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LOVEALL REPORT: GLOSSARY OF TERMS Most definitions are from Wikipedia, the free Online Encyclopedia, or some other Online source. They may have been oversimplified here. They are attuned to the needs of the study of Rev. Henry Loveall, his career and life. For more information, look up the Wikipedia entries, which are usually documented. This will get you started. The reader may want to get into deeper research. THE HISTORY: The Reformation: When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses (points needing reform) on the door of Castle Church Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517, he sparked the Reformation. He was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on January 3, 1521. Church of England: Was established in about 1534 after King Henry VIII was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church for divorcing his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marrying Anne Boleyn. He wanted to legitimize this marriage. The Anglican Church has retained many of the rituals of Catholicism and considers itself to be a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Yet, in the sense that it rejects papal authority, it is also Reformed. It was established as the official church in all of the English colonies in the New World. All tax paying citizens were required to support this church, regardless of their own particular faith. Puritanism: Some of its members wanted to "purify" the Church of England of its remaining Catholic influence and rituals and to return to the simple faith of the New Testament. They wanted to restructure it through acknowledging biblical supremacy and the priesthood of believers. The more radical reformers chose the five-point theology of French reformer John Calvin, with its "tulip" acronym, as their model. As a result of the Puritan reformation movement in about 1592 in England, the Congregational and Presbyterian churches were founded, although initially they remained within the Anglican Church. Another group was known as Independent Puritans. From these reformers emerged the Baptist movement. There was never a Puritan denomination; this was only a label, usually derogatory, applied to the very strict and sober theocracy that ruled the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1972, the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England joined to form the United Reformed Church. The Great Awakening-Revival of 1750-1800: This was the first of three Great Awakenings, periods of vigorous missionary preaching in America. A number of American born preachers took part. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) and his followers became known as New Lights in New England. Edwards spoke in defense of Calvinism and attacked Arminianism with "fire and brimstone." He was a theologian, a Congregational preacher, and a missionary to Native Americans. He believed in world missions and was made president of Princeton University shortly before he died in 1758. Others participants, such as Shubal Stearns and Daniel Marshall, known as Separate Baptists, took to traveling a circuit. They exhorted in a passionate manner in the style of George Whitefield, an Anglican preacher whose power and passion helped spread Methodism in America at this time. From 1800-1840 the Second Great Awakening swept the lower Midwestern states; several new denominations were born: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), The Church of Christ, the Mormons. In the Northeast, the abolition movement emerged. A Third Great Awakening occurred between 1880-1910. It was characterized by several new denominations, very active missionary work, and the Social Gospel approach to social issues. PEOPLE and their THEOLOGIES: Martin Luther (1483-1546) and the Reformation: Martin Luther was a Catholic priest who desired to revise some theology and practices within the Roman Catholic Church. He was excommunicated because he nailed his 95 grievances on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. After he was excommunicated on January 3, 1521, Luther became the pastor of a church in Germany. Also, he retired to Wartburg Castle where he took the most of a year to translate the Greek Bible into German. Among his main beliefs were 1) the Bible was the sole source of religious authority, 2) the priesthood of the believer-all people could read the Bible themselves, 3) faith in Jesus brought salvation.
