Regular Baptists

Regular Baptists are "a moderately Calvinistic Baptist denomination that is found chiefly in the southern
U.S., represents the original English Baptists before the division into Particular and General Baptists, and
observes closed communion and foot washing", according to Merriam Webster.[1] This definition describes
Old Regular Baptists, not those who formed as a result of the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy.

The most prominent Regular Baptist group is the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. While
the term Regular Baptist was originally a reference to the Particular Baptists, it came to be used more
loosely as a synonym for orthodox. The Baptist Bulletin of the GARBC defines them simply as groups
who believe "orthodox, Baptist doctrine" and "affirm the rule or measure of the Scripture."[2][a] As
compared to General Baptists or Free Baptists, Regular Baptists were strict in their beliefs, and therefore
also called Strict or Hard-shell Baptists.[2] To be a Regular Baptist church in the GARBC is to hold to
distinctive baptistic ecclesiology and interpret the Bible literally.

History

United States

The term Regular Baptists developed in America from English immigrants who had been influenced by the
Particular and General Baptists churches that were established in England.[2] According to Stuart Ivison
and Fred Rosser: "By 1638 there were also congregations of ‘Particular’ Baptists, who held that the
Atonement was of particular application, i.e., for the sake of the elect only." [2] The General, also known as
Free Baptists, however, believed that all people could reap the benefits of atonement.[2] This meant,
particularly for the western pioneers, that individuals that were baptized were allowed to become church
members and take communion.[2]

The number of Regular Baptists began to increase over the number of General or Free Baptists after the
1707 formation of the Philadelphia Baptist Association (PBA), which in 1742 developed a Confession of
Faith.[2][b] The influence and mission program of the Philadelphia Baptists shifted many of the Free
Baptists to Regular Baptists.[2] John Asplund traveled the United States and created the first comprehensive
list of Baptist denominations in the United States in 1790 entitled Annual Register of the Baptist
Denomination in America. He found that the greatest number of Baptist churches at that time were Regular
Baptist churches.[2]

In the 1800s, the term Regular Baptist came to describe the Free Baptists.[2] This was a surprising change
as the term regular initially described the opposing position to the Free Baptists (i.e., particular atonement).
This happened as a result of the strict view of communion they took which held that individuals must be
baptized prior to partaking of the Lord's Table.[2]

Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Northern Baptist Convention was polluted by
individuals who were adopting the higher-critical theories of German theologians.[3] This caused many to
separate from the convention and to form several groups of conservative, fundamental baptists. During this,
the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches was born.[4] Their designation as Regular Baptists
was unrelated to the dispute over general and particular atonement.[2]
There are still a number of organizations that are considered Regular Baptists, but the degree of strictness
regarding atonement beliefs may vary across Regular Baptists churches today.[2]

Old Regular Baptists is a group formed in Kentucky in 1825 from the New Salem
Association of United Baptists, which was formed in Kentucky in 1825. After several name
changes, its name has been Old Regular since 1892. They practice foot washing and
observe closed communion.[2]
The Sovereign Grace Association of Old Regular Baptist Churches of Jesus Christ conducts
many of the practices of the Old Regular Baptists, but consider themselves more
conservative.[2]
The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches — organized in 1932 by conservative
and fundamentalist churches withdrawing from the Northern Baptist Convention (now
American Baptist Churches).[2] Today, there are more than 1,200 churches in their
association.[5] Unlike other Regular Baptist groups, they are primarily in the North, they do
not practice foot washing as an ordinance, and they take no position on calvinism.[6][7] They
manage and operate Regular Baptist Press, the publishing arm of their association.[8] They
are headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois.[9]

Canada

The term Regular Baptists denotes churches with strict, orthodox Baptist beliefs.[2] In 1928, the Union of
Regular Baptist Churches was formed in Hamilton, Ontario. It was succeeded in 1957 by the Association
of Regular Baptist Churches of Ontario, Canada, which continues to uphold closed communion teaching
and practice.[2]

Related organizations
Union Baptists — a strand of Regular Baptists that owes its origin to the Civil War. Churches
and associations, especially in border states, were rent asunder by this national conflict.
Tensions over secession, war and reconstruction, as well as the fact that Primitive Baptists
did not allow members to hold membership in secret societies, combined to incubate the
Union Baptists. Many pro-Union Primitive Baptists joined Union Leagues and were expelled
from their churches and associations. The Mountain Union Association, formed in 1867, was
the first "Union" Baptist Association. Unlike other areas, this distinction, at least in name, has
persisted, and some churches and associations consider themselves "Union Baptists".
There seems to be no doctrinal distinction between Union Baptists and Regular Baptists.
Three associations — Original Mountain Union, Primitive and Union — have about 3300
members in 36 churches. Mitchell River Union Baptist Association may still be in existence.
Regular Baptists — found in 5 local associations; much like the Old Regular Baptists, and
located in the same region, but more open to changes in worship and lifestyle. Churches
have allowed notated hymnals, Sunday Schools, revivals and even instrumental music.
Three associations, mostly in North Carolina, are in correspondence — Little River, Little
Valley and Mountain Union (708 members in 15 churches in 1999). Two others are in
isolated areas and not connected to the first three — East Washington in Arkansas (1560
members in 10 churches in 1999) and Enterprise in Ohio, Kentucky and bordering areas
(4288 members in 63 churches in 1999).
Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada — although the FEBCC is not
generally considered Regular Baptist, some churches of this Fellowship still carry Regular
Baptist as part of their name, especially in British Columbia. Three of four major bodies
forming and entering the FEBCC from 1953 to 1965 were Regular Baptist.[10]
 Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) — Many Baptist churches were once
Regular Baptist Churches. The CBOQ exists to equip churches and leaders to engage with
their mission from God in their community.

