Views of Baptist Origins, reprise

Back in 2007, I posted a “Views of Baptist Origins” outline. As I looked around the blog, I did not find that I ever posted the “final” version that I used in the booklet A Better Paradigm for the Study of Baptist History? Here it is, below:

Outline of various views of Baptist origins, presented in a chronologically-oriented format.

                I. Apostolic origins (continuation theories)

a.      Continuation of biblical teachings (spiritual succession)

b.      Succession of Baptist churches

                            i.     Church perpetuity

                            ii.     Chain-link succession

1.      Church succession (succession of church organizations)

2.      Apostolic succession (succession of valid ordinations)

3.      Baptismal succession (succession of valid baptisms)

                II. Post-apostolic origins (restoration or non-continuation theories)

a.      Converging streams/Multiple origins

b.      Spontaneous origination

                             i.     Influence of Anabaptists

                             ii.     Outgrowth of English Separatism

See also: 

• The study of Baptist origins
• Classifications of Baptist Historians
• Spontaneous origination of Baptists
• Restoration views of Baptist origins
• Continuation of Baptist churches or baptistic principles
• Why are Baptists still discussing their origins?
• My opinion on continuation/succession

These thoughts were written almost 20 years ago now. I might change a few things if I were writing them today (hopefully I have learned a little something in 18 years). However, I think they are still substantially accurate and representative of my thoughts.

Acts 25:14-22

14-22 Festus solicits Agrippa to hear the case (continued)

Verses 14-15: After Agrippa and Bernice were there long enough to settle in, Festus brought up Paul’s case to the king Agrippa, recognizing his expertise in Jewish affairs exceeded his own. He laid the foundation as a lingering case that Felix had not resolved, and that “the chief priests and the elders of the Jews” at Jerusalem desired that Festus would pass judgment against Paul (cf. vs. 2-3).

Verses 16-17: Festus did not agree to the Jews’ initial entreaty, explaining the accused would be allowed to “have the accusers face to face,” and have an opportunity to give an answer about the crime with which he is charged. Instead, Festus required the Jews to come to Cæsarea (cf. vs. 4-5) to hear their accusations and Paul’s answer. The Jews as a nation were in subjection to the Romans, and the Roman law took precedence.

Verses 18-19: Festus supposed the Jews would prefer legitimate violations of Romans laws, but rather the accusations were matters of the religious beliefs – “certain questions against him of their own superstition,[1] and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” Festus may not have understood the true significance of this “one Jesus,” but he recognized the controversy between Paul and the Jews revolved around Jesus.

Verses 20-21: Festus was doubtful of the propriety of the objections of the Jewish leaders. When he asked Paul about going up to Jerusalem for trial, Paul appealed as a Roman citizen to be judged by Roman law – “to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus.” Because of this, Festus held Paul over, purposing to send him to Cæsar.[2]

Verse 22: Festus seems to be deferring somewhat to king Agrippa’s knowledge of Jewish customs and laws (cf. v. 26), and how they might figure in to charges in the Roman system. Paul also recognized that Agrippa was an “expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews” (cf. 26:3). Agrippa agrees with Festus that he “would also hear the man myself,” relishing the opportunity to hear about Christianity from one of the primary leaders. They agree to bring Paul in for a hearing the next day, “To morrow.”

---

[1] “their own superstition” (της ιδιας δεισιδαιμονιας), cf. Acts 17:22. The Romans used the term to describe beliefs with which they did not agree. The idea of the resurrection itself was foreign to their own beliefs.
[2] αναπεμπω send, used here as a legal term to transfer to a higher court (cf. Luke 23:7, 11, 15).

Bit-O-Baptist History

Here are some interesting bits of Baptist history from the “Rules of Decorum” of the Ebenezer Church of United Baptists in Smith County, Texas. In October 1849, the church had only recently been organized with nine members by Elders Boley Conner Walters (1802-1856) and Zachariah Rose (1809-1886). They composed a letter to present as a petitionary letter to the Sabine Baptist Association meeting at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Cherokee County, October 6-8, 1849. The letter included a statement of their abstract of principles and rules of decorum. I believe that this Ebenezer Church probably met just south of Arp, Texas, near the location of the Ebenezer Cemetery.

“9th. The members of the church will not commune with any other church who are not our faith & order. Any new or strange preacher coming amongst us will be required to Exhibit his credentials before he is invited to the stand – or satisfactory vouchers of his standing.”

