BAPTIST HISTORY Lesson 28 Landmarkism: What, Where, How and Now

Primitive Baptists Origin Beliefs Practices Where are they today? Is there gospel truth there? How do you identify the true Church?

19 th Century: a turbulent time in American religious life 1. Question authority & legitimacy of existing ecclesiastical structures 2. Rise of new denominations based on extra Scriptural revelation. 3. Re-affirmation of the established church as necessary and valid 4. Rejection of traditional concepts of God and Christianity for a new, “milder” form of Christianity. Three possible positions as people searched for answers

J. R. Graves ( ) LANDMARKISM Landmarkism was (is) an ecclesiological movement that argued Baptists churches are the only true churches, and as such, Baptist churches have existed from the time of Christ to the present day Cotton Grove declaration, 1851

J. M. Pendleton ( ) 1854 “An Old Landmark Reset” Anti pulpit affiliation A. C. Dayton ( )

Nature of the church Nature of ordinances Nature of church leadership Nature of inter-church cooperation Nature of mission work Landmark distinctive Why did the movement arise and find traction? 1. Need to defend legitimacy 2. Need to defend sectarian views of the ordinances