Thomas Helwys and Sola Scriptura
The foundational theme of the Reformers’ work was sola scriptura, Scripture alone. Each Reformer exhibited a strong commitment to look to the Scriptures for the truth about all of life. They rightly believed that the Roman Catholic Church’s problems stemmed from its departure from the Word of God as its rule in faith and practice. However, every Reformer struggled between their commitment to sola scriptura and their cultural context....
The Real Force in Education
In 1942, Free Will Baptists founded Welch College to provide a Christian response to secular education. During the previous century, many Christian institutions attempted to retain their Christian identity by requiring chapel attendance or enforcing strict moral regulations on campus while simultaneously rejecting orthodox Christianity in the classroom. Unsurprisingly, almost every major “Christian” institution in America abandoned...
Free Will Baptists: A History of Migrants
At the turn of the twentieth century, very little was known about the development of the Palmer Movement of Free Will Baptists. Since then, historians have gathered and synthesized myriad documents into excellent narrative accounts.[1] Now Free Will Baptist historians need to begin filling in details and applying relevant historical analysis. Our understanding of how Free Will Baptists spread geographically could benefit greatly from...
Is Art Really about Self-expression?
My wife Megan and I were on a date in an establishment that provides three-hour painting sessions with general instruction. From across the room, I heard the teacher reassuring a student, “Art isn’t about rules. It’s about being free and expressing yourself.” As I struggled to paint a realistic forest on my canvas, I thought about how cavalierly the instructor had just rejected and accepted whole philosophical systems without a...
Hannah Dow: Answering the Master’s Call
Sitting on a shelf in the National Association of Free Will Baptists Historical Collection is a thin, bound copy of Hannah Dow’s personal journal from 1843 until 1847. I stumbled across it one day while looking for something else but found myself drawn into this young woman’s story as I scanned through the opening pages. Hannah came to faith during the nineteenth century through the ministry of northern Free Will Baptists (the Randall...
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