This rule demonstrates strict communion and rejection of non-Baptist preachers for preaching in the church (as well as not rushing to receive Baptist preachers who were not yet known to be sound in the faith). I particularly liked the old phraseology we probably wouldn’t use today, about a “strange preacher coming amongst us. Additionally, the 7th article demonstrates the practice of feet washing was not at all uncommon in our early Texas Baptist history.

“7th. Church meetings shall be held once a month at least for the transaction of Business & shall attend to the Lords Supper & the Example of feet washing as often as she may appoint from time to time.”

This letter was adopted by the Ebenezer Church “August 3rd Saturday 1849.”

---

Note 1: Both of these ministers mentioned above soon left the churches of East Texas. Zachariah Rose returned to the state of Tennessee. B. C. Walters apparently died in 1856.

Note 2: The name “United Baptist” developed out of the union of Regular and Separate Baptist Associations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many churches and associations adopted the term “United” to express this unity. Therefore, many Baptists who are now Missionary Baptists, Southern Baptists, and even Primitive Baptists may have once called themselves United Baptists. It is my inclination (based on “educated guessing”) to think that most of the earlier churches in Texas that emphasized they were “United Baptists” tended toward being pro-missionary but anti-missionary society. Or perhaps they just held on to the name longer than others. However, that is only a generalization that cannot be universally recognized.

Fate does not have the last word

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

“…the hope of redemption to come supplies the rationale for not fearing…the reference to redemption calls to mind all the stipulations for redemption in the Mosaic law. Whatever misfortunes life may have brought, no one need be trapped in them forever. Provision is made for a family member, a friend, or even oneself to pay back the debt, deliver the slave, to commute the sentence. In God’s world, fate does not have the last word.” 

John N. Oswalt, (The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998, page 138) (commenting on Isaiah 43:1)

My trust is in the Lord, Psalm 11

This hymn appeared in The Spirit of the Psalms, simply titled “Psalm XI” since it is a paraphrase in the spirit of Psalm 11.[i] (It is found on pages 15-16 in the 4th edition.) It exudes and exhorts to trust in the omnipotent God, even if “foes for a season” seem to prevail. A true evaluation must be done in light of God and eternity. The author is Henry Francis Lyte, who at the time was described as “Minister of Lower Brixham.” The meter is H. M., which might be sung to the tune Lenox.

1. My trust is in the Lord;

What foe can injure me?
Why bid me like a bird
Before the fowler flee?
The Lord is on his heavenly throne,
Omnipotent to save his own.

2. The wicked may assail,
The Tempter sorely try,
All earth’s foundations fail,
All nature’s springs be dry;
Yet God is in his holy shrine,
And I am strong while he is mine.

3. His flock to him is dear,
He watches them from high;
He sends them trials here
To fit them for the sky:
But safely will he tend and keep
The humblest, feeblest of his sheep.

4. His foes a season here
May triumph and prevail;
But ah, the hour is near
When all their hopes must fail:
While like the sun his saints shall rise,
And shine with him above the skies.

Henry Francis Lyte was born in Kelso, Scotland, on June 1, 1793. He was an Anglican minister. Through much of his life he suffered from poor health. Because of this he made regular trips to various places for relief. He died in Nice, France, on November 20, 1847 at age 54. The English Prize Poem was awarded to Lyte three times. Lyte is perhaps best known for his hymn, “Abide with me: fast falls the eventide.”

---

[i] The Spirit of the Psalms, Or, The Psalms of David Adapted to Christian Worship, Henry Francis Lyte. London: Rivington, Hatchard, Seeley, and Nisbet, 1836.

