How does a Baptist service work? Baptists as the most harmful sect. Baptist understanding of justification
Some even ask what is the difference between Baptists and Christians. Unfortunately, the atheistic propaganda of the Soviet Union left its mark on the hearts and minds of people, and very little attention is paid to issues of faith. That is why such questions arise. Who are Baptists, and how do they differ from Christians... It’s funny for any knowledgeable person to hear such questions. Because Baptists are Christians. Because a Christian is a person who believes in Christ, recognizes Him as God and the Son of God, and also believes in God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Baptists have all this and, moreover, they share a common apostolic creed with the Orthodox, and the Baptist Bible is no different from the Orthodox Bible, because the same synodal translation is used. But there really are differences, otherwise they would not be called Baptists.
The first difference between Baptists and Orthodox Christians lies in the very name of this branch of Christianity.
Baptist - comes from the Greek baptizo, which means to baptize, to immerse. And Baptists, based on the Holy Scriptures, perform baptism only at a conscious age. Infant baptism is not performed. Baptists take the basis for this from the following texts of the Bible:
“So now we also have a baptism similar to this image, not the washing of carnal uncleanness,
but the promise of a good conscience to God saves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” - 1
Pet. 3:21.
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Who will believe and
be baptized, he will be saved” - Mr. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38, 41, 22:16.
Water baptism according to the Word of God is performed on those who believe in Jesus
as his personal Savior and experienced being born again. You can read what being born again is in the Gospel of John in the third chapter. But the point is that a person must believe in God and then be baptized. And not the other way around, as is done in Orthodoxy. Because Baptism, according to Baptists, is not only a sacrament, but also a promise, which is also written about in the Bible Pet. 3:21. .
“Behold, water: what prevents me from being baptized?.. If you believe with all your heart, you can. He answered and said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he ordered
stop the chariot: and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water; and baptized him” - Acts. 8:36-38, 2:41, 8:12, 10:47, 18:8, 19:5.
Baptism is performed by ministers through immersion in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
“Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” - Matt. 28:19.
The believer's baptism symbolizes his death, burial and resurrection with Christ.
“Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, like Christ,
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also walk in newness of life. For if we are united with Him in the likeness of His death, then we must also be united
likeness of the resurrection” - Rom. 6:3-5; Gal. 3:26-27; Col. 2:11-12. When performing baptism, the minister asks questions to the person being baptized: “Do you believe,
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you promise to serve God in a good conscience?” - Acts 8:37; 1 Pet. 3:21. After an affirmative answer from the person being baptized, he
says: “According to your faith, I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The person being baptized pronounces the word “Amen” together with the minister.
The second difference between Baptists and Orthodox. Icons and saints.
If you have been to Baptist Houses of Prayer, you have probably noticed that there are no icons there. The walls may be decorated with gospel paintings, but no one prays to them. Why?
Theological debates in this area have been going on for centuries. But the most reasonable argument of the Baptists is that the icons depict saints. Saints are not God, but people. People cannot be omnipresent like God, who fills the entire Earth with the Holy Spirit. And when a person turns to another righteous person who has lived a righteous life and even performed miracles and may be in heaven, then how does the prayer get to the saint? God, who is Omnipresent, will hand it over to a saint, so that this saint, for example, Nicholas the saint, will then hand it over to God again!? Not logical. But few people think about how prayer gets to the saint. Also, few people think about whether prayer to a saint is communication with the deceased, which is prohibited in the Bible. The Orthodox respond to this by saying that everyone is alive with the Lord. Well, yes, they are alive. and those who are alive in hell, and those who are alive in heaven. Why did the Lord give the ban then?! It turns out that the Orthodox are violating God’s prohibition. This is the difference. Therefore, Baptists do not pray to the saints who are depicted on icons. Baptists pray only to one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and there is no sin in this, even from the point of view of the Orthodox.
The third difference between the Orthodox and the Baptists.
Baptists do not drink alcohol. There is no direct prohibition on this in their teaching. But such a tradition has developed, in order to differ from the sinful world and not allow the possibility of sin, Baptists preach abstinence from alcoholic beverages, smoking, drugs and other addictions. “Everything is permissible for me, but nothing should possess me,” said the Apostle Paul. And the Baptists are great in this regard.
The fourth difference.
Baptists do not perform funeral services for the dead. And they believe that if a person died and did not repent, then only God decides his future fate. In Orthodoxy, in this regard, the mentality of the Russian people is very well reflected, where God can send even a sinful person to heaven if the priest prays. Baptists are inclined to personal responsibility in their worldview and, again, based on the Holy Scriptures, the story of the thief on the cross and the story of the rich man and Lazarus, they conclude that God instantly decides the fate of the human soul and no funeral service will help if the person himself has not repented , then no amount of nepotism will work.
The fifth difference between Baptists and Orthodox Christians.
Community.
Baptists are more inclined than Orthodox to establish close church ties and communication. Brothers communicate in brotherly communication, sisters in sisterly communication, youth in youth communication, children in children's communication, and so on. Staying in fellowship is one of the characteristics of Baptists, which helps them learn about each other’s needs and help them solve everyday and spiritual problems that arise. A Baptist church is somewhat similar to an Orthodox monastery. Any believer in Christ who joins the Baptist church can join and become part of the community, find friends, serve God and support from brothers and sisters.
The sixth difference is Divine service.
For Baptists, worship, meaning Sunday worship, is held differently than for Orthodox Christians.
Of course there is also prayer, singing and preaching. Only now the prayer to God is made in understandable Russian, and not in Old Church Slavonic. The singing is almost the same, maybe choral, maybe universal. But it can be solo or trio. And maybe during the service a poem is recited or a testimony from life is told about how God works. Special attention is paid to the sermon so that a person does not leave the church empty. Baptists do not make the sign of the cross, although they have nothing against it.
The seventh difference between the Orthodox and the Baptists is the veneration of relics.
Baptists respect the dead righteous, but do not make their remains objects of worship, because they do not find examples of such worship in the Bible. Yes, they say, there is a case in the Bible when, during the death of Christ, a young man who died was resurrected from contact with the bones of the prophet. But Christ resurrected 2000 years ago. And nowhere is there a commandment to worship the bones of dead people. But it is written that only God should be worshiped and served. Therefore, Baptists refrain from such dubious practices, considering them to be relics of paganism that entered the church from ancestors who were forcibly baptized.
These are the main differences that immediately catch the eye; there are others, but they are less interesting for the common person. And if anyone is interested, you can look at the Baptist or Orthodox website.
Who are Baptists
Who are Baptists? Baptists are Protestant Christians. The name comes from the Greek word words“βάπτισμα”, which is baptism from βαπτίζω - “I immerse in water,” that is, “I baptize.” Literally, Baptists are baptized people.
