, John Smyth, Protestant dissenters in England still faced being burnt at the stake for Heresy. On 11 April 1611 Anabaptist Edward Wightman became the last religious martyr to be burnt, assuming their safety, Helwys allowed his family to remain in England. Unfortunately, his wife was arrested and, after refusing to take the oath in court. It is likely that she was banished after three months in prison and it was in the Dutch Republic that a distinctive Baptist faith first emerged amongst the English émigrés. John Smyth became convinced that baptism should be for Christian believers only, however, at the same time as Smyth started to embrace Mennonite doctrines, Helwys and a dozen or so others began to formulate the earliest Baptist confessions of faith. This confession became the articles in A Declaration of Faith of English People Remaining at Amsterdam in Holland. For Helwys, religious liberty was a right for everyone, even for those he disagreed with, despite the obvious risks involved, Helwys and twelve Baptist émigrés returned to England to speak out against religious persecution
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Roger Williams
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Williams was the 1638 founder of the First Baptist Church in America, also known as the First Baptist Church of Providence. He is best remembered as the originator of the principle of separation of church and his father James Williams was a merchant tailor in Smithfield, his mother was Alice Pemberton. At an early age, Williams had a conversion of which his father disapproved. As a teen, Williams was apprenticed under Sir Edward Coke, under Cokes patronage, Williams was educated at Charterhouse and also at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He seemed to have a gift for languages and early acquired familiarity with Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Dutch, years later, Williams tutored John Milton in Dutch in exchange for refresher lessons in Hebrew. Williams took holy orders in the Church of England in connection with his studies, after graduating from Cambridge, Williams became the chaplain to Puritan gentleman Sir William Masham. Williams married Mary Barnard on December 15,1629 at the Church of High Laver, Essex and they ultimately had six children, all born in America, Mary, Freeborn, Providence, Mercy, Daniel, and Joseph. Williams knew that Puritan leaders planned to migrate to the New World and he did not join the first wave, but he decided before the year ended that he could not remain in England under Archbishop William Lauds rigorous administration. Williams regarded the Church of England as corrupt and false, by the time that he and his wife boarded the Lyon in early December, however, Williams declined the position on grounds that it was an unseparated church. In addition, Williams asserted that civil magistrates must not punish any sort of breach of the first table, and these three principles became central to Williams subsequent career, separatism, freedom of religion, and separation of state and church. As a separatist, Williams considered the Church of England irredeemably corrupt and his search for the true church eventually carried him out of Congregationalism, the Baptists, and any visible church. From 1639 forward, Williams waited for Christ to send a new apostle to reestablish the church, years later in 1802, Thomas Jefferson used the wall of separation phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, echoing Roger Williams. Meanwhile, the Salem church was more inclined to Separatism. When the leaders in Boston learned of this, they vigorously protested, as the summer of 1631 ended, Williams moved to Plymouth colony where he was welcomed, and informally assisted the minister there. He regularly preached and, according to Governor Bradford, his teachings were well approved, after a time, Williams decided that the Plymouth church was not sufficiently separated from the Church of England. Furthermore, his contact with Native Americans had caused him to doubt the validity of the colonial charters, Governor Bradford later wrote that Williams fell into some strange opinions which caused some controversy between the church and him. In December 1632, Williams wrote a tract that openly condemned the Kings charters. He even charged that King James had uttered a lie in claiming that he was the first Christian monarch to have discovered the land
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John Clarke (Baptist minister)
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Clarke was born in Westhorpe, Suffolk, England. He received an education, including a masters degree in England followed by medical training in Leiden. He arrived in Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 during the Antinomian Controversy and he became a co-founder of Portsmouth and Newport, Rhode Island, and he established the second Baptist Church in America in Newport. Baptists were considered heretics and were banned from Massachusetts, but Clarke wanted to make inroads there, following his poor treatment in prison, he went to England where he published a book on the persecutions of the Baptists in Massachusetts and on his theological beliefs. The fledgling Rhode Island colony needed an agent in England, so he remained there for more than a decade handling the colonys interests, all of the other New England colonies were hostile to Rhode Island, and both Massachusetts and Connecticut had made incursions into Rhode Island territory. After