Should Churches Excommunicate, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Why Churches Should Excommunicate Longstanding Non-Attenders -- “This practice is entirely in accord with the Bible’s teaching on what a church is, what a pastor is, and what biblical love is.”
• What Is Church-Centered Missions? -- “What we believe about the church will determine how we carry out our missions mandate. No agency or parachurch entity can discharge this role.”
• The Value of Hymn Singing -- “Singing hymns like these [biblically faithful hymns] reinforces the Bible’s teaching on God’s love for us while also helping us give expression to our love for God.”
• The Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries -- “Cassina does not make you vomit. Both modern scientific analysis and centuries of regular use by Southerners confirms this.”
• Sexual Anarchy In the United States -- “I first heard someone use ‘sexual anarchy’ with reference for the new male cheerleaders for National Football League teams.”
• Saga on the San Saba -- “The small town of Menard (population 1,300) sits along the blurry line where the Hill Country turns into West Texas.”
• Rick Norris’ “Revised Cambridge KJV’s” (part 2) -- “...a ragged Bible on the cover communicates exactly what Norris really thinks of our ‘grand old Bible’.”
• Rick Norris’ “Revised Cambridge KJV’s” (part 1) -- “Rick Norris was a well known online commenter in bulletin boards and Facebook groups on the subject of editions of the KJB.”
• Graves that Reach for the Stars -- “This site is also well known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897 and the pilot, killed in the crash, was buried here.”
• From Forest to Cup: Crafting the Perfect Yaupon Tea- A Complete Guide -- “It is a great source of polyphenols and flavonoids to help prevent inflammation and cancer”
• Eight Reasons to Study Baptist History -- “5. Because both theology and ecclesiology matter.”
• Early Attack on True Doctrine Upends Catholic and Protestant Historical Argument -- “A correct view of history will not contradict what Jesus said about the perpetuity of His churches. It would not introduce doctrine that did not exist...”
• Counting Down -- “Missile silo owners are fighting rust and ruin to preserve and repurpose subterranean Cold War relics.”
• Article: "To the saints which are at Ephesus": Retrieving the Classic Christian Consensus on the Intended Audience of Ephesians -- “An article published in the Bible League Quarterly, No. 502 (July-September, 2025), 24-33.”

Some teachers ought not be teachers

“For the time when ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God…” Hebrews 5:12

Is it any wonder that churches are unsettled? Any wonder that Christians lack confidence in their Bibles? Any wonder, when teachers of the Bible do not have a clear understanding of and belief in the inspiration of the Bible?

Commenting on Acts 25:13, Richard Longenecker (Acts, p. 343) writes, “Undoubtedly, Luke had no direct knowledge of what was said in private between a Roman governor and the king of a neighboring principality.” Were this an introduction to revealing that Luke would not know this, but knew this because God knew and inspired Luke to write it down – it would serve to strengthen believers. However, it was instead an introduction to how “the gist of what was discussed would certainly have been evident from their resultant actions.” This suggests not divine inspiration, but rather that Luke figured it out due to a logical deduction. Too many of our modern commentaries are filled with such implications, suggesting that the Scriptures are the work of human skill instead of divine revelation.

Acts 25:13

Festus solicits Agrippa to hear Paul’s case

Verse 13: “king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Cæsarea” King Agrippa is known in secular history as Marcus Julius Agrippa and Herod Agrippa II. Agrippa II was a member and last ruler of the Herodian Dynasty. He was born circa AD 28, the great-grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2) and son of Herod Agrippa (Acts 12).[1] Bernice and Drusilla (Felix’s wife) were his sisters. See Josephus, Antiquities, Book XX, Chapter 7.

Five Witnesses to Paul’s Innocence.

“Paul has spoken before the Jewish mob at the Temple (Acts 21:15 to Acts 22:29); he has been taken before the Sanhedrin and addressed the Jewish leaders (Acts 22:30 to Acts 23:35); he has stood before Felix the governor (Acts 24:1-27); he now stands before Festus the subsequent governor (Acts 25:1-12), and he will stand before King Agrippa (Acts 25:13 to Acts 26:32).”[2]

---

[1] Information in Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus suggests that Agrippa II died circa AD 93. “Agrippa II,” E. M. S., in The Oxford Classical Dictionary, N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1948, p. 30.
[2] “The Book of Acts,” Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures, Gary H. Everett, 2013. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ghe/acts-22.html

How far we’ve come

In a recent Facebook group post, I mentioned that the Texas State Sacred Harp Association sponsored a monthly publication called the Sacred Harp Monitor. At the September 1913 session of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, they adopted the Sacred Harp Monitor as an organ “for Sacred Harp singers of the United States. This was the result of a formal resolution read and passed by the Convention at Atlanta, Ga., at its recent session. T. B. Newton, of Woodstock, Ga., moved its adoption…”