Christianity has many faces, just like the many faces of the people living on earth. Only in the time of Jesus Christ was there no disagreement between people among his followers. Or rather, they were, but Jesus resolved them with his word. Then the time came for Christ to leave the earthly world and ascend to the Father. But Jesus did not leave Christians alone and sent the Holy Spirit, who lives in the hearts of believers. For the first three centuries, Christianity held on. There were no baptisms of children, there were no icons, there were no statues. Christianity was persecuted and was not up to the splendor of the poor wounded church, which kept the faith and the Word of the Lord. Through the centuries the church has carried the undistorted Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God kept his word.
How did the Baptists appear?
But people remain people. People are different from people. And Christianity, spreading across the face of the earth, absorbed the customs and traditions of peoples who believed in Christ, but did not completely abandon their former customs and rituals. And they came up with something that was not in the Bible. In the West, indulgences, a kind of pass to heaven, were sold for money. The Pope was mired in debauchery and burdened himself with secular power. In the east, as well as in the west, the Word of God became far from the language of the people to whom it was spoken. Hebrew, Latin and Greek were considered sacred languages; the Russian Orthodox Church won the right to serve in Old Church Slavonic. But he was also incomprehensible to people. People's ignorance and ignorance of God's word allowed the priests to retain the right to read and interpret the scriptures as they pleased, which led to the emergence of something that was not in the Bible. This went on for a long time. Until one monk, having studied the languages in which the Bible was written, decided to resist the desecration of the church. He wrote down as many as 95 outrageous points on which the church departed from the Bible. And he nailed them to the doors of the church, believed to be in Witenberg. He translated the Bible into German. People outraged by the impunity of the official church followed him. Thus began the reformation of the church. Then the Bible was translated into English and French. The state church brutally resisted people's desire to read the Bible in their native language. In each state, churches essentially reminiscent of Baptists arose. in France, they were called Huguenots. Have you heard about St. Bartholomew's Night? 30,000 Protestants were killed for their faith. In England, persecution of Protestants also began.
Baptists in Russia
But everything comes to Russia late. Peter was the first to try to translate the Bible into Russian. But the Pastor who translated the Bible died under mysterious circumstances. And the translation matter was frozen. Alexander the first resumed translation. Several books of the New Testament and several books of the Old Testament were translated. The translation became popular among the people and was banned for fear of shaking the political atmosphere in the country, since the translation of the Bible could lead to people moving away from Orthodoxy, which was the connecting element of Russian statehood. Translation in other countries occurred several centuries ago. For example, Luther, in Germany, translated the Bible in 1521. In 1611 in England it was translated into English by King James. In Russia, translation was not allowed to develop. Alexander II resumed the translation. And only in 1876 the people received the Bible in Russian!!! Friends, please think about these numbers!!! 1876!! It's almost the 20th century!! The people did not know what they believed in! The people did not read the Bible. Keeping people ignorant for so long was stupid and sinful. When people began to read the Bible, Russian Protestants naturally arose. They were not brought from abroad and were first called “Orthodox living according to the gospel,” but they were excommunicated from the church. But they organized themselves into communities and began to be called Evangelical Christians. The evangelical movement grew, people turned to God. And as in other countries, the official church was outraged that someone was pointing out its shortcomings and, with the support of the state, began persecuting Russian Protestants. They were drowned, sent into exile, and imprisoned. It is sad. People who believe in God, no matter what their denomination, should not persecute other Christians who believe in the same God, even if they differ in some ways. In the south of Russia, the evangelical movement is gaining momentum among ordinary people. In the North of Russia - among the intelligentsia. In England, Protestants received the name “Baptists”, from the Greek and English word “baptizo”, “bapize” - which means to baptize. Because one of the differences between Baptists and Orthodox Christians is that Baptists are baptized at a conscious age.
About the Baptists.
Baptists do not baptize infants. Evangelical Christians did not baptize them either. Then these two churches merged and became known as Evangelical Christian Baptists. The emergence of this church was predetermined by the emergence of a translation of the Bible into Russian. What did the Baptists find in the Bible that prevented the translation of the Bible for so long and kept the people in the dark? But the Russian people were not established in their faith, were not a thinking people, and the revolution, with its promises of freedom, equality and brotherhood, quickly changed the attitude of the Orthodox towards their faith. But it did not change the faith of Baptists and Evangelical Christians, who passed through the Soviet Union and carried their faith despite stupid accusations of debauchery and sacrifices. Of course, the Baptists did nothing of the kind. Baptists are Christians who preach a chaste life according to God's word. It is the Bible, as God’s word, that is the authority and foundation of their faith for Baptists. Baptists believe that just as Jesus Christ answered questions with his word, the Bible has answers to questions that arise in the life of a believer. Baptists reject what came into the church after the Scriptures were written.
And that’s why our Russian Protestants try to imitate Christ in everything. Christ did not strive for wealth and pomp, and Baptist worship does not require gold and expensive attributes. Christ did not wear luxurious clothes and Baptists do not strive for luxury. But they do not strive for poverty, they work with their own hands, run their own business if they can, as the Apostle Paul taught. Baptists have large and strong families. Secular education is encouraged, and musical education is also encouraged. Therefore, Baptist services are full of music and sermons. At a worship service, a choir can sing, music can be played, performed solo or by a musical group of believers. Baptists are not conservative when it comes to serving God and can bring in a variety of creative elements. Baptists have a positive attitude towards the state. They serve in the army. They pay taxes. Because the Bible says that all authority is established by God and must be respected. Among all Protestants, Baptists are theologically closest to Orthodoxy, and believe in Christ as the Son of God and God. They believe in God the Father and the Holy Spirit. They believe in the resurrection of the dead and the forgiveness of sins thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, the differences lie in some moments of the service, external attributes and what came to the church after the Bible was written, the differences are in what is not in the Bible. You can read it at the link below.
Social life of Baptists
What else can you tell about Baptists? As people, they are kind and sympathetic people. Hardworking. Baptists call a priest a pastor or elder; usually, in addition to serving in the church, he also works at work. Therefore, Baptists cannot be accused of doing nothing for society. Baptists, like many believers of other denominations, feed the hungry and are engaged in healing society, working with alcoholics and drug addicts, with God's help returning them to work and normal social life. In general, the attitude towards Baptists among those who have encountered them is positive, and their teaching evokes respect and surprises with its logic and simplicity. You can attend their services by going to the House of Prayer at the appointed time and sitting in an empty seat to get to know them better.