the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660, it was imperative that Rhode Island receive a charter to protect its territorial integrity. It was Clarkes role to obtain such a document, and he saw this as an opportunity to include religious freedoms never seen before in any constitutional charter and he wrote ten petitions and letters to King Charles II and negotiated for months with Connecticut over territorial boundaries. Finally, he drafted the Rhode Island Royal Charter and presented it to the king and this charter granted unprecedented freedom and religious liberty to Rhode Islanders and remained in effect for 180 years, making it the longest-lasting constitutional charter in history. Clarke returned to Rhode Island following his success at procuring a charter, he became active in civil affairs there. He left an extensive will, setting up the first educational trust in America and he was an avid proponent of the notion of soul-liberty that was included in the Rhode Island charter—and later in the United States Constitution. John Clarke was born at Westhorpe in the county of Suffolk, England and baptized there on 8 October 1609 and he was one of seven children, six of whom left England and settled in New England. No definitive record has been found concerning his life in England, other than the records of his baptism. Clarke was apparently highly educated, judging from the fact that he arrived in New England at the age of 28 qualified as both a physician and a Baptist minister, the difficulty with tracing Clarkes existence in England stems largely from his very common name. Another clue to his education comes from a catalog of students from Leiden University in Holland, the schools ledger of graduates includes, in Latin, Johannes Clarcq, Anglus,17 July 1635-273. It is apparent that Clarke earned a degree from the concordance that he wrote. Clarke arrived in Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in November 1637, when he arrived, the colony was in the midst of a major theological and political crisis, usually referred to as the Antinomian Controversy. Members of the Boston Church could sense a difference in the preaching between the original pastor, John Wilson, and that of their second pastor, John Cotton. Anne Hutchinson, a theologically astute midwife who had the ear of many of the women, became outspoken during gatherings, or conventicles
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John Bunyan
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John Bunyan was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrims Progress. In addition to The Pilgrims Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, Bunyan came from the village of Elstow, near Bedford. He had some schooling and at the age of sixteen joined the Parliamentary army during the first stage of the English Civil War, after three years in the army he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker, which he had learned from his father. He became interested in religion after his marriage, attending first the church and then joining the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist group in Bedford. After the restoration of the monarch, when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested, Bunyans later years, in spite of another shorter term of imprisonment, were spent in relative comfort as a popular author and preacher, and pastor of the Bedford Meeting. He died aged 59 after falling ill on a journey to London and is buried in Bunhill Fields, the Pilgrims Progress became one of the most published books in the English language,1,300 editions having been printed by 1938,250 years after the authors death. He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, Some other churches of the Anglican Communion, such as the Anglican Church of Australia, honour him on the day of his death. John Bunyan was born in 1628 to Thomas and Margaret Bunyan at Bunyans End in the parish of Elstow, Bunyans End is located about halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow High Street. Bunyans date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 30 November 1628, the name Bunyan was spelt in many different ways and had its origins in the Norman-French name Buignon. There had been Bunyans in north Bedfordshire since at least 1199, Bunyans father was a brazier or tinker who travelled around the area mending pots and pans, and his grandfather had been a chapman or small trader. As a child Bunyan learned his fathers trade of tinker and was given some rudimentary schooling, in the summer of 1644 Bunyan lost both his mother and his sister Margaret. That autumn, shortly before or after his birthday, Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary army when an edict demanded 225 recruits from the town of Bedford. There are few details available about his service, which took place during the first stage of the English Civil War. A muster roll for the garrison of Newport Pagnell shows him as private John Bunnian, Bunyan spent nearly three years in the army, leaving in 1647 to return to Elstow and his trade as a tinker. His father had remarried and had children and Bunyan moved from Bunyans End to a cottage in Elstow High Street. Within two years of leaving the army, Bunyan married and he also recalled that, apart from these two books, the newly-weds possessed little, not having so much household-stuff as a Dish or a Spoon betwixt us both. The couples first daughter, Mary, was born in 1650 and they would have three more children, Elizabeth, Thomas and John. By his own account, Bunyan had as a youth enjoyed bell-ringing, dancing and playing games including on Sunday, thought by many to be the Sabbath, one Sunday the vicar of Elstow preached a sermon against Sabbath breaking, and Bunyan took this sermon to heart
