The Crowne Center at Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida, an Independent Baptist institution

Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.

History

Tewkesbury Independent Baptist Church in Tewkesbury, UK

The modern Independent Baptist tradition began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among local denominational Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the advancement of modernism and theological liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in the United States and the United Kingdom.[1][2]

In response to the concerns, some local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished the congregations as Independent Baptist churches. In other cases, the more conservative members of existing churches withdrew from their local congregations and set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches.[3]

Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.[4] There is the World Baptist Fellowship founded in 1933 at Fort Worth, Texas by J. Frank Norris.[5] Doctrinal differences in the latter led to the founding of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International in 1950 and the Independent Baptist Fellowship International in 1984.[6] Various independent Baptist Bible colleges were also founded.[7]

Beliefs

Service at Iloilo Baptist Church, Iloilo City, Philippines.

The beliefs are mainly Baptist and fundamentalist.[8] They refuse any form of ecclesial authority other than that of the local church. Great emphasis is placed on the literal interpretation of the Bible as the primary method of Bible study as well as the biblical inerrancy and the infallibility of their interpretation.[9] Dispensationalism is common among Independent Baptists. They are opposed to any ecumenical movement with denominations that do not have the same beliefs.[10] Many IFB churches adhere to only using the King James Version, a position known as King James Onlyism.[11]

Demographics

Members of Independent Baptist churches comprised 2.5% of the United States adult population, according to a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Center.[12]

Sexual abuse

In 2018, an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified 412 abuse allegations in 187 independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches and institutions across in United States and Canada, with some cases reaching as far back as the 1970s.[13][14]

In November 2023, Investigation Discovery released Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, a 4 part documentary, highlighting sexual abuse and cover up within the Independent Baptist movement.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Marsden (1980), pp. 55–62, 118–23.
  2. ↑ W. Glenn Jonas Jr., The Baptist River, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 96
  3. ↑ Beale, David O. (1986). In Pursuit of Purity: American Fundamentalism Since 1850. BJU Press. ISBN 9780890843505.
  4. ↑ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 297
  5. ↑ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 623
  6. ↑ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 357
  7. ↑ William H. Brackney, Congregation and Campus: Baptists in Higher Education, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 376
  8. ↑ Bill J. Leonard, Jill Y. Crainshaw, Encyclopedia of Religious Controversies in the United States, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 387
  9. ↑ W. Glenn Jonas Jr., The Baptist River: Essays on Many Tributaries of a Diverse Tradition, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 125: "Independents assert that the Bible is a unified document containing consistent propositional truths. They accept the supernatural elements of the Bible, affirm that it is infallible in every area of reality, and contend that it is to be interpreted literally in the vast majority of cases. Ultimately, they hold not merely to the inerrancy of Scripture, but to the infallibility of their interpretation of Scripture. The doctrine of premillennialism serves as a case in point. Early on in the movement, Independents embraced premillennialism as the only acceptable eschatological view. The BBU made the doctrine a test of fellowship. When Norris formed his Premillennial Missionary Baptist Fellowship (1933), he made premillennialism a requirement for membership. He held this doctrine to be the only acceptable biblical position, charging conventionism with being postmillennial in orientation."
  10. ↑ Bill J. Leonard, Baptists in America, Columbia University Press, USA, 2005, p. 115
  11. ↑ Bill J. Leonard, Baptists in America, Columbia University Press, USA, 2005, p. 141
  12. ↑ "Religious Composition of the U.S.". U.S. Religious Landscape Study. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Kuruvilla, Carol (13 December 2018). "Investigation Unearths Hundreds Of Abuse Allegations In Independent Baptist Churches". Huffpost. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  14. ↑ Rick Pidcock, The horror of Let Us Prey may not be as far from home as you think, baptistnews.com, USA, November 30, 2023
  15. ↑ Anderson, John (23 November 2023). "'Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals' Review: A System of Abuse". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 November 2023.

Bibliography

  • Timothy Gloege, Guaranteed Pure: The Moody Bible Institute, Business, and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism (2015).
  • Barry Hankins, God's Rascal: J. Frank Norris & the Beginnings of Southern Fundamentalism (1996).
  • Andrew Himes, The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family (2011).
  • George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism, 1870–1925 (1980).
  • Robert F. Martin, Hero of the Heartland: Billy Sunday and the Transformation of American Society, 1862–1935 (2002).
  • Daniel K. Williams, God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right (2010).


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