The Lord Jesus Christ appeared on earth two thousand years ago to save all humanity from the curse, sin and death that became his companions from the moment his ancestors Adam and Eve sinned. And now, in order to better understand who Baptists are from the point of view of Orthodoxy, it is necessary to turn to the moment of formation of the True Church, when God, with the help of his disciples-apostles, created the Church as His kind of mystical body, and through church sacraments communication with Him began to take place. Therefore, people who believed in Christ began to go to church and through the action of the Holy Spirit received healing of the body, peace and peace in the soul. But then who are the Baptists, where did they come from?
Dissenters, heretics and sectarians
To preserve the unity of faith, the Church limited and established laws and rules for its existence. Anyone who violated these laws was called schismatics or sectarians, and the teachings they preached were called heresy. The Church looked at schisms as one of the greatest sins committed against it.
The Holy Fathers equated this sin with the murder of a person and with idolatry; even the blood of a martyr could not atone for this sin. There are an infinite number of schisms in the history of the Church. Church rules begin to be violated - first one, then automatically another, and as a result, the True Orthodox Faith is distorted.
God's grace
All this will inevitably lead to destruction, like that barren vine of the vineyard about which the Lord spoke, which will be burned. The worst thing here is that the Grace of God retreats from such schismatics. These people can no longer understand the Truth and think that they are doing God’s work by spreading lies about the Church, not knowing that in this way they are going against God Himself. All kinds of sects are created in large numbers, and just as many of them fall apart. Therefore, it is not possible to list them by name, date of creation and the leaders who lead them; we will focus only on the most important ones, but more on that a little later.
Who are Baptists from the point of view of Orthodoxy
In order to save his soul, each person must draw the necessary conclusions about the true Orthodox faith and not fall for the bait of schismatics and sectarians, but receive Grace and be in unity with the entire Orthodox world. After all these facts that you definitely need to know, you can approach the topic of who Baptists are. So, from the point of view of the Orthodox Church, Baptists are sectarians who are lost in their views and have nothing to do with the Church of Christ and the salvation of God. According to the Orthodox Church, they interpret the Bible incorrectly and falsely, like all other sectarians and heretics. Turning to them is a great sin for the human soul. Some do not have a clear idea of who Baptists are; photographs of different sects give an approximate answer, but we will try and further consider this question more deeply.
The Holy Fathers of the Church are the true and only source of spiritual enlightenment, this also applies to the Holy Scriptures.
Who are Baptists? Sect?
In Eastern Europe, Baptistism is most widespread. Baptists are a Protestant sect that was founded in England in 1633. At first they called themselves “brothers,” then “Baptists,” sometimes “Catabaptists” or “baptized Christians.”
The answer to questions about who Baptists are and why they are called that way can begin with the fact that the word “Baptisto” itself is translated from Greek as “I immerse.” This sect was led in its initial formation by John Smith, and when a significant part of its representatives moved to North America, it was led there by Roger Wiliam. These sects began to be divided first into two, and then into many more different factions. And this process still does not stop in any way, since communities, associations or communes do not have mandatory symbols, do not tolerate any symbolic books, and do not have administrative guardianship. All they acknowledge is the Apostles' Creed.
Baptist doctrine
The main thing on which Baptist teaching is based is the recognition of Holy Scripture as the only source of doctrine. They reject the baptism of children, only blessing them. According to Baptist rules, baptism should be performed only after the awakening of personal faith in a person, after 18 years of age and renunciation of a sinful life. Without this, this ritual has no force and is simply unacceptable. Baptists consider baptism to be an outward sign of confession, and thus they deny the participation of God in this main sacrament, which reduces the process to mere human actions.
Service and management
Having clarified a little about who Baptists are, let’s try to figure out how their services are held. They hold a weekly service on Sunday, with sermons and extemporaneous prayers, and singing with instrumental music. On weekdays, Baptists can also additionally gather for prayer and discussion of the Bible, reading spiritual poems and poems.
According to their structure and management, Baptists are divided into independent separate communities, or congregations. This is why they may be called Congregationalists. Continuing the topic “Evangelical Christians (Baptists) – who are they?”, it should be noted that no matter what name they bear, all Baptists place moral restraint and freedom of conscience above teaching. They do not consider marriage a sacrament, but they recognize the blessing as necessary, receiving it through community officials or elders (pastors). There are also some forms of disciplinary action - this is excommunication and public admonition.
When asking the question of who Baptists are and what their faith is based on, it is worth noting that the mysticism of the sect is revealed in the predominance of feelings over reason. The entire doctrine is built on extreme liberalism, which is based on the doctrine of Luther and Calvin about predestination.
The difference between Baptists and Lutheranism
Baptistism differs from Lutheranism by the unconditional and consistent implementation of the main provisions of Lutheranism about the Holy Scriptures, the Church and salvation. Baptistism is also distinguished by great hostility towards the Orthodox Church. Baptists are more prone to anarchy and Judaism than Lutherans. And in general, they do not have a doctrine about the Church as such; they reject it, like the entire church hierarchy. But in order to get a complete answer to the question of who Christian Baptists are, let’s plunge a little into the times of the Soviet Union. It was there that they became most widespread.
Evangelical Christian Baptists
It should be noted that Baptist communities received their main development after the second half of the 19th century. This happened mainly in the Caucasus, in the south and east of Ukraine, as well as in St. Petersburg. According to tsarist policy, because of active missionary activity, Baptists were sent into exile in Siberia, away from the centers of their education. Due to this, in 1896, Baptist migrants from the Caucasus formed the first community in Western Siberia, the center of which was Omsk. To answer more precisely the question of who Evangelical Baptists are, we note that several decades passed before a denomination occurred - Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB) appeared, who adhered to the Baptist faith in the territory of the former USSR. Their direction was formed from two movements that arose in the south of Russia from the Baptist communities of the 60s of the 19th century and the Evangelical Christians of the 70s of the 19th century. Their unification took place in the fall of 1944, and already in 1945 the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists was formed in Moscow.
Who are Separate Baptists?
As mentioned above, sects are constantly changing and further splitting into new formations, therefore Baptist communities that have left the Council of Churches of the ECB are called separated or autonomous. In the 70-80s they were registered as autonomous communities, of which by the 90s a huge number had appeared due to active missionary activity. And they never joined centralized associations. As for the topic “Who are the separated Baptists in Sukhumi,” this is exactly how this community was formed. It, having separated from the main center, began to conduct its autonomous activities on the territory of Abkhazia with the main center in Sukhumi.
The same applies to the question of who the separated Baptists in Mukhumi are. All of these are separate Baptist societies that are not subordinate to anyone and lead an independent life in accordance with their own rules.
Newly formed Baptist congregations
Recently a new direction has emerged for the Tbilisi Baptist community. Interestingly, she went even further in her creed, practically changing everything beyond recognition. Its innovations are very, very surprising, since during the service all those present use five senses, the pastors wear black clothes, the ritual uses candles, bell ringing and music, and Baptists also make the sign of the cross. Almost everything is in the spirit of the Orthodox Church. These Baptists even organized a seminary and school of icon painting. This explains the joy of the schismatic and anathematized Filaret, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, who once even presented the order to the leader of this community.