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Shubal Stearns
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Shubal Stearns, was a colonial evangelist and preacher during the Great Awakening. He converted after hearing George Whitefield and planted a Baptist Church in Sandy Creek, Guilford County, Stearns highly successful ministry was related to the rise and expansion of the Separate Baptists — especially in much the American South. The Baptist faith today is held by the majority of people in the South. His family were members of the Congregational church in Tolland, Connecticut, Whitefield preached that, instead of trying to reform the Congregational church over doctrinal issues, members needed to separate from it, hence his followers were called the New-Lights. Stearns was converted, became a preacher, and adopted the Great Awakenings view of revival and conversion. The New Lights also came to be called the Separates, in part because they pointed to 2 Cor.6,17 be ye separate, ie, Stearns church became involved in the controversy over the proper subjects of baptism in 1751. Soon, Stearns rejected infant baptism and sought baptism at the hands of Wait Palmer, Baptist minister of Stonington, by March, Shubal Stearns was ordained into the Baptist ministry by Palmer and Joshua Morse, the pastor of New London, Connecticut. His church of Separates, by becoming Baptists, were then on to be known as the Separate Baptists. In 1754, Stearns and some of his followers moved south to Opequon, Virginia, here he joined Daniel Marshall and wife Martha, who were already active in a Baptist church there. On November 22,1755, Stearns and his party moved south to Sandy Creek, in Guilford County. This party consisted of eight men and their wives, mostly relatives of Stearns and he pastored at Sandy Creek until his death. From there, Separate Baptists spread in the South, the church quickly grew from 16 members to 606. Church members moved to areas and started other churches. The Sandy Creek Association was formed in 1758, based on the testimony of those who remembered him, Edwards described Stearns as fervent and charismatic preacher who was capable of inspiring the most powerful emotions in his congregation. None of Stearns sermons has survived in writing and his central theme was recounted as discussing the need for followers of Christ to be born again from within. At first churchgoers in North Carolina found this a difficult concept, who never thought of their religion as anything more than external. But, Stearns style of preaching and emphasis on internal conversion were highly important to Southern religion and he became the model for many other preachers who sought to copy his example, down to the least gesture or inflection of voice. Stearns was married to Sarah Johnson, but they never had children, john Sparks, The Roots of Appalachian Christianity, the Life and Legacy of Elder Shubal Stearns
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Andrew Fuller
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Andrew Fuller was an English Particular Baptist minister and theologian. Known as a promoter of missionary work, he took part in theological controversy. Fuller was born in Wicken, Cambridgeshire, and settled at Kettering, during his life, Fuller pastored two congregations — Soham and Kettering, which is now the Fuller Baptist Church, He died on 7 May 1815 at Kettering. Fuller is best known in connection with the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society and his work in promoting the missionary enterprises of the Baptist church began about 1784. The Baptist Missionary Society was formed at Kettering in 1792, William Carey, impressed by Fullers work The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation, became the first missionary. Fuller took on the work at home, Fuller, a Particular Baptist, was a controversialist in defence of the governmental theory of the atonement against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism and Sandemanianism on the other. Abraham Booth accused him of giving up true Calvinism, Fuller debated theology with the General Baptist Dan Taylor, but they remained on good terms. His book The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation,1785, restated Calvinist theology for Baptists influenced by the Evangelical Revival and his Doctorate of Divinity was bestowed by Brown University, Rhode Island. Fuller wrote, The Gospel worthy of all acceptation, or the Obligations of Men fully to credit, the Calvinistic and Socinian Systems examined and compared as to their Moral Tendency,1794,1796,1802. The Gospel its own Witness, or the Holy Nature and Divine Harmony of the Christian Religion contrasted with the Immorality and Absurdity of Deism, an Apology for the late Christian Missions to India. Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel Pearce, A. M. of Birmingham,1800, expository Discourses on Genesis,2 vols. Expository Discourses on the Apocalypse,1815, Fuller also wrote pamphlets, sermons, and essays. John Ryland, in his Life of Fuller, enumerated 167 articles that Fuller had contributed, editions of his Complete Works appeared in 1838,1840,1845,1852, and 1853. Joseph Belcher edited an edition in three volumes for the Baptist Publication Society of Philadelphia, and his publications were issued with a memoir by his son in Bohns Standard Library,1852. Deathless Sermon Strict Baptist Reformed Baptist Brackney, William H, a Genetic History of Baptist Thought, With Special Reference to Baptists in Britain and North America. Macon, GA, Mercer University Press,2004, oliver, Robert, History of the English Calvinistic Baptists 1771 -1892, Banner of Truth, ISBN 0-85151-920-2 Piper, John. Andrew Fuller, Holy faith, worthy Gospel, world mission and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Wood, James, ed. Fuller, Andrew. London and New York, Frederick Warne, Andrew Fuller Project — is preparing a modern critical edition of The Works of Andrew Fuller