In the same issue of the “Monitor” where this is announced (October 1913, p. 7), the editor, Elder M. W. Miracle, did not shy away from talking about “religion” (as some modern singers suggest we must do). He wrote an almost two-page piece about “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” by Samuel Stennett. He says, “Like the children of Israel of old time, who had drank the dregs of Egypt’s bitter and its sweets, the children of Spiritual Israel have been made to realize the vanities of their temporal Egypt, and their eyes of faith are set on Canaan’s fair and happy land…This old sinful nature hangs like a dark cloud between them and the ‘other shore.’ It clogs their weary steps and dulls their spiritual appetites. O but for the sustaining grace and guiding hand of God, they would never reach the right crossing and ‘be forever blest.’ It is sweet to feel that uplifting and guiding hand when we fall, knowing that we never fall so low that His tender hand is not under to raise us up again, and place us on Pisgah’s lofty heights, bidding us to look eastward, northward, southward, and westward and behold the vernal beauties to which we are legal heirs” (Sacred Harp Monitor, October 1913, pp. 8-9). Beginning on the same page as the United announcement (p. 7), Elder Miracle wrote about “Afflictions” (see picture below).

Affliction though they seem severe,
Are oft in mercy sent;
They stopped the prodigal’s career,
And caused him to repent.

How far we’ve come from Atlanta 1913!

The hem of his garment

Commenting on the woman who had an issue of blood (Luke 8), John Boys wrote that we learn “not to put any trust in the reliques of Saints, or impute any saving vertue to the vestiments of our Saviour. For the vertue which healed her went not out of any coat, but out of Christ immediately: he said not, there is vertue proceeded from my vesture, but I perceive that vertue is gone out of me, Luk. 8.46.  There was no great or extraordinarie vertue in his garments after his death, when the souldiers had parted them among them; nor in his life when he wore them, for the people that thronged him, received no benefit by them, but onely shee and they that touched him by faith. … Now the hemme of his humane nature was his passion, and his passion was a sacrifice for our sinne; so that to touch the hemme of his garment, is nothing else, but to beleeve with Paul, that Christ Jesus came into the word to save sinners, of whom I am chiefe.”

John Boys, The Works of John Boys, Imprinted for William Ashley, 1629, page 556

Hallelujah, he is risen

The words and music of this song were written by Philip Paul Bliss (1838 – 1876). “Hallelujah, He Is Risen” was written in the spring of 1876. The song “was first sung by him on Easter afternoon, 1876, in the Court House Square of Augusta, Georgia,” where a crowd gathered to hear the evangelist Major Daniel Webster Whittle. Memoirs of Philip P. Bliss (edited by Whittle, New York, NY: A. S. Barnes & Company, 1877, p. 143) states, “None who were there will ever forget the radiant face, or the triumphant, ringing tones with which he sang—He is risen, He is risen, Living Lord and coming King.” The following December, Philip Bliss and his wife lost their lives in the tragic Ashtabula (Ohio) Train Bridge Disaster.

The song apparently first appeared in print in 1876 in Gospel Hymns No. 2, edited by P. P. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey. It is song No. 50 and pairs below it the Bible text “He is not here, for he is risen, as he said.”—Matthew 28:6. This is a nice hymn text on the resurrection that probably should see more use than it does.

1. Hallelujah, He is risen!
Jesus is gone up on high!
Burst the bars of death asunder,
Angels shout and men reply:
He is risen, He is risen,
Living now, no more to die.
 
2. Hallelujah, He is risen!
Our exalted Head to be;
Sends the witness of the Spirit
That our advocate is He:
He is risen, He is risen,
Justified in Him are we.
 
3. Hallelujah, He is risen!
Death for aye hath lost his sting,
Christ, Himself the resurrection,
From the grave His own will bring:
He is risen, He is risen,
Living Lord and coming King.