Baptists and Orthodox. Differences
Baptists, like Orthodox Christians, believe that they are followers of Christ and their faith is true. For both, the Holy Scripture is the only source of teaching, but Baptists completely reject the Holy Tradition (written documents and experience of the entire Church). Baptists interpret the books of the Old and New Testaments in their own way, as anyone understands. Among the Orthodox, an ordinary person is prohibited from doing this. The interpretation of the sacred books was written by the holy fathers under the special influence of the Holy Spirit.
Orthodox believers believe that salvation is achieved only through moral deeds, and there is no guaranteed salvation, since a person wastes this gift through his sins. The Orthodox brings his salvation closer through the purification of the soul through the sacraments of the Church, pious life and observance of the commandments.
Baptists claim that salvation has already been accomplished at Calvary, and now nothing is required for it, and it does not even matter how righteously a person lives. They also reject the cross, icons and other Christian symbols. For Orthodox Christians, these components are of absolute value.
Baptists reject the heavenly holiness of the Mother of God and do not recognize saints. For the Orthodox, the Mother of God and the righteous saints are protectors and intercessors for the soul before the Lord.
Baptists do not have a priesthood, while among Orthodox Christians, only a priest can perform services and all church sacraments.
Baptists do not have a special organization of worship; they pray in their own words. The Orthodox strictly follow the Liturgy.
When baptizing, Baptists immerse the person being baptized once in water, Orthodox - three times. Baptists reject the ordeal of the soul after death and therefore do not perform funeral services for the deceased. With them, when he dies, he immediately goes to heaven. The Orthodox have a special funeral service and separate prayers for the dead.
Conclusion
I would like to remind you that the Holy Church is not a club of interests, but something that comes down to us from the Lord. The Church of Christ, created by his disciples-apostles, was united on earth for a whole thousand years. But in 1054, its western part fell away from the One Church of Christ, which changed the Creed and declared itself the Roman Catholic Church; it was she who provided fertile soil for everyone else to form their own churches and sects. Now, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, those who have fallen away from the True Orthodox Faith and preach faith in Christ differently from Orthodoxy do not belong to the One Holy and Apostolic Church, founded by the Savior himself. Unfortunately, this comes from the fact that many do not realize the greatness and height of their Christian calling, they do not know their duties and live in wickedness like pagans.
The Holy Apostle Paul wrote in his prayer: “Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, otherwise you will not be children of God, but of Satan, fulfilling his lusts.”
Over the two thousand years of its existence, Christianity has split into a large number of denominations, each of which calls itself a “church.” But in relation to competitors, different names are used. The attitude towards Baptists in Orthodoxy is clear: this is not a church, but one of the Protestant sects. However, the number of believers - more than forty million - casts doubt on whether this is really the case. How do Baptists differ from Orthodox Christians, and to what extent did these differences cause such an attitude towards them?
The powerful Reformation movement in the 16th century marked the beginning of such a phenomenon as Protestantism. Catholicism, which had previously almost completely dominated the minds of Europeans, was forced to make room. Almost simultaneously the following Protestant movements arose:
Lutheranism; Calvinism; Zwinglianism; some smaller currents.
The first Baptists appeared a little later, at the very beginning of the 17th century. In 1609 in England there was...
The Lord Jesus Christ appeared on earth two thousand years ago to save all humanity from the curse, sin and death that became his companions from the moment his ancestors Adam and Eve sinned. And now, in order to better understand who Baptists are from the point of view of Orthodoxy, it is necessary to turn to the moment of formation of the True Church, when God, with the help of his disciples-apostles, created the Church as His kind of mystical body, and through church sacraments communication with Him began to take place. Therefore, people who believed in Christ began to go to church and through the action of the Holy Spirit received healing of the body, peace and peace in the soul. But then who are the Baptists, where did they come from?
Dissenters, heretics and sectarians
To preserve the unity of faith, the Church limited and established laws and rules for its existence. Anyone who violated these laws was called schismatics or sectarians, and the teachings they preached were called heresy. The Church looked at the schisms...
Adherents of one of the branches of the Protestant church are called Baptists. The name comes from the word baptize, which is translated from Greek as “to dip”, “to baptize by immersing in water.” According to this teaching, one must be baptized not in infancy, but at a conscious age by immersion in consecrated water. In a word, a Baptist is a Christian who consciously accepts his faith. He believes that a person's salvation lies in wholehearted faith in Christ.
Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists. History of origin
Baptist communities began to form in the early seventeenth century in Holland, but their founders were not Dutch, but English Congregationalists who were forced to flee to the mainland to avoid persecution by the Church of England. And so, in the second decade of the 17th century, namely in 1611, a new Christian teaching was formulated for the English, who, by the will of fate, lived in the capital of the Netherlands - Amsterdam...
Question No. 421
Who are Baptists?
Tatiana Zagorskaya, Chilhowie, USA
12/09/2002
Hello Father Oleg!
Please help me explain to my son why he cannot be baptized in a Baptist church. We are Christians. I myself began to study the Bible several months ago and I cannot give him a decent answer. The fact is that where we live there is no Christian church (USA), and my son and his friends began going to a Baptist church. They study the Bible there. Therefore, I ask you very much - write for him in simpler words the answer to this question. Also, please tell me, how is Bible study different for Baptists? And is there a sin in his going to this church? And even if he does not accept baptism and continues to study the Bible there, how should I feel about this? Perhaps it should be prohibited?
Thanks for the answer.
Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:
Baptists are a sect of peculiarly lost people, which has nothing to do with the Church of Christ and...
The rector of the Temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Sergius Tretyakov, answers readers’ questions.
Father Sergius, what is the difference between the Christian faith and the Baptist faith?
A slightly incorrect question: Baptists are Christians. But there are many different Christians, and their religions differ. The Orthodox Church is very ancient; all the main dogmas of its doctrine were formulated long before the advent of Baptistism.
So, Baptists are one of the oldest and most established Christian sects (you shouldn’t compare them with any Pentecostals, New Apostles or Evangelists, and even more so with Jehovah’s Witnesses). Why a sect? This is a traditional classification: Lutherans, Anglicans, Calvinists and Reformed churches are usually called Protestant churches, and other Protestant denominations are called sects.
Baptistism originated in England in the first half of the 16th century. The reason was a dispute about the form of performing the sacrament of Baptism: the Anglicans (among whom the Baptists appeared) baptized by sprinkling...