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James Robinson Graves
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James Robinson Graves was an American Baptist preacher, publisher, evangelist, debater, author, and editor. He was born in Chester, Vermont, the son of Z. C, Graves, and died in Memphis, Tennessee. His remains are interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, though raised in a Congregationalist family, Graves joined a Baptist church at age 15. Contemporary fellow ministers in the Southern Baptist Convention praised his preaching abilities, thomas Treadwell Eaton wrote, We have seen him hold a congregation packed uncomfortably, for three hours and a half without any sign of weariness on their part. This was not done once or twice, but scores of times, denominational leader J. B. Gambrell described one of Graves sermons at a small church in Mississippi as The Greatest Sermon I Ever Heard. Scholars have recognized Graves as an early and chief promulgator of the Landmark movement, the subjects Nashville publishing house, Graves, Marks, & Co, which later became South-Western Publishing, published all of fellow Landmarker Amos Cooper Daytons books. Both were expelled as schismatics between 1858 and 1859 from the Nashville First Baptist Church due to their theological perspectives on their apostolic connection, the Work of Christ in Seven Dispensations Intercommunion Inconsistent, Unscriptural, and Productive of Evil What Is It To Eat and Drink Unworthily. Johns Baptism, Was It From Moses or Christ, sketches of Tennessees Pioneer Baptist Preachers George, Timothy, Baptist theologians Hailey, O. L. J. R. Graves, life, times and teachings Patterson, James A.2012. James Robinson Graves, Staking the Boundaries of Baptist Identity, works by or about James Robinson Graves at Internet Archive
28.
William Bullein Johnson
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William Bullein Johnson was one of the founders of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821, and later was the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1845 to 1851. Johnson was born on 13 June 1782 on Johns Island, South Carolina, near Charleston and was educated at home in Georgetown, South Carolina by his mother and by private tutors. His mother was of the Particular Baptist faith, believing that the work of Christ only applied to those who were saved. As a child he met President George Washington and Dr. Richard Furman, pastor of the First Baptist Church Charleston and he attended Brown University, receiving a degree in 1804. He had intended to become a lawyer, but was converted during a Baptist revival in 1804 and he married Henrietta Hornby in 1803. One of their eight children who reached maturity, Francis C, Johnson, became a Southern Baptist missionary to China in 1846. After preaching in churches from 1804 to 1806, Johnson was appointed pastor of the Baptist church at Euhaw near Beaufort. In October 1809 he baptized five new converts in the Congaree River in Columbia, in 1810 he was invited to become chaplain of South Carolina College, Columbia. In 1811 he accepted an offer to pastor of the Baptist church in Savannah. He was one of the framers of the constitution of this convention, Johnson was one of nine men who formed the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821. He succeeded Richard Furman as president of the convention and served from 1825 to 1852, in 1830 he moved to Edgefield to become principal of Edgefield Female Academy and pastor of Edgefield Baptist Church. Johnson became the last southern president of the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions between 1841 and 1844. In this role he helped found the Furman University, which became Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1859, based in Greenville, towards the end of his life he was chancellor of Johnson University, Anderson, South Carolina. The period between the American Revolution and the Civil War marks a period of increase in the number of institutions providing higher education. In noting the part Baptists played in the movement, historian J. Bradley Creed called it an industry due to the number of Baptist institutions established during the period. W. B. Johnson was among the Baptist leaders in the expansion and his vision for Baptist higher education went further than the more conventional schools of the time, his dream was such a school for women. The earliest schools for women were called seminaries and were places where they were trained as teachers, few of these schools existed when Johnson Female Seminary was founded in Anderson, South Carolina in 1848. Later known as Johnson University, the institution did not survive Johnsons death, the legacy of Johnson University continued, however
29.