Hyper-Calvinism: This was an eccentric view of Calvinism of early Particular Baptists in the 1700s. It went beyond orthodox Calvinism. They denied that the gospel call to "repent and believe" was directed to every single person. Some consider their view to be unenlightened, harsh and extreme. The term is sometimes used today in a non-technical way which is often considered to be derogatory. Jacob Hermann (1560-1609): He was a Dutch theologian better known by his Latin name, Jacobus Arminius. He studied at University of Leiden in Utrecht where one of his theology professors believed that high Calvinism made God both a tyrant and executioner. Arminius was called to be the pastor at Amsterdam and was ordained in 1588. He was reputed to be a good preacher and a faithful pastor. He became known as an opponent of Calvinism, although he actually opposed only three of Calvin's five points: unconditional election, limited atonement, and irristible grace. His theology became known as Arminianism. In 1603 he returned to Leiden as a professor of theology. Arminianism: Theology attributed to Jacob Hermann, which is accepted by much of mainstream Protestantism today. John Wesley embraced it and influenced its acceptance. Its tenets include:
MORE PEOPLE: Chronological arrangement: Roger Williams (1603-1683): Born in England, graduated from Cambridge, died and buried in Providence, RI. Roger Williams came to Boston in 1630 and preached at Plymouth and Salem and other places. He was a Puritan, but he always caused controversy for his liberal ideas about separation of church and state. He became a leading advocate of religious freedom in America. As co-founder of the Colony of Rhode Island, he founded the first Baptist Church in America. He held preaching in his own home starting in 1638. In March of 1639, Ezekiel Holliman baptized him and in turn Williams baptized Holliman and several others to form the first Baptist congregation in America. Williams admired the beliefs of Thomas Helwys and John Smyth-founders of the General Baptists Church, based on the Aminian plan, the theology of Jacobus Arminius. Among his followers were Ann Hutchinson and her husband, John Coddington, and her sister Katherine Scott, called "the Antinomian." All of these people had been exiled from Massachusetts for their outspoken views. This first Baptist church was General Baptist in its beliefs. Would such a free thinker as Williams found a church on the Calvinistic plan as some later people claimed? The Colony of Rhode Island, July 8, 1663: In 1652, Roger Williams and Dr. John Clarke, compatriots in the cause of religious freedom, traveled to England to negotiate a charter for the Colony of Rhode Island. Williams returned home in 1654, but Clarke stayed until Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island on July 8, 1663. Dr. John Clarke, (1609-1676): Born Suffolk Co, England, Clarke was a leading advocate of religious freedom in America. He founded a settlement at Newport, RI in 1638. Dr. Clarke was both a medical doctor and a preacher. Once Newport was established and a charter written, Clarke and his followers built a meeting-house to be used for public gatherings, including religious services. Despite the controversy which was stirred up in later years, history has recorded that this church, the First Baptist Church of Newport was founded in 1644. Your researcher is appalled that latecomer's tried to twist history to throw a smokes-screen around these early churches which were planted in a haven of religious freedom and the home territory of the General Six-Principle Baptists. This is not an area I can spend more time on, but I suspect some Particular Baptist shenanigans!! Valentine Wightman (16-- - 1747): the great-grandson of Edward Wightman (1566-1612), a minister of the Six-Principle Baptist Church who was the last dissenter burned at the stake in England. Valentine was a native of Rhode Island and was raised for the ministry and ordained. In spite of the oppressive rule of Puritans in Connecticut, he gathered the first Baptist church there, on the southern seacoast at Groton, CT in 1705. (Sparks, John, Roots of Appalachian Christianity. Lexington: University Press of KY, 2001. p 7) He was there for many years, but like other General Baptist preachers he traveled to other locations to help establish new churches. In 1711, he began to hold meetings at Nicholas Eyres home on Broad Street in New York City, and in 1714 he baptized twelve persons. (Benedict, Chapter 7, "The Baptists in New York, Delaware, Connecticut and Vermont." Online) Valentine remained an active pastor and evangelist until his death in 1747. (Sparks, 36) He is believed to have been son of George and Elizabeth Updike Wightman of North Kingstown, RI. Nicholas Eyres (b Wiltshire, Eng, 22 Aug 1691- d Newport, RI 13 Feb 1759): A businessman in New York City before 1710, Nicholas Eyres held religious services at his home on Broad Street. Valentine Wightman traveled there from Groton, CT to preach, and to train Eyres, whom he ordained as a General Baptist minister. Then Eyres founded the first Baptist church in New York City. He built a meeting- house on Gold Street, but it failed because of controversy within and a lack of financial support to pay for the church. He then ministered to the Second Baptist Church of Newport, RI, beginning in 1732. Exact