Baptists consider infant baptism to be categorically unacceptable, since they are firmly convinced that a person must approach the issue of choosing faith himself on the basis of his convictions, life experience and voluntary renunciation of unworthy (sinful) actions. And what beliefs, experiences and sins might an unintelligent baby have?
Like other Protestants, Baptists accept the Bible as Holy Scripture. The spiritual leader (elder) of each Baptist congregation does not have absolute authority. Decisions on important issues affecting the interests of the community are made either by the church council, consisting of the most authoritative and respected representatives of the community, or by the general meeting. Baptist services are not confined to any strict framework, like those of the Orthodox or Catholics; rather, they are improvisation and include sermons, singing, as well as reading prayers, in their own words, and some works of spiritual content.
The main day of prayer for Baptists is...
Who are Baptists?
Baptists are followers of one of the directions of Protestant Christianity - Baptistism. To better understand who Baptists are, you should understand the features of this doctrine, plunge into its history, and also find out how Baptistism is developing now.
The word "Baptist" comes from "baptizo", which literally means "immersion" in Greek. The word "Baptism" refers to baptism, which among Baptists occurs in adulthood by immersing the entire body in water.
Baptistism evolved from English Puritanism. It is based on the principle of voluntary baptism of people in adulthood who have strong convictions and do not accept committing...
Faith and the Baptist Church
Baptist communities arose at the beginning of the 17th century. The founders were English Congregationalists who fled to Holland from persecution of the Church of England. In 1611, the new doctrine was formulated in the “Confession of Faith of the English Living at Amsterdam in Holland.” The first Baptist community arose in England in 1612, and in North America in 1639. From the end of the 18th century. Baptists begin to spread widely, especially in the USA. In 1905, the Baptist World Union was formed, with its center in the USA. Currently, Baptist organizations operate in many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.
Baptist ideas
The main principle of Baptistism is “Live in the world, but be not of this world,” i.e. obey earthly laws, but give your heart entirely to Christ. The name of the denomination comes from the Greek baptizo - “immerse in water, baptize.” Baptism is considered by Baptists as an act of conscious conversion to faith, spiritual rebirth...
History and Origins of Evangelical Christian Baptists
Baptistism is one of the directions of Protestantism. Evangelical Christian Baptists are one of the denominations traditionally present in our country. Baptists got their name due to the fact that adults were baptized out of conscious faith. The first Baptist community was formed in 1609 in Amsterdam, among refugees from England. From here Baptistism spread to the British Isles and then to America.
In the 19th century Baptistism is becoming a truly global denomination. Baptist communities are springing up in Canada, Australia, India, and most European countries, including Russia. As of 2008, there are more than 105,000,000 Baptists in the world. In Russia, the first evangelical Baptist Christians appeared in the 19th century, when the Russian Bible Society published a Bible translated into Russian. The first Russian Baptist was Nikita Isaevich Voronin, who was baptized by faith in 1867...
BAPTISTS: evil sect or recognized church?
BAPTISTS: evil sect or recognized church?
Recently, a number of publications have been observed in the Tver press, the authors of which expressed their biased opinions about Baptists. This prompted me to prepare this article, which attempts to objectively address this issue.
Who are they?
This is what the Great Soviet Encyclopedia says about Baptist Christians: “Baptists (from the Greek baptizo - I dip, baptize by immersion in water). Adherents of one of the varieties of Protestantism. According to the doctrine of Baptistism, a person’s salvation is possible only through personal faith in Christ, and not through the mediation of the church; the only source of faith is the Holy Scriptures.”
Formally, Baptistism arose during the Reformation at the beginning of the 17th century. However, to claim that Baptistism as a doctrine originates at this time is fundamentally incorrect. Baptist Christians did not come up with anything new, but only returned to...
Religious sects that arose in Europe in the 17th - 19th centuries represented
are mainly organizations of the Protestant type.
Protestantism (from Latin protestans - publicly declaring) - general
designation of religions and sects associated with the Reformation and forming in
collectively the third most important variety of Christianity - along with
Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
The earliest and most influential new growth that grew on the soil
Protestantism became Baptism. Based on Baptistism in the 1st third of the 19th century. arose
Adventists, who branched into a number of sects, one of which goes back to
Jehovah's Witnesses (late 19th - early 20th centuries). At the beginning of the 20th century. arose
Pentecostals.
Baptists, Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses differ among religious
sectarianism is most widespread and has international centers.
1. BAPTISTS
The name of this sect comes from...
One of the most widespread religious movements throughout the world that calls itself “Christian” is BAPTISM.
Baptistism originated in England in two independent communities. The emergence of Baptistism was facilitated by anti-Catholic protests in the 14th-15th centuries, and then by the powerful Reformation movement in the 14th century, which developed simultaneously with the continentals. At the end of the 14th century, the Catholic priest and Oxford teacher John Wycliffe (1320-1384) began to express similar in spirit reformist Baptist ideas. He advocated a literal interpretation of Scripture, rejected monasticism and the Catholic teaching on the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts as unbiblical, rebelled against monastic land ownership and luxury of the clergy and believed that church property should be nationalized, argued that the Holy Scriptures should be translated into the national language and he himself took part in its translation into English.
Although Wycliffe's teachings did not go beyond church reforms, he...
Evangelical Christian Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination in Russia and the second largest Christian denomination in our country; our churches and communities are located in the cities and many towns of our country. Therefore, the word “Baptist” is not something new and alien to a Russian citizen. Today there are about 150,000 Baptist Christians living in Russia. The total number of Baptists is more than 120 million people living in 200 countries - this is one of the largest Christian denominations in the world. But despite all this, even today many people ask: “Who are Baptists? What is their faith? Are they Christians? How do you feel about the world around you? Who can become a member of their church?
Formally, Baptist Christians trace their history back to Holland, where in 1609 a community of people who were baptized in faith at a conscious age and according to personal faith arose. They were all English. And in 1612 the first community arose in England. In Russia, the evangelical awakening led to the emergence of the church...
But who are Baptists? Here is a small attempt to figure it out without getting Orthodoxy involved.
A sect that emerged from among the English Puritans. The first Baptist community was created in 1633, and in 1639 it was already moved to North America, where the state of Rhode Island became its center. At first, the influence of the sect was insignificant. Only at the end of the 18th century, after the creation of the “Preaching Union”, which declared its goal not to spread Baptistism as a new teaching, but supposedly only to preach Christianity among American blacks, free from dogmas, rituals and generally binding symbolic signs, did the Baptist movement meet with sympathy and material the support of many wealthy Americans.
This sect is split into many sects. Its division began in the 17th century, when Baptists were divided into “private” Baptists, who accepted Calvin’s doctrine of unconditional predestination, and “general” or “free will Baptists”, who recognized the universality of the saving grace of God...