William Carey (missionary)
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William Carey was a British Christian missionary, Particular Baptist minister, translator, social reformer and cultural anthropologist. He went to Kolkata in 1793, but was forced to leave the British Indian territory by non-Baptist Christian missionaries and he joined the Baptist missionaries in the Danish colony of Frederiksnagar in India. One of his first contributions was to start schools for impoverished children where they were reading, writing, accounting. He opened the first theological university in Serampore offering divinity degrees, Carey is known as the father of modern missions. His essay, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, led to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society. ”He translated the Hindu classic the Ramayana into English, and the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Arabic, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. William Carey has been called a reformer and illustrious Christian missionary, as well as an ideologue with prejudice, hyperbole. William Carey, the oldest of five children, was born to Edmund and Elizabeth Carey, William was raised in the Church of England, when he was six, his father was appointed the parish clerk and village schoolmaster. As a child he was naturally inquisitive and keenly interested in the natural sciences and he possessed a natural gift for language, teaching himself Latin. At the age of 14, Careys father apprenticed him to a cordwainer in the village of Piddington. His master, Clarke Nichols, was a churchman like himself, through his influence Carey would eventually leave the Church of England and join with other Dissenters to form a small Congregational church in nearby Hackleton. While apprenticed to Nichols, he taught himself Greek with the help of a local villager who had a college education. When Nichols died in 1779, Carey went to work for the local shoemaker, Thomas Old, he married Olds sister-in-law Dorothy Plackett in 1781 in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Piddington. Unlike William, Dorothy was illiterate, her signature in the register is a crude cross. William and Dorothy Carey had seven children, five sons and two daughters, both died in infancy, as well as son Peter, who died at the age of 5. Thomas Old himself died soon afterward, and Carey took over his business, during which time he taught himself Hebrew, Italian, Dutch, Carey acknowledged his humble origins and referred to himself as a cobbler. However, the community often knew him by the higher status of a shoemaker. John Brown Myers entitled his biography of Carey William Carey the Shoemaker Who Became the Father and Founder of Modern Missions and they invited him to preach in their church in the nearby village of Earls Barton every other Sunday. On 5 October 1783, William Carey was baptised by Ryland, in 1785, Carey was appointed the schoolmaster for the village of Moulton
30.
Luther Rice
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He also raised funds to establish The Columbian College in Washington, DC. Luther Rice was born March 25,1783 in Northborough, Massachusetts to Amos Rice and Sarah Rice. As a young man at Williams College he became part of a group of young ministers and he sailed to Calcutta, India on 18 February 1812 with Adoniram Judson as a Congregationalist missionary and met with English Baptist missionary William Carey. However, after both Rice and Judson became Baptists, Rice returned to America to break ties with the Congregationalists and he spent the rest of his life garnering support for missionaries and Baptist work, traveling across America by horseback to raise funds and awareness for Baptist missions. Rice also founded Columbian College in 1821, the unit of The George Washington University in Washington. He served as the treasurer of Columbian College from 1826 until his death, the main administration building at GW, Luther Rice Hall, is named in his honor. He died September 25,1836 at Edgefield, South Carolina while traveling through the Southern United States raising funds for the missions and he was interred at Pine Pleasant Cemetery, Saluda County, South Carolina. Although his life was not without controversy, Rices contribution to the support of work was invaluable in the early years of the Triennial Convention. During Rices lifetime, the Triennial Conventions membership grew from 8,000 to 600,000, by the time of his death,15 Baptist universities and colleges had been formed. Luther Rice University founded in 1962 and located in Lithonia, Georgia, USA, was named after Luther Rice in recognition of his work in the Baptist missions and seminary education. Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza Guide to the Luther Rice Papers, 1812-1832, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
31.