Apostrophe Protection, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Century of the Simon -- “The man whose name is on Brenham’s famed Simon Theatre never saw it completed, but the renovated theater still reflects his vision a century later.”
• Apostrophe Protection Society -- “Since 2001, the Apostrophe Protection Society has had a mission to preserve the correct use of this important, though much misused, item of punctuation.”
• Can Anyone Take a Biblical, Conservative Cultural Position in the United States today? -- “The only way to combat the cultural reality in the United States is by boldly asserting the biblical and historical belief and practice, and then not back down.”
• “Can Two Walk Together Unless They Be Agreed”: The Origins of the Primitive Baptists, 1800-1840 -- “The writings of Primitive Baptist leaders clearly indicate that they did not see themselves as restoring anything. Rather, they were defending traditional ways of Baptist thinking and practice.”
• If you can’t see the conspicuous it’s because you won’t see it -- “Louis Gaussen, Divine Inspiration of the Bible, published in 1841, 40 years before the notorious novel 1881 Greek NT the pre-critical theology of inspiration was still being articulated.”
• “It was really hard for me to stay Protestant”: On Retrievalism and the Gospel -- “...historical theology must give way to exegetical theology as king of the disciplines. This is not only about the doctrine we hold, though; it is about our method...”
• Lake View Cemetery: One of the Prettiest in the World -- “Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the prettiest garden cemeteries in the world. With more than 115,000 gravestones, it is also huge. If you go, bring your walking shoes!”
• Living the Good Loaf -- “Armed with historical documents detailing the grain varieties grown in Texas in the early 20th century and some hazy information about mills powered by Austin’s Barton Springs in the 19th century...”
• Lodged in Time -- “Castroville, 25 miles west of San Antonio, was settled in the 1840s by immigrants from the Alsace region of France.”
• No, Southern Baptists Have Not “Officially Rejected” the Nicene Creed -- “Matthew Barrett, well-known SBC seminary professor and prolific author, has just published an essay explaining why he is leaving the SBC...he levels more than one broadside against the SBC and unfortunately bears false witness in the process.”
• O, Oh -- “Recently, a reader asked me what the difference was between the word ‘O’ and the word ‘Oh’ as they are used in a King James Bible.”
• Spurgeon’s College, influential Evangelical training center in London, to close after 169 years -- “The trustees stated that ongoing financial challenges — compounded by declining student enrollment and a difficult funding landscape for theological education — had left the college in a precarious position in recent years.”
• The Apparent Cainan Contradiction in Luke 3.36 -- “The scribal error explanation of Cainan at Luke 3.36 is beset with a significant difficulty: the manuscript evidence is clearly opposed to it.”
• The Strange Second Life of Ohio’s ‘Big Basket’ Building -- “At its peak in 2000, Dave Longaberger’s company employed more than 8,200 people, making it one of the primary employers in the Dresden, Ohio area.”
• Unscriptural and Extreme Forms of Separation -- “No doubt separation must occur out of obedience to God and His Word. However, the cancel culture exists with the purpose, not for others, but for self.”
• Why Critical Scholarship Disdains the King James Bible (and Fishermen) -- “The Sanhedrin came to its end in 70AD – the fishermen are still here, fishing.”

Church covenants and Church relationships

Churches should have a covenant relationship. Instead, many churches have consumer relationship.

Covenant relationship.

A covenant is a formal agreement or sincere promise between two or more parties to both act and not act in certain ways. Particularly in a church relationship, this also includes agreeing that they believe and not believe certain teachings. A church covenant relationship, then, is based on mutual agreement or sincere promises between the members of the congregation.

A “church covenant” is based on:

• mutual commitment
• interdependence
• brotherly love

A covenant relationship is a relationship with commitment (Romans 15:5-7; Ephesians 5:21), communication (1 Thessalonians 4:18;; 5:11; James 5:16), concern (John 15:12; Hebrews 13:17), devotion (Romans 12:10; 16:16), determination (Hebrews 10:24-25; Ephesians 4:32), and exhortation (Romans 15:14; 1 Timothy 6:2). A covenant cannot and should not be lightly broken. It is entered by the commitment of two parties (the church & the individual). There is a unified commitment to follow Christ as head and each observe his responsibility one toward another.

Consumer relationship.

A consumer is a person who uses a commodity or service; one who purchases goods and services for personal consumption (benefit). A consumer relationship, then, is based on the provision and consumption of services. When satisfactory service is no longer provided, a new provider is sought out.

A scan of the present “church’s desolation” makes it obvious that many members attach themselves to churches as a consumer in a consumer relationship. They attend the church when it provides the services they desire. When those benefits are no longer being provided, they leave and look for another church.

Question.

Will we choose to follow the Bible, or follow the world?

Acts 25:9-12

6-12 plaintiffs and Paul before Festus in Cæsarea

 Verses 9-10: Festus, as a politician and new governor, wished to curry favor with the Jews. It was the Jews desire to get Paul back to Jerusalem, though the reason was unknown to Festus (cf. verses 2-3). Therefore, he asked whether Paul was willing to go back to Jerusalem and be judged by the Jews. Here “before me” appears to refer to “the charges brought before me today” rather than the idea that he would be judged before Festus in Jerusalem. If agreed upon, it would take place under the imprimatur of Festus, but the judgment made by the Jews. If the Jews were able to execute their plain, there would be no judgment at all. Paul stood his ground. As a Jew he had done nothing wrong – to which he adds to Festus, “as thou very well knowest.” As a Roman citizen, he had the right to judgment under the Roman judicial system.