1. SACRED SCRIPTURE (BIBLIOLOGY)
We believe and teach that:
The canonical books of the Bible constitute the Word of God, equally inspired in all parts, which is such regardless of our attitude towards it. Only these books are the highest and only infallible revelation of God about Himself, about the spiritual and material world (including man) and represent the only infallible and sufficient rule of faith and behavior. Moreover, the highest authority of Scripture is received not from the Church or tradition, but from God Himself.
Being completely and literally inspired in the original text, the Bible is absolutely inerrant and without error in the content of all the subjects it deals with. It has a dual authorship and nature (divine and human). This means that God, through the Holy Spirit, using the individual characteristics of the authors and their cultural and historical way of thinking, gave humanity ahistorical and equally applicable to any era...
Historians, as a rule, date the emergence of Baptistism to the beginning of the 17th century. At this time, part of the radical wing of the Puritans, representatives of English Calvinism, came to the conclusion that infant baptism “does not correspond” to the New Testament and therefore one must be baptized at a conscious age. The head of this community, John Smith, baptized himself (by pouring water on his forehead), and then his followers. It is curious that Roger Williams, the founder of the first Baptist community in the USA, also baptized himself (although, according to another version, he was first baptized by a member of the community, who was obviously not baptized himself, and only then Williams baptized everyone else). These facts can be used for polemics with Baptists - is it possible to justify self-baptism with the Bible? In this regard, we can also use the fact that the most popular Baptist preacher of the 20th century, American Billy Graham, was baptized three times! He was first baptized as a child in the Presbyterian Church, then Baptist as an adult, but then he became a member of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention, and according to the rules of that denomination, even those baptized in other Baptist groups are baptized. Ask Baptists to clarify whether baptizing the same person three times is justified by the Bible? Granted, childhood baptism is not valid for Baptists, but Graham was consciously baptized twice in different Baptist groups!
At first, Baptistism was not particularly popular, since the Protestant world was dominated by representatives of “liturgical Protestantism” - Lutherans and Calvinists. In essence, Baptistism was a radical wing of Calvinism, and on most fundamental issues adhered to strict Calvinist positions. For example, they adhered to the doctrine of double predestination - the dogma that God, even before the creation of the world, without any reason, decided to save some people and send others to hell. Only in the 18th century did Baptists have their first missionary successes - in particular, their preaching among the black population of the United States was quite successful. At the same time, it is curious that some Baptists, especially in the southern states, were against the abolition of “black slavery” and tried to justify it with the help of the Bible. Today Baptists are the most widespread Protestant denomination in the United States and number about 50 million people (20% of the US population). Among African Americans, the share of Baptists is estimated at 50 to 70%. One of the most famous Baptists of the 20th century can be called the famous human rights pastor Martin Luther King, a fighter for the rights of black Americans, who died at the hands of a hitman.
In our country, Baptists appeared at the end of the 19th century and were often associated with the activities of foreign missionaries. The first surge in the popularity of Baptists occurred during the years of Soviet power - 1917-1927, which Baptists themselves call the “golden decade.” At this time, the Soviet government tried with all its might to destroy Orthodoxy, but Baptists were treated noticeably more liberally, since it was considered to have suffered from the “tsarist regime.” However, from the late 20s, persecution of Baptists also began. The next surge of Baptist activity in our country occurred in the late 80s and early 90s. The Protestant missionary expansion of the 90s increased the number of Baptists in our country several times.
Controversy with Baptists
Baptists, like other neo-Protestants (Adventists and Pentecostals), like to emphasize their own religiosity and spirituality, in contrast to the Orthodox, who, in their opinion, are for the most part non-believers and generally lost sinners. Here we must immediately make a reservation that in our country in post-Soviet times a specific situation has developed when the vast majority of people call themselves Orthodox, but in reality they are not, therefore it is completely incorrect to judge Orthodoxy by them. Any religion must be judged by the people who actually profess it. Yes, the Orthodox have many sins, and one cannot help but see this, but we do not propose to judge Baptists by pop singers - alcoholic Britney Spears and drug addict Whitney Houston, or by presidents - adulterer Bill Clinton, who actively lobbied for gay rights, or Harry Truman, who ordered the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which immediately killed about 200,000 people. But all these people were raised in the Baptist spirit and never (at least publicly) renounced their faith. So - let's compare those who are considered models of piety in one or another confession.
Note that Baptists, like American evangelicals in general, read several chapters from the Bible every day, and usually know at least several hundred verses by heart. Consequently, the Orthodox must not yield to them in this. Here it is worth recognizing that reading the Holy Scriptures in the Orthodox environment, alas, is often not a daily activity - although this is not prohibited by the Church, but, on the contrary, is approved by it. Of course, for the Orthodox, the interpretation of Scripture is mediated by Tradition, and Baptists believe that they interpret the Bible directly - and in this case there is a reason to talk about the status of Scripture in Orthodoxy and neo-Protestantism. Baptists often say that the Bible alone is sufficient for salvation - in which case, ask them how this is justified by the Bible itself? The words of Christ “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” which Baptists usually cite as evidence, do not prove anything - the thesis “Scripture alone” cannot be accurately derived from them.
After all, the Baptists did not take their interpretations of the Bible directly from it - Jesus did not appear to each of them face-to-face and dictate which interpretation of Scripture was true. Baptists borrowed their interpretations from the sermons of the pastor, certain books of their own tradition, as well as from their own experience and the experience of their fellow believers. If we go to any Baptist bookstore, then most of the books there will not be editions of Scripture, but books reflecting the spiritual experience of American evangelicals, or their Russian brethren (the latter, however, are much smaller). Consequently, Baptists also have Tradition, only it covers not the experience of the Church over 2000 years, but the experience of radical Protestants over the last 400 years. Thus, the difference between Orthodoxy and Baptistism is not the difference between Tradition and Scripture, but the difference between Tradition and traditions.
As a rule, Baptists agree that they have tradition, but at the same time they say: but the Scriptures are more important than tradition. It all depends on what you mean by tradition. Of course, the Orthodox do not equate the status of the books of Scripture with, for example, the status of the creations of the Church Fathers. The Bible as the word of God is infallible. However, for the Orthodox, Scripture is part of Tradition, i.e. continuous church experience of communion with God. The Church's communion with God existed even when there were no books of Scripture. But even now, when there are books of Scripture, communion with God exists not only on the pages of the Bible - it is characteristic of the Church everywhere and always. Otherwise, where would Scripture itself and its true interpretations come from? Baptists often say that the Church is not needed for salvation - Scripture alone is enough, which supposedly gave birth to the Church. But who created the Scriptures? Obviously, members of the Church. Ask Baptists: How do we know that the Bible should include exactly the books that are included in it today? Why do the Orthodox include 77 books, and the Baptists - 66?