Notable members
Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's parents, were members of the
Licking-Locust Association of Regular Baptists in Kentucky.[2]

See also
Primitive Baptists

References
Informational notes

a. In this case, the definition of the English word "regular" comes from the Latin term regula,
which means "rule or example". For instance, the first edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary definition for the adjective "regular" is: "Ecclesiastically subject to, or bound by, a
religious rule, belonging to a religious or monastic order."[2]
b. The Confession of Faith was heavily influenced by the 1646 Presbyterian Westminster and
the 1689 Second London Confessions of Faith.[2]

Citations

1. "Definition of REGULAR BAPTIST" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Regular+

Baptist). www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
2. Brodrick, Jeff (May 2, 2008). "What Does It Mean to Be a 'Regular' Baptist?" (https://baptistbu
lletin.org/the-baptist-bulletin-magazine/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-regular-baptist/). Baptist
Bulletin. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
3. Bauder; Delnay (2014), pp.39-40
4. Bauder; Delnay (2014), pp.185–218
5. "Yearbook Of Churches - View Group" (http://www.yearbookofchurches.org/group/604).
www.yearbookofchurches.org. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
6. "Articles of FaithGARBC" (https://www.garbc.org/). GARBC. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
7. "Baptist DistinctivesGARBC" (https://www.garbc.org/). GARBC. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
8. "About Us" (https://regularbaptistpress.org/about-us/). Regular Baptist Press. Retrieved
2019-09-30.
9. "Contact UsGARBC" (https://www.garbc.org/). GARBC. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
10. "Fellowship.ca - Our History" (https://www.fellowship.ca/OurHistory). www.fellowship.ca.
Retrieved 2019-09-30.

Further reading

Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion (August 19, 1996). Memory and Hope: Strands
of Canadian Baptist History (https://books.google.com/books?id=fxahcfEXsxQC&pg=PA13
1). Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-88920-267-2.
 Kevin Bauder (2012). Baptist Distinctives and New Testament Church Order (https://www.rb
pstore.org/Products/5125/baptist-distinctives-and-new-testament-church-order.aspx?bCateg
ory=BAI). Regular Baptist Press. ISBN 978-1-60776-583-7.
Kevin Bauder; Robert Delnay (2014). One in Hope and Doctrine: Origins of Baptist
Fundamentalism 1870—1950 (https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/5128/one-in-hope--doctrin
e.aspx?bCategory=BAI). Regular Baptist Press. ISBN 978-1-60776-660-5.
Achilles Coffey; Thomas J. Carr (1877). A Brief History of the Regular Baptists, Principally of
Southern Illinois (https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofre00coff). Martin.
Howard Dorgan (November 1990). Giving Glory to God in Appalachia: Worship Practices of
Six Baptist Subdenominations (https://books.google.com/books?id=hYmXA7vLw3wC&pg=
PA55). Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-0-87049-666-0.
Howard Dorgan (August 1, 2001). The Old Regular Baptists of Central Appalachia: Brothers
and Sisters in Hope (https://books.google.com/books?id=GhIR_tH66sIC&pg=PA40). Univ. of
Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-160-0.
Samuel S. Hill; Charles H. Lippy; Charles Reagan Wilson (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion
in the South (https://books.google.com/books?id=yx2EarrpKGUC). Mercer University Press.
ISBN 978-0-86554-758-2.
Bill J. Leonard (August 14, 2012). Baptists in America (https://books.google.com/books?id=L
e7LEWFTNGUC&pg=PA107). Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-50171-2.
James R. Mathis (2004). The Making of the Primitive Baptists: A Cultural and Intellectual
History of the Antimission Movement, 1800-1840 (https://books.google.com/books?id=W9_b
pHRpA_MC). Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-94871-5.
James Harvey Oliphant (2006). Principles and Practices of the Regular Baptists (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=--ovQwAACAAJ). Elder Harold Hunt.
Rufus Perrigan (1961). History of Regular Baptist: And Their Ancestors and Accessors (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=dWJXuQAACAAJ). Rufus Perrigan.
John J. Ruhlman (1976). A History of Northwest Regular Baptists: the General Association of
Regular Baptist Churches in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, 1939-1975 (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=pVXkAAAAMAAJ). Regular Baptist Press.
Joseph M. Stowell (1949). Background and History of the General Association of Regular
Baptists (https://books.google.com/books?id=Uh-MrgEACAAJ).
Paul N. Tassel (1991). Quest for Faithfulness: the Account of a Unique Fellowship of
Churches (https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/5185/quest-for-faithfulness.aspx?bCategory=B
AI). Regular Baptist Press. ISBN 0-87227-152-8
Albert W. Wardin (1995). A Look at Baptists Around the World (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=WcO7GwAACAAJ). Florida Baptist Historical Society.
Terry Wolever (January 1, 2014). A Noble Company, Volume 4: Biographical Essays on
Notable Particular-Regular Baptists in America (https://books.google.com/books?id=REzQn
gEACAAJ). Particular Baptist Press. ISBN 978-1-888514-46-9.

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