birth and death dates not confirmed. Henry Loveall (1694 - aft 1772): He was born in Cambridge, England. Nothing is known about his life there. Loveall was living on Long Island, NY before 1720, an indentured person serving out his time under Captain Daniel Sears, who transported him to the colonies. His son Zebulon was born there about 1720. There were a few Baptists, Anabaptists and Mennonites near Grave's End, a port for sea going vessels. It is suspected he was a lay preacher in that area, but no records of such have been found. In New York City, he associated with Valentine Wightman, an experienced General Baptist minister from Groton, CT, and with Nicholas Eyres, a General Baptist from England who had gathered like-minded religious neighbors to worship in his home. Henry left Long Island with son Zebulon and was next found near Hebron, CT where two more sons were born. He trained for the ministry in Rhode Island among the General Six-Principle Baptists. From there he migrated down the Eastern seaboard and was part of a period of expansion for the General Baptists. Among his friends and colleagues in the church were founders of several churches. His first call to preach was at the church in Piscataway township, NJ, which was the second oldest Baptist church in New Jersey. From there he went to Maryland where he became the founding pastor of Sater's Church on Chestnut Ridge in Baltimore Co., the first Baptist church in Maryland. While he was there, some of his congregation migrated to the frontier of Virginia. After they were settled, he traveled there to help them incorporate the Opequon Creek Church, the first Baptist congregation in northern Virginia. According to Weis, Rev. Henry Loveall served Sater's Church for thirty years. (Edwards, Morgan. Materials Toward a History of the Baptists in Maryland. 1772. Benedict, David. History of the Baptists in Maryland. 1813. Online. Also, History of the Baptists in Virginia. 1848. Online.) John Wesley (1703-1791): He was an Anglican minister, trained at Oxford, and a Christian theologian who founded Methodism. John and his brother Charles established the "Holy Club" at Oxford. George Whitefield was one of their members. The Wesleys were both early leaders of the Methodist movement; John in preaching and theology, and Charles wrote many hymns embracing their theology. In 1735 they traveled to America where Governor James Oglethorpe, founder and first Governor of the Colony of Georgia, offered John the post of rector of the newly established Savannah Parish. John accepted. (From a Georgia pamphlet about Oglethorpe) For a time in 1736, General Oglethorpe hired Charles Wesley as his secretary. The Wesley's spent some time on Saint Simon's Island where there was a small settlement. They founded a church there, but did not have a lot of success getting the people to live by the disciplines of Methodism. While preaching at Savannah, John became reacquainted with George Whitefield and with the Great Awakening evangelical revival movement that was in progress in America. Whitefield succeeded him as rector of the Savannah Parish. Shortly after this the Wesleys returned home, where Charles was a maverick within the Church of England, although he maintained that the Methodist movement was well within its teachings. He held some open air meetings in the Whitefield manner in England. In 1784, Wesley ordained several preachers to spread Methodism through England, Scotland, and America. Wesley rejoiced to hear that Methodists in America were free to follow his teachings, which included social justice issues such as prison reform and abolition. Wesley was widely respected in England at the time of his death. Besides George Whitefield, Philip Embry and Francis Asbury and others were active in the early Methodist movement in America. George Whitefield (1714-1770): Trained at Oxford, he was a preacher in the Anglican Church in England, where he practiced a moderately Calvinistic Methodism. While a theology student at Oxford University, Whitefield was a member of the "Holy Club" along with John Wesley and his brother, Charles. John Wesley practiced a Wesleyan version of Arminianism within the Anglican Church. They both established Methodist societies. In 1738, Whitefield traveled to America and became the parish priest at Savannah, GA. He also established the Bethesda Orphanage, which survives today. Whitefield is widely spoken of as the founder of the Methodist church in America. He used his talent for acting, his passion for theatre, and his ability to project his voice as he took part in The Great Awakening. His outdoor revivals drew crowds numbered in the tens of thousands. Benjamin Franklin was a skeptic until he heard Whitefield speak from the steps of the Philadelphia Court House. After he watched Whitefield capture and hold a huge outdoor congregation, Franklin became his friend and publisher. But, he was not