Did Christ or the apostles say anything about this? No. We will not see in the Bible itself any list of canonical or non-canonical books. Some books of the Bible are not quoted anywhere else in its other books, or never mention the Name of God (eg, Song of Songs). What are the rational criteria for recognizing certain books as biblical? It is clear that there are no such criteria - the criterion here is only in the inspiration of the Church of Christ. In the same way, it can be shown to Baptists that all their external criteria for the correct interpretation of the Bible are easily destroyed: for example, the principle that the darker passages of the Bible are interpreted by means of the “clearer” ones. But who will decide which parts of the Bible are clear and which are not? Different confessions address this issue in different ways: for Catholics it is obvious that the Bible speaks of purgatory, for Calvinists it is clear that salvation cannot be lost, and for Pentecostals there is no doubt that the Bible “permits” speaking in tongues. After all, neither the prophets, nor Christ, nor the apostles said which fragments of the Bible are “clear” and which are “dark” - it all depends on the subjective choice of one or another Protestant denomination. This means that the true interpretation of the Bible is not ensured by compliance with certain logical rules - grace is necessary, poured out by God through the Church.
Otherwise, we will get the “chaos of interpretations” that we see in Protestant confessions. Ask your interlocutor - where does this chaos of opinions come from, often on very important issues? This only demonstrates that quotations from the Bible by themselves do not prove anything - fragments from the books of Holy Scripture can be cited to support many, even completely opposite positions. And vice versa, the same verse can be interpreted in exactly the opposite way - for example, the words of Christ “let the children come to me” - for the Orthodox serve as an argument in favor of infant baptism, i.e. children are not alien to the action of grace, and for Baptists this is an argument that children, even without baptism, are not alien to God, since they have a different view of the meaning of baptism.. Of course, an Orthodox Christian should know those quotations from the Bible that are cited in defense of Orthodox teaching (they are easy can be learned from books like the “Anti-sectarian Catechism” by Father Nicholas Varzhansky), but you should remember that these quotes as such will not be so conclusive for Baptists - at best, they will convince your opponent that you are no worse acquainted with the Bible than he is.
It must be borne in mind that despite good knowledge of the biblical text, the vast majority of Baptists have a poor understanding of the history of the Church, or even, for example, the history of the Reformation. That is why among Baptists they want such fakes as, for example, the film “For the Orthodox about Orthodoxy”, which in terms of the level of lies is quite comparable to Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”, and in its intellectual narrowness is somewhat reminiscent of Soviet atheistic propaganda. In this situation, it is necessary to remind Baptists that Christ promised that His Church will always exist, its existence in history is continuous (see Matt. 16, 18). However, Baptistism appeared only in the 17th century, and many of its doctrines were not known during the first 15 centuries of Christian history - so, the Church, contrary to the words of Christ, was mistaken in fundamental questions of faith for 1500 years?! Your interlocutor will most likely say that the Church was not mistaken in the dogmas about the Trinity and the God-manhood of Christ, and the rest, they say, is unimportant... But how does it matter when Baptists accuse the Orthodox of idolatry and paganism? If they are “serious”, then how can one trust such a Church at all? But it was the Church that approved the New Testament canon, it was she who defended the truth of the Trinity of God and the doctrine of the Incarnation in the fight against heretics. How could the “pagans and idolaters” do this?! Conclusion - the Church remained the Body of Christ all this time.
Finally, Baptists profess the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, but it was not known to Christians until Martin Luther, i.e. until the 16th century. Luther himself considered it the most important dogma of Christianity. It turns out that the Church of 15 centuries did not understand at all how a person is saved? So, the gates of hell defeated her? And here you can draw the attention of your interlocutor to the person who first began to talk about salvation by faith. As you know, Martin Luther was far from a saint - he constantly cursed his opponents in the most obscene terms, proposed exterminating Jews and killing German peasants. Can we believe that this particular person, for the first time in 15 centuries, correctly understood the doctrine of salvation? Another leader of the Reformation, Calvin (and Baptistism grew out of his teachings and still adheres to many doctrines associated with Calvin), persecuted dissenters in Geneva as best he could, not even stopping at the death penalty. Of course, many crimes could also be committed in the name of Orthodoxy. But here we are talking about people who laid the fundamental foundations of Protestant dogma - after all, all Protestants, despite many disagreements, still believe in salvation by faith. And if the people who “discovered” this dogma are like that, then how can you continue to listen to their opinion, passing it off as evidence of Scripture?
The defense of the Orthodox doctrine of salvation in a dispute with Baptists can be structured as follows: 1. Emphasize that the words of St. Apostle, beloved by Protestants. Paul about “justification by faith” (Rom. 3:28) mean that a person is saved independently of “the works of the law,” i.e. Old Testament law. The apostle speaks only against “earning salvation”, relying on works, but he nowhere claims that a person does not participate in his salvation. Ap. James, on the contrary, emphasizes that faith without works is dead. 2. Christ's parable of the sower insists that although people can believe in Christ, they regularly fall away from the faith and do not bear fruit, i.e. salvation depends on a person, and he can either accept it or reject it, but even after accepting this gift, he then often rejects it - therefore, there can be no question of guaranteed salvation. 3. Christ’s words that the believer is saved are spoken by him either after healing, and therefore do not have the meaning of eternal salvation, or it is implied that the believer is a person living by Christ, and not just mentally accepting Him, i.e. salvation depends on works.
4. The Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is full of calls to constantly repent, consider yourself a sinner and keep the commandments - what would be the point if salvation was immediately guaranteed without the possibility of losing it? 5. Russian Baptists admit that salvation can still be lost, but ask them - are you sure that you are saved? They will say “yes, let’s go to heaven right now” - this means they are sure that despite their sins, they will still be in heaven, i.e. You can sin, but this does not affect your guaranteed salvation and does not lead to falling away? 6. Baptists claim that at the very first moment of turning to God, when they accepted Christ as a “personal Savior” (pay attention to this expression - the Church has nothing to do with it, God saves everyone one by one), God forgave them all their sins, and therefore, although they sin, their sins are not such for God. The question arises: firstly, how can all sins be forgiven in advance? Of course, nothing is impossible for God, but the doctrine according to which you are forgiven sins that have not yet been committed, for which you have not repented, looks very strange! It turns out that God forgives in advance uncommitted murders, thefts, and adulteries? But then you can safely sin! Of course, Baptists will not be able to draw such an absurd conclusion, but does this not mean that their original doctrine is incorrect? If a student is told before starting his studies that he is guaranteed a diploma with honors, and his studies will have virtually no effect on this, will he study with full diligence? 7. If salvation does not depend on man (and this is what the doctrine of salvation by faith advocates), then Baptists, like other Protestants, have only one way out - the doctrine of strict predestination. This means that God does not want to save everyone for reasons incomprehensible to us. Can Baptists believe in a God who is love, but not for everyone, but only for the elect?