Verses 11-12: Paul’s appeal to Cæsar. Paul was courageous to stand judgment under Roman law – knowing he had done nothing wrong, and willing to suffer their punishment if they thought he had. “I appeal unto Cæsar…unto Cæsar shalt thou go.” Paul’s appealing to Cæsar was lawful, and God used this as a means to bring Paul to Rome. Some interpreters claim that Paul made a mistake – first, in trusting to the Roman legal system rather than God; and second, in making a legal mistake that prevented Festus from freeing him. However, compare again Matthew 10:17-20.

and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

By God’s providence this appeal set in motion the trip of Paul to Rome – his desire (Romans 1:9-13) and God’s promise (Acts 23:11). He might not travel the best cruise line, but it wouldn’t cost Paul (or the churches) one thin dime.

“God puts it into his heart to do it, for the bringing about of that which he had said to him, that he must bear witness to Christ at Rome, for there the emperor’s court was, ch. 23 11.” Matthew Henry, Commentary

 

“…it was ordered in divine Providence, that he should appeal to Caesar, that he might go to Rome, and there bear a testimony for Christ…” John Gill, Exposition

Agrippa’s statement in Acts 26 (31-32) indicates (1) Paul had engaged in nothing criminal [official recognition of innocence] (2) Paul’s appeal could not/should not be set aside.

Can Two Walk Together?

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). 

A Sacred Harp friend of mine hoped a new revision of The Sacred Harp book undertaken by the Sacred Harp Publishing Company would help bring unity between the Sacred Harp diaspora and the traditional Sacred Harp singers. I don’t doubt his sincerity, but I do doubt his sanity! I can’t imagine how he had come to that conclusion.

The new revision has not brought unity – though I don’t think it technically brought division. Rather it has exposed a deep but veiled division that already existed – a deep oozing wound over which we have been draping a towel while pretending it did not exist. The revision ripped off the towel for full disclosure.

The restroom rhetoric coming from some of the Sacred Harp conventions demonstrates that the Sacred Harp world is divided into two camps that cannot continue to walk together. The Covid clamoring is another controversial topic that reveals we are not headed in the same direction.[i] These are some of the nicer topics, and time would fail me to write about the “Queer Convention” scheduled for New Orleans in February.

A fair number of singings at points beyond still require a negative Covid test (and/or proof of vaccination, etc.) in order for attendees to be “welcomed and affirmed” at their singing conventions.[ii] After five years these folks cannot get beyond COVID-19 fears and restrictions, or…

One wonders whether it could be a clandestine method assured at keeping the most conservative of singers at arm’s length – we welcome everyone (but we don’t want you here)![iii] Tell me it’s not hypocrisy while at the same time explaining to me that 600-700 singers – many from “off summers” where they require publicized Covid policies – piled into Atlanta, Georgia to sing at the United Sacred Harp Musical Association with nary a mention of Covid precautions!

The “restroom rhetoric” is carefully catered to a certain left-leaning worldview. In all the houses in which I have lived in my life, each has had only had one restroom for everyone.[iv] You just go in and lock the door. We didn’t have to dub it as “gender-neutral” – it was just “the bathroom.” I don’t have a problem with that, just with the mindset that must meddle in politics over practicalities in order to force others into agreement, at least tacitly if not in fact.

According to Google AI a “gender-neutral bathroom, also called an all-gender or unisex restroom, is a restroom that can be used by anyone, regardless of their gender identity or sex. These facilities provide a safe and inclusive space for transgender and non-binary individuals…”

Therefore, it seems that the emphasis on “gender-neutral” is a subtle suggestion that transgender and non-binary individuals are affirmed, while conservative Christians still holding to the biblical teaching and worldview of only two genders might not be as welcome.[v] At least their views are not welcome inside and must be left outside the door, effectively demonstrating the intolerance of tolerance!