converted from deism. Elder Sparks said of him: "The delicately built, physically cowardly evangelist was bold as a lion once he assumed the stage, be it inside a cathedral or in the middle of an open field….His career was wildly successful…" (Sparks, p 16) John Gano (1736-1804): He was born in Hopewell, NJ where he united with the Baptist church and was baptized. Soon afterward he became much absorbed with the idea of becoming a minister. Before he was yet ordained or licensed to preach, he accompanied two missionaries from the Philadelphia Baptist Association (PBA) to Virginia to "set in order a little church on Opecon Creek, which had been constituted by the notorious imposter, Henry Loveall." (Sparks, p 40) An informational footnote says, "This Loveall was from New England. His real name was Desolate Baker. He was excluded from Opecon Church for licentiousness." (Sparks, p 40) Bear in mind that this was not a PBA member congregation. Yet. An online site reproduces a painting that hangs in the Gano Chapel, William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, showing Gano baptizing General George Washington by immersion. This was disputed by many. The text below it included the fact that Gano was Washington's personal chaplain during the Revolutionary War. Gano's grandson, John Allen Gano, attempted to prove that his grandfather had actually baptized George Washington. After Gano's ordination, the Philadelphia Baptist Association sent Rev. Gano out as a missionary to Virginia and ultimately as far as Charleston, SC. These missionaries were not out to save souls or to minister to the poor and the needy. They were sent to save "feeble and disordered churches," meaning those with weak doctrines of faith, especially meaning not Calvinistic; particularly meaning Arminian. (Information from several John Gano sites found Online.) He was awarded the plum of the "first" Baptist church in NYC-after PBA had declined to send funds to help Eyres church survive. Later, Gano was sent to North Carolina where he attacked the reputation of Paul Palmer shortly after his death and converted Palmer's string of churches to Calvinism. But the irony was, Gano became so enchanted by the life of the evangelistic, open air, frontier preacher that he abandoned his city congregation often to get back to the front lines. THE RISE OF BAPTIST SUBGROUPS: General Baptists, sometimes called Six Principle Baptists: The earliest known General Baptist Church was founded in the Netherlands in 1609 by Thomas Helwys and John Smyth. Both leaders were ardent defenders of religious liberty for all people. The name General Baptists comes for their belief in general atonement-the death of Christ made salvation possible for any persons who voluntarily exercise faith in Christ. Their six principles of doctrine came from Hebrews 6: 1-2; faith repentance, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. These churches were founded on the teachings of Dutch theologian, Jacob Hermann, better known by his Latin name, Jacobus Arminius. In 1611, Helwys, a well-to-do layman, led his small group of followers back to England where it took root at Spitalfields, an area just outside London at that time, and grew into what appears to have been the first Baptist church on English soil. It was sometimes called the English Baptist Church. From that beginning, General Baptists spread through England and into America. They made Rhode Island their first home in the New World. Although this is not an active denomination today, there are several groups today (2010) that descend from the General Baptists. These include the Free Will Baptists, the Primitive Baptists, the General Association of General Baptists, the Separate Baptists, and to some extent the Christian Church movement of Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone. Particular Baptists (later known as Regular Baptists): This denomination evolved in England from within the Anglican Church. Some of the Congregationalists and others desired to purify the Anglican Church from all remaining practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. In particular some were concerned about the practice of infant baptism and preferred adult baptism by immersion. As Puritans began to separate from the Church of England, some chose not to align with others and formed Independent Baptist churches. Others gathered into an association of Particular Baptists with its own published code of beliefs in about 1633. They were staunchly Calvinists and very firm about practices of baptism and separation of Church and State. Their name comes from their belief that God had preordained particular people to be saved by Christ's atonement. Among the unique principles of all Baptists was their rejection of infant baptism, acceptance of repentance and then believer's baptism by immersion. Separatists: Those of any denomination who believed in separation of church