It is important for the Orthodox to clarify that the Church has never believed that salvation can be “earned.” Orthodoxy has never believed that a person can have “merits” before God. The Catholic Church was inclined towards this, but in Orthodoxy, for example, there were no indulgences. Orthodox Christians do not believe in merit, but in the fact that a person interacts with God in the process of salvation and freely participates in his own salvation. And therefore, you cannot be sure in advance that you will be in heaven - a person can fall away from God at any moment. Yes, salvation is by grace - Orthodox and Baptists agree here - but mercy is always unobtrusive and non-violent - it does not save if you don’t want it. And in order to dispose a person to grace, to drive out sin, certain “exercises” are necessary, which in themselves do not save, but with the help of God, they turn out to be useful - hence fasting in Orthodoxy and other “asceticism”. A Baptist does not need this, because... The doctrine of instant salvation believes that sin has already been cast out and will no longer plague you. The Orthodox remember the words of the Apostle - “if we say that we have no sin, the truth is not in us.”
Baptists often raise the issue of venerating saints and icons, accusing the Orthodox of paganism and idolatry. In this case, the Orthodox should immediately ask: has the Baptist read in at least one Orthodox book calls to worship wood and pray to paints? Does he seriously think the Orthodox are so stupid? Make a reservation that we are arguing about the actual position of Orthodoxy, and not about the “opinions of grandmothers.” It is also necessary to clarify that the commandment “thou shalt not make for yourself an idol” also presupposes that one must not make “any images” - but for some reason Baptists easily violate this clause and depict Christ or biblical events.
Here it is necessary to explain how the Orthodox differentiate between veneration, which belongs to the icon (image) and worship, which is due only to God (the prototype). We wait only for God for salvation, but He gives it to us through the Church - through His saints and His shrines. He doesn’t need this type of salvation—we need it. In the Bible we see that people are saved through people - don't Baptists read the Scripture that came to us through His saints - God did not dictate the Gospel to them directly.. In the same way, we see that God saves people through material shrines - for example, the ark and the temple, as it was in the Old Testament. Baptists say - but in the New Testament there are no direct commands to paint icons! Yes, no... But there are also no direct commands to celebrate Easter and Christmas, and there are no hymns from the Baptist collection either. It’s just that all Christians understand: what is acceptable is what is not prescribed by letter, but corresponds to the spirit. So the veneration of shrines corresponds to the Christian spirit - a person consists of soul and body, therefore it is natural for him to be sanctified through material shrines - hence the temple, icons, water in baptism, bread and wine in communion; hence the ritual - through material things we show the beauty of the Heavenly Kingdom. Where rituals have been abandoned, the service is simply boring.. It’s like New Year without a tree, sparklers and gifts - in black suits and with gloomy faces..
In the Old Testament, believers knelt before the ark and the temple; today Christians kneel before icons. When Baptists ask, isn't this idolatry? - ask them - if a young man kneels in front of a girl, confessing his love to her, is this idolatry? Are American Protestants kneeling in front of their country's flag and kissing it committing idolatry? Or do they just love their homeland? Why is it possible to kneel in front of the US flag, but not in front of the icon of Christ?
As for prayers to the saints, here we must immediately tell Baptists - the Orthodox do not believe in certain “merits” of the saints, they do not deify them, and do not put them on the same level as Christ - any prayer to the saints is a prayer to Christ - we ask the saints to pray to our Lord , so that He would help us with His grace, and not the saints would help us with some of their own magical powers. Let's ask the Baptists - do you ask your fellow believers to pray for you, realizing that your prayers alone are not enough, because you are far from being as holy as Christ? In the Church, everyone prays for each other, and everyone asks each other for prayers. The Orthodox simply claim that this prayerful connection between members of the Church is not interrupted even when the saints find themselves in heaven - thanks to Christ, thanks to the fact that we are one body in Christ, the saints pray for us in heaven, and can hear our prayers addressed to him on earth, which is confirmed by the entire history of the Church. If Baptists are confident that a mother’s prayer for children has great power before God, and they ask their mothers to pray for them, then why do they deny this to the Mother of Christ Himself?? These are the ones whose prayers are strong before God, stronger than any mother on earth...
It is very important to discuss the issue of sacraments with Baptists. You can limit yourself to only baptism and communion. The main disagreement is this: Baptists do not need the sacraments for salvation. This is their delusion. After all, if baptism and communion are not necessary for our salvation, then why should we be baptized and receive communion at all? Christ commanded us to baptize all nations and give communion to everyone - but according to Baptism, we can easily do without this.. Does this mean that Christ commanded nonsense?? Baptists say to this that the main thing is faith... Yes, faith, but faith presupposes that we believe that Christ commanded us to perform baptism and communion for our sanctification and salvation - otherwise it turns out that our faith is absurd. Believe that baptism and communion will not affect your salvation in any way, believe that they are only signs - this is the Baptist creed! In connection with this understanding, it is difficult for Baptists to understand why we baptize children - after all, a child cannot “indicate” that he is already saved. But the Orthodox have a different meaning - in baptism a person is given grace for liberation from sin, giving birth to eternal life. Baptists will not argue for long that children are not strangers to God’s grace and need salvation, but then why not baptize them with a baptism of grace? For Orthodox Christians, baptism is a healing medicine: would Baptists agree to give their child medicine when he is sick, although the child does not know what he is sick with or how the medicine works? This is why the Orthodox advocate infant baptism.
Likewise with the sacrament. Just eating bread and drinking wine, remembering the suffering of Christ - this is important, of course. Only then is it better to read the Gospel. But to commune with Christ Himself is necessary for salvation, because if we are not one with Christ, then how will we enter heaven with Him? Simple bread and wine will not save anyone - only the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself... So communion is appropriate only if it is a saving sacrament, and not just a “rite of breaking bread”, in which Christ, in fact, is not present. Where the saving sacraments have disappeared, we see a dull service, pop music, and very bad poetry. Did the Lord really come down to earth to give birth to only this?
1. Prot. Nikolai Varzhansky. Anti-sectarian catechism. - M., 2001.
2. The sword of the Spirit. – Krasnodar, 1995.
3. Deacon Andrey Kuraev. Protestants about Orthodoxy. Heritage of Christ. 10th edition. – Klin, 2009.
4. Priest Daniil Sysoev. A Protestant's walk through an Orthodox church. – M., 2003.
5. Deacon Sergius Kobzar. Why can’t I remain a Baptist and a Protestant in general. – Slavyansk, 2002.
6. Deacon John Whiteford. Scripture alone? – Nizhny Novgorod, 2000.
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