Martin Luther King Jr.
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Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, with the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech, on October 14,1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In 1965, he helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches, in the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War, alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled Beyond Vietnam. In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D. C. to be called the Poor Peoples Campaign, Kings death was followed by riots in many U. S. cities. Ray, who fled the country, was arrested two months later at London Heathrow Airport, King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in numerous cities and states beginning in 1971, hundreds of streets in the U. S. have been renamed in his honor, and a county in Washington State was also renamed for him. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, King was born on January 15,1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. It was during this time he chose to be called Martin Luther King in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther, King had Irish ancestry through his paternal great-grandfather, as well as African ancestry. King was a child, between an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. King sang with his choir at the 1939 Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. His mother was an accomplished organist and choir leader, and she took him to various churches to sing and he received attention for singing I Want to Be More and More Like Jesus. King later became a member of the choir in his church. King said that his father regularly whipped him until he was fifteen, King saw his fathers proud and fearless protests against segregation, such as King Sr. When King was a child, he befriended a boy whose father owned a business near his familys home. When the boys were six, they started school, King had to attend a school for African Americans, King lost his friend because the childs father no longer wanted the boys to play together. King suffered from depression throughout much of his life, in his adolescent years, he initially felt resentment against whites due to the racial humiliation that he, his family, and his neighbors often had to endure in the segregated South
32.
Billy Graham
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He held large indoor and outdoor rallies, sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades and he also hosted the popular radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. Graham was an adviser to American presidents, he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson. He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller. Graham operates a variety of media and publishing outlets, according to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. As of 2008, Grahams estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. Graham has repeatedly been on Gallups list of most admired men and women and he has appeared on the list 60 times since 1955, more than any other individual in the world. William Franklin Graham, Jr. was born on November 7,1918, in 1927, when he was eight years old, the family moved about 75 yards from their white frame house to a newly built red brick home. He was raised in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church by his parents and is of Scotch-Irish descent, before this, in 1924, when Graham was only five, he focused on the outdoors, but rarely did he walk, as he was running and zooming, constantly. At the same time, he started as a student at the Sharon Grammar School, starting to read books from an early age, Graham loved to read novels for boys, especially Tarzan. Like Tarzan, he would hang on the trees, and gave the popular Tarzan yell, according to his father, that yelling had led him to become a minister. In 1933, when he was fourteen, as Prohibition in the United States ended, Grahams father forced him and this created such an aversion that both avoided alcohol and drugs for the rest of their lives. After Graham was turned down for membership in a youth group because he was too worldly, Albert McMakin. According to his autobiography, Graham was converted in 1934, at age 16 during a series of meetings in Charlotte led by Ham. After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College, then located in Cleveland, after one semester, he found it too legalistic in both coursework and rules. At this time, he was influenced and inspired by Pastor Charley Young from Eastport Bible Church. He was almost expelled, but Bob Jones, Sr. warned him not to throw his life away, At best and you have a voice that pulls
33.
Anglicanism
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Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
34.