and state. Previously, the hierarchy of the church had been closely aligned with politics and government. The separatists believed people should be free to choose their own form of worship without interference from local governments. Not to be confused with the Separate Baptists. Separate Baptists: This movement got on its true foundation during the excitement of the Great Awakening. They emerged from the New Light Congregational and Presbyterian bodies and took some of those doctrines along. "The fusion of New Light evangelism and Baptist worship practice [caused] the formation of a fourth Baptist sub denomination in America, the Separate Baptists." (Sparks, 35) They owed much of their early growth to participation in the Rhode Island Yearly Meeting rather than associating with Regular Baptists. They took on General Baptist principle and practice, but added the New England Holy Tone preaching and happy emotionalism. They became an independent group and many younger General Baptists joined them. The Separates combined the popular Whitefield evangelistic Calvinism of the Great Awakening with the Generals Baptists' own traditional stance on atonement to create a new subgroup of Baptists on American soil. Shubal Stearns and his brother-in-law Daniel Marshall were among the leading early Separate ministers. (Sparks, 35-37) BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONS IN AMERICA: Numerous groups or associations of Baptists exist in the United States today. A recent article placed the number at 31. The General Baptists and the Particular Baptists where among the earliest settlers of New England and the Middle Colonies. It was their practice to establish an association among congregations that held several practices in common. Most of the Baptist subgroups were identified with belief in the doctrine of original sin, the need for repentance, believer's baptism, baptism by immersion, the autonomy of each church, and a desire for freedom to practice their own religion and for separation of church and state. Also, beginning very early, there was a desire to form an association with other like-minded congregations for their mutual support and edification. Hence, the Rhode Island Yearly Meeting of the General Baptists, which began about 1670, and the Philadelphia Baptist Association established by the Particulars formed in 1707. As more Baptists arrived, there was more diversity, and more local and regional groups were started. The respected Ketockton Association was founded in 1755 in what became Loudon Co, VA by a combination of folks from Opeckon Creek who sought safety back "across the ridge." They were Calvinists, but may have leaned more toward the Separate Baptists who were very strong at that time. It was active for about 100 years. Before the end of the 18th century, the Baltimore Baptist Association was in existence. The Philadelphia Baptist Association began to expand beyond its original regional inception, and the rise of modern missions further increased its development. By the early 1800s the first national association, the Triennial Convention was founded. Now called Regular Baptists and embracing mission societies, the convention met every three years with the primary purpose of raising funds for various benevolent, educational and mission societies. As the result of differing views on slavery, the Triennial Convention split in 1845 and the Southern Baptist Convention was organized. The Triennial group became known as the Northern Baptist Convention from 1907 until 1950 when it chose to be called The American Baptist Churches USA. Today there are 31 major national groups or associations of Baptists, plus many independent Baptist churches who chose not to align with others. USEFUL RELIGIOUS TERMS: Anabaptist: "re-baptizer:" These people believed infant baptism was not valid. New churches were founded based on believer's baptism. In general this suggests the believer was an adult, or at least age twelve or older. Mennonites and several other religious groups also practice believer's baptism. Antinomianism: This is a hard word, and a difficult concept. Theological charges of antinomianism typically imply that the opponent's doctrine leads to various sorts of licentiousness, and imply that the antinomian chooses his theology in order to further a career of dissipation, or to take the easy path. Despite the conspicuous austerity of life among Baptist Calvinists, they were the receiver of antinomian charges in England, but more often were the ones making accusations in the colonies. Apology: A defense or justification in speech or writing, as for a cause or doctrine. Apostasy: Falling from grace, backsliding, losing salvation through unconfessed sin. Atonement: The doctrine that Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of humans, beginning with forgiveness of Adam's original sin.
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