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Nay. The only way the two camps have been able to “walk together” thus far, is for the Christian camp to keep their heads down, their mouths shut, and their pens silent. Some of us are no longer willing to suffer it to be so. While men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:25), but it is high time to awake out of our sleep and rise to the challenge of defending the Christian nature of the hymns and traditions of The Sacred Harp.[vi]

Perhaps Pastor Kent Brandenburg’s portrait of the larger societal picture can help point us in the right direction:

“The only way to combat the cultural reality in the United States, I believe, is by boldly asserting the biblical and historical belief and practice, and then not back down.”[vii]

---

[i] There is also a third camp trying to straddle the fence; trying to hold hands with two sides that are walking in different directions. They will eventually have to make up their minds to go one way or the other.
[ii] “When you arrive at the registration desk outside the auditorium, we will check you in and confirm your proof of negative COVID-19 rapid test. We will have tests available for those who are not otherwise able to test the morning of each day of the sing. If you are waiting on a test result, we will ask that you remain outside the auditorium until it is complete.” (New England Convention, 2025). “COVID information ● We will have HEPA air purifiers running throughout the singing. ● Masks are welcome, but optional. We respect all who choose to mask! ● Please stay home if you’re not feeling well. If you feel ill after the singing, let us know so we can send an email to the group. (We’ll keep your name anonymous.)” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025). “Day-of negative rapid test required; extra tests will be available. Vaccination required.” (Berkeley Weekly Singing, 2025). “We ask that attendees be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that each attendee provide a same day negative COVID test” (Vermont All-Day, March 2024).
[iii] There has also been the shift from the hospitable “Everyone is welcome” to appeal to various groups that they are specifically welcome: “Whether you are drawn to shape note singing for spiritual, secular, communal, artistic, historic, or other reasons—all are invited! All ages, levels of musical ability, faith traditions, and life experiences are welcome in the ‘hollow square.’” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025) “The New England Sacred Harp Convention is a weekend of joining our voices in song to create sacred harmonies. We represent a breadth of identities related to age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, education, ability, class, and political affiliations. We also recognize that our tradition has historically given power to certain identities while marginalizing others.” (New England Convention, 2019).
[iv] With the possible exception of the earliest houses of my infancy that I do not remember, which may have only had “one long path.”
[v] “There are men’s and women’s restrooms on the ground floor, each with one accessible stall. Since these two are public restrooms, we regret that we will be unable to make them gender neutral, and encourage folks to use the bathroom that feels most comfortable to them. There are additional inaccessible restrooms on the third floor, which we will be able to designate as gender neutral.” (New England Convention, 2025) “There are gendered accessible restrooms on the main level. Single-stall, gender-neutral restrooms are located down a flight of stairs. Singing will take place on the main level.)” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025). “Toilets are downstairs. There are accessible toilets, gendered toilets and gender neutral toilets available.” (Manchester All-Day, 2025).
[vi] Most of us “slept through” and/or had no knowledge of the scholarly paper “Reorienting Space: Queering Sacred Harp Singing” by Jonathon Smith, University of Illinois, presented at the Society for Ethnomusicology 64th Annual Meeting, 2019. According to Google AI, “Smith’s work explores how LGBTQ+ individuals engage with the traditional American shape-note singing practice of Sacred Harp, interpreting it as a way of ‘queering’ the space and its practices” and that “LGBTQ+ singers and communities reinterpret or reshape the meaning and social dynamics of Sacred Harp singing. This involves more than just their physical presence; it’s an act of reorienting the practice itself toward more inclusive, affirming, and personally meaningful ends.” The author and presenter is a Sacred Harp singer and well-known to members of the 2025 revision committee of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company. (These views are presented at greater length in Smith’s dissertation, “Imagined Space in Sacred Harp Singing.”) Also mark (Romans 16:17) The Hymn Society in the US and Canada as an “aider and abettor” of “queering” Christian music. Note, for example, their “Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community.” Shape note singers pitched in: “On Monday, January 13, 2025, the Baltimore Shape Note Singers met at Four Hour Day Lutherie for an evening that combined tradition with a focus on inclusion. The group sang ‘Love Astounding’, a poem by Jeanette M. Lindholm set to the tune ‘Holy Manna’ from The Sacred Harp. This performance was part of the Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community project, recorded in the traditional Sacred Harp style.”
[vii] https://kentbrandenburg.com/2025/08/18/can-anyone-take-a-biblical-conservative-cultural-position-in-the-united-states-today/

The object of attention and flattery

I recently saw an ad for one of these e-bee “soul winning” clinics that had the hosting pastor’s photo along with several of his “credentials,” one of which was the fact that he had seen one third of his converts baptized. It didn’t mention the other two thirds at all, nor did it offer any convincing evidence that even the one third really received Christ. Yet, his e-bee minions flocked to his clinic to hone their “soul winning” skills. Please don’t think I’m trying to sound overly humble with what I’m about to say, because I’m really not. I’m just trying to be honest and get across some helpful truths. How exactly does any decent preacher allow his photo to be published along with lofty words of praise in his honor? I’m dead serious. This sort of vanity is published and promoted continually in fundamental circles, and it appears that most of the brethren are okay with it, but WHY? What kind of man does this, and what kind of people accept it?