Primitive Methodist Church
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Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The denomination emerged from a revival at Mow Cop in Staffordshire, Primitive meant simple or relating to an original stage, the Primitive Methodists saw themselves as practising a purer form of Christianity, closer to the earliest Methodists. Primitive Methodists were characterised by the plain design of their chapels and their low church worship. Its social base was among the members of society. They appreciated both its content and style, even so, it was too formal for some adherents, who moved on to Pentecostalism. Growth was strong in the middle 19th century, gradually the differences between the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyans became smaller, and the two denominations eventually merged to become the Methodist Church of Great Britain, in 1932. Primitive Methodism originated in Camp Meetings held in the area of The Potteries at Mow Cop, Staffordshire and this led, in 1811, to the joining together of two groups, the Camp Meeting Methodists and the Clowesites led by Hugh Bourne and William Clowes, respectively. The movement was spawned from the followers of these men, Bourne and Clowes were charismatic evangelists. Both had reputations for zeal and were sympathetic to ideas the Wesleyan Connexion condemned and their belief that was most unacceptable to the Wesleyan Connexion was their support for so-called camp meetings. These were day-long, open air meetings involving public praying, preaching, Clowes was a first-generation Methodist convert—at the age of 25 he renounced his desire to be the finest dancer in England. The movement was influenced by the backgrounds of the two men, Clowes had worked as a potter while Bourne had been a wheelwright. Both of them had been expelled from the Wesleyan Connexion—Bourne in 1808, Bournes association with the American evangelist Lorenzo Dow would have put him in a dim light with Wesleyan leaders. The Wesleyan leaderships hostility to Dow is demonstrated by a threat Dow received from prominent Wesleyan Thomas Coke on Dows arrival in London around 1799, Coke threatened to write to Lord Castlereagh to inform him who and what you are, that we disown you. Then youll be arrested and committed to prison, the Wesleyan Connexion was also concerned about Bourne and Clowes association with the Magic Methodists or Forest Methodists led by James Crawfoot, the old man of Delamere Forest. Crawfoot was significant to both Bourne and Clowes and was for a time their spiritual mentor and he held prayer meetings where people had visions and fell into trances. Crawfoot, according to Owen Davies, had developed a reputation for possessing supernatural powers, the enthusiasm associated with revivalism was seen as disreputable by the early 19th century establishment. In 1799, the Bishop of Lincoln claimed that the element of Methodism was so dangerous that the government must ban itinerancy. Men like Bourne and Clowes were not educated, and their preaching, the Wesleyan Methodists, such as Coke, wanted to distance themselves from such populism
35.
Colchester
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Colchester /ˈkoʊltʃɛstər/ is an historic large town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in the county of Essex. As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain and it was for a time the capital of Roman Britain, and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. Colchester is some 50 miles northeast of London and is connected to the capital by the A12 road and it is seen as a popular town for commuters, and is less than 30 miles away from Stansted Airport and 20 miles from the passenger ferry port of Harwich. Colchester is home to Colchester Castle and Colchester United Football Club and it has a Conservative Member of Parliament, Will Quince, who was elected in the 2015 General Election. The River Colne runs through the town and it is a widely held belief that the name Colchester is derived from the Latin words Colonia and Castra, meaning fortifications. The earliest forms of the name Colchester are Colenceaster and Colneceastre from the 10th century, in this way of interpreting the name, the River Colne which runs through the town takes its name from Colonia as well. Cologne also gained its name from a similar etymology, ekwall went as far as to say it has often been held that Colchester contains as first element colonia. This derivation is ruled out of court by the fact that Colne is the name of old villages situated a good many miles from Colchester. The identification of Colonia with Colchester is doubtful, from these deposits beneath the town have been found Palaeolithic flint tools, including at least six Acheulian handaxes. Further flint tools made by hunter gatherers living in the Colne Valley during the Mesolithic have been discovered and this included a pit found at Culver Street containing a ritually placed Neolithic grooved ware pot, as well as find spots containing later Deverel-Rimbury bucket urns. Before the Roman conquest of Britain it was already a centre of power for Cunobelin – known to Shakespeare as Cymbeline – king of the Catuvellauni, who minted coins there. Its Celtic name, Camulodunon, variously represented as CA, CAM, CAMV, CAMVL and CAMVLODVNO on the coins of Cunobelinus, during the 30s AD Camulodunon controlled a large swathe of Southern and Eastern Britain, with Cunobelin called King of the Britons by Roman writers. Camulodunon is considered one of possible sites around Britain for the legendary Camelot of King Arthur. Soon after the Roman conquest of Britain in AD43, a Roman legionary fortress was established, later, when the Roman frontier moved outwards and the twentieth legion had moved to the west, Camulodunum became a colonia named in a second-century inscription as Colonia Victricensis. This contained a large and elaborate Temple to the Divine Claudius, Colchester is home to two of the five Roman theatres found in Britain, the one at Gosbecks being the largest in Britain, able to seat 5,000. Camulodunum served as a provincial Roman capital of Britain, but was attacked and destroyed during Boudicas rebellion in AD61, sometime after the destruction, London became the capital of the province of Britannia. Colchesters town walls c.3,000 yd. long were built c. 65–80 A. D. when the Roman town was rebuilt after the Boudicca rebellion. In 2004, Colchester Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Roman Circus underneath the Garrison in Colchester, the Roman town of Camulodunum, officially known as Colonia Victricensis, reached its peak in the Second and Third centuries AD
36.
