Baptist History and Apologetics

 This chart illustrates churches that existed before baptists and were coexistent with the Roman Catholic church. Many of these have been reviled by the Roman Catholic church down through history. They have usually made some type of charge of being immoral in some way or another. Mostly this was because these pointed out areas that the Catholic church did not represent biblical or historical Christian faith. The last four columns are markers for primary baptist distinctives.

 

Name
Date
Sola
Scriptura
Regenerate
Church Membership
Baptism
for believers only
Equality of all believers
The Montanists 140 to 180 A.D. ...maintain or restore scriptural simplicity. p.70 Armitage: "The...common with Baptists...membership purely regenerate. p.74 ...Montanism..no essential departure from the faith...the subjects of baptism. p.69 ...gifts of the spirit dispensed to all believers without distinction..priestly dignity of all Christians. p.73
The Novatians 250 A.D. ...Scriptural church discipline..p.77 ...consecrated church membership...p.77    
The Donatists 311 A.D. ...Donatism were the great witnesses for New Testament church membership...p.94 ...essence of the true church consisted in purity and holiness...p.92` ...Austin's...demonstrated that they denied infant baptism...p.96 Independence of the hierarchy...no higher authority then the local church...p.98
The Paulicians 660 A. D.        
The Albigenses 900 A. D to
1500 A. D.
       
The Paterines 1000 to 1200        
The
Petrobrussians*
1104 A. D.        
The Henricians*
The Arnoldists 1139 A. D.        
The Waldenses Before 1120 A. D.        
The Ana-Baptists 1500 A. D.        
**This means that they are here considered together, because they are related.

***This table's content is derived from
Jarrell, W. A. D. D. Baptist Church Perpetuity, or The Continous Existence of Baptist Churches from the Apostolic to the Present Day demonstrated by the Bible and By History., Published by the Author, Dallas, Texas 1894.