James L. Melton, By Their Fruits: Rediscovering a Biblical Standard, p. 18. [e-bee = empty believism]

How Great Was Sodom’s Sin

The hymn and song “How Great Was Sodom’s Sin” appears as No. 178 in Messages of Love Hymn Book: for Gospel, Sunday School, Special Services and Home Singing (St. Louis, MO: Bible Truth Depot, 1920). The tune Bath (Meter 6.6.8.6.8.8.) was written by W. H. Cooke. The author of the words is not given, and currently unknown.

1. How great was Sodom’s sin,
When God, so good and kind,
Must burn the place, and people, too,
Nor leave one thing behind!
O! how could Lot, who saw God’s grace,
Take part in such a wicked place?

2. But Abram was not there,
He loved the Lord too well;
He heard the God of glory call,
And there he would not dwell.
He trusted God—and God was more
To Abram than all Sodom’s store.

3. And when the dreadful day
Of Sodom’s judgment came,
And Lot, who “lingered” in the scene,
Was pulled from out the flame.
Then Abram stood with God apart,
And heard the secrets of His heart.

4. And you, my child, He calls
His glory home to share,—
To know and follow Him while here,
And live with Him up there.
Hark! how He calls—O, linger not,
Nor love this wicked world like Lot.

5. O, listen to His voice,
And trust in His great love;
Down to your little heart it comes,
From His great heart above,
To make you free from all the sin,
And holy, happy, safe with Him.

The tune Bath

Translations of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus

Some resources for folks doing Bible translation research.

English translation of Vaticanus.

• A Literal Translation of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, on Definite Rules of Translation, from the Text of the Vatican Manuscript, 6th edition, Herman Heinfetter [Pseudonym of Frederick Parker]. London: Evan Evans, 1863.

English translation of Sinaiticus.

• The New Testament: Translated from the Sinaitic Manuscript Discovered by Constantine Tischendorf at Mt. Sinai, Henry Tompkins Anderson. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company, 1916.

Other stuff.

• Four Hundred Years of University Printing and Publishing in Cambridge 1584-1984: Catalogue of the Exhibition in the University Library, Cambridge, David McKitterick. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984
• Greek Interlinear Bible (NT) (F. H. A. Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus and the Authorized King James Version translation)

Exhibit 3, Organ Stashed

To accompany previous exhibits (drowned and burned), a brief mention of the organ controversy at the First Baptist Church in Tyler, Smith County, Texas.

One of the deacons had objected so strongly to an instrument of music in the house of the Lord that an organ acquired for the church was put in the baptistry, where it remained for some time. The two sons of the deacon, both good musicians, influenced their father after their conversions to give his consent to bring the organ out of the baptistry for church use.

The incident apparently occurred in the 1850s, as the telling of the incident is placed in the story of the pastorate of J. T. Bledsoe, 1856-1859. This baptistry was not in the church house, as many today, but was in a separate building apart from the church house. “In a large yard surrounded by trees, a brick building, forty by sixty feet, containing a baptistry was erected. Since there was no public water system in the town, the baptistry was never used for its original purpose; the ever-flowing spring continued to be used.” The First One Hundred Years: Centennial Story, the First Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas.

There is a later mention of a reed organ donated in 1878 by Mssrs. Beaird and Hamilton.

Acts 25:6-8

6-12 plaintiffs and Paul before Festus in Cæsarea

Verses 6-7: Festus stayed in Jerusalem a little over ten days, then went back down to Cæsarea. Jews from Jerusalem came down to press their charges against Paul. The day after his return, Festus sat on the judgment seat, called Paul in, and brought the case to account. The Jews charged Paul with many serious crimes (“many and grievous complaints”) but Luke adds of them, “which they could not prove.” It was one thing to charge Paul with many serious crimes, but quite another to prove them..

Verse 8: After the Jews rested their case, Paul “answered for himself.” His initial introductory answer gives the flavor of the charges:

• Paul violated the law of Moses (Neither against the law of the Jews)
• Paul profaned the temple (neither against the temple)
• Paul violated Roman law (nor yet against Cæsar)

Paul asserts that he had not offended in regards to any of these charges.