River Lark
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The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have used for navigation since Roman times, and improvements were made in 1638 and in the early 18th century. The upper terminus was on the edge of Bury St Edmunds. The navigation was abandoned in 1888, but despite this. Following acquisition by the Great Ouse Catchment Board, locks at Barton Mills and Icklingham were rebuilt in the 1960s and it now has one operational lock at Isleham, and can be navigated to Judes Ferry. Rising at Bradfield Combust, to the south of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, it flows through Bury, Mildenhall and Prickwillow and it is about 31 miles long, of which 10.1 miles is navigable. The upper river is an important focus for activity, particularly relating to the Neolithic enclosure at Fornham All Saints. Culford School is situated on the bank at West Stow. During times of flood it carries the waters of the River Lark, the River Wissey. There is a weir at Kings Staunch, after which comes Judes Ferry, the current head of navigation, the stretch from Judes Ferry to Isleham includes several pill-boxes, which were constructed during World War II to defend against invasion. Above the start of the cut is a memorial to the famous Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. The site, where a chain ferry once crossed the river, Isleham itself has three pubs, all dating from the 17th century, some shops and a large marina. There was an outbreak of cholera here in the 1850s, when over 500 people were living in hollows as a result of poverty which affected many fenland villages, in medieval times, Isleham was an important port with three quays. Remains of a Roman villa and over 6,000 Bronze-Age artefacts, from Isleham to Prickwillow, the river flows for almost 4 miles in an artificial cut, thought to have been constructed by the Romans, and joined the River Great Ouse at Prickwillow until 1830. The Great Ouse was then diverted, and its old course occupied by the Lark. There are a number of pumping stations on the banks of this section, including the Lark Engine, at Mile End, two pumping stations sit one above the other, indicating the progressive sinking of the land. Prickwillow is home to the Museum of Fen Pumping Engines, itself once a working pumping station, Prickwillow vicarage also demonstrates the shrinking of the land
37.
Isleham
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Isleham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. Isleham is located in the Fens of south-east Cambridgeshire, the western parish boundary is formed by the Crooked Ditch or Crooked Drain, the eastern boundary largely by the Lea Brook and the north by the River Lark. The village lies on the B1104 from Prickwillow to Chippenham, Isleham is twinned with Nesles in France and Magdala in Germany and recently with Maltov in Russia. The village shops, a Co-op supermarket Post Office, there are also three public houses - The Griffin, The Merry Monk and the Rising Sun - and three churches - the High Street Church, plfc and St Andrews Church of England parish church. The region between Devils Dyke and the line between Littleport and Shippea Hill shows an amount of archaeological findings of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age. Following a landscaping project, plfc have made listings and photographs of the graveyard headstones available via an on-line library and its name seems to come from Anglo-Saxon Gísla hám = the home of the hostages. On May 3,1850, preacher Charles Spurgeon was baptised in the river Lark, to this day, a stone marks the location. The Priory of St Margaret of Antioch was founded in the village in 1090 and it was always an alien priory run directly from France and, as such, was dissolved in 1414. It was later used as a barn and is now looked after by English Heritage, St Andrews parish church is the burial site for important ancestors of the Peyton family. Many visitors who have Peyton ancestors visit the church throughout the year, the church continues to be restored with the help of donations from Peyton families in the UK and USA. In 2015, United Kingdom Hip-Hop MC Dirty Dike released his fourth album which included a track entitled Isleham Swamp. The song makes the listener want to experience the beauty of the Fens, Dirty Dike has referenced Cambridgeshire and the Fenland in several of his tracks. 2001 Census Isleham Village Website Isleham Informer The Griffin Isleham Website The Rising Sun Isleham Website The Old Vicarage B&B Isleham Website Isleham FC Website plfc genealogy library
"Spurgeon, Charles Haddon". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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