Historia ya Wabaptisti na Maendeleo ya Dhehebu — Sehemu ya 7: Mgawanyiko na Ukuaji: Mkutano Mkuu wa Wabaptisti wa Kusini, Wabaptisti Waamerika Weusi, na UlandmarkBaptist History and Denominational Development — Unit 7: Division and Growth: The Southern Baptist Convention, African American Baptists, and Landmarkism

Mstari MkuuKey Verse

"Hakuna Myahudi wala Myunani, hakuna mtumwa wala mtu huru, hakuna mwanamume wala mwanamke; maana nyote mmekuwa mmoja katika Kristo Yesu." (Wagalatia 3:28, SUV)"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28, NKJV)

Malengo ya KujifunzaLearning Objectives

Utakapomaliza kipindi hiki, unapaswa kuweza:When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Kueleza ukuaji wa Wabaptisti nchini Marekani mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1800 na mashirika waliyounda.1. Describe the growth of Baptists in the United States in the early 1800s and the organizations they formed.

2. Kueleza sababu za karibu za kuanzishwa kwa Southern Baptist Convention (Mkutano Mkuu wa Wabaptisti wa Kusini) mwaka 1845, na kueleza kwa haki jinsi wanahistoria wanavyozipima.2. Explain the immediate causes of the founding of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, and state fairly how historians weigh them.

3. Kueleza historia ya mwanzo ya Wabaptisti Waamerika Weusi, ukitaja George Liele, Andrew Bryan na National Baptist Convention ya 1895.3. Describe the early history of African American Baptists, naming George Liele, Andrew Bryan and the National Baptist Convention of 1895.

4. Kueleza Ulandmark (Landmarkism): viongozi wake, mafundisho yake makuu na jibu la Kibaptisti kwake.4. Describe Landmarkism: its leaders, its main teachings and the Baptist answer to it.

5. Kueleza pingamizi kuu dhidi ya maelezo ya Kibaptisti kuhusu kipindi hiki na kutoa majibu ya Kibaptisti.5. State the main objections to the Baptist account of this period and give the Baptist answers.

Sauti ya Kipindi HikiThe Voice of This Unit

Kipindi hiki kimeandikwa kutoka ndani ya utamaduni wa Kibaptisti, kwa wanafunzi Wabaptisti. Ni cha kihafidhina. Tunashikilia kwamba Biblia ni Neno la Mungu lililopumuliwa na Mungu na ndiyo mamlaka yetu ya mwisho. Baadhi ya sehemu za hadithi hii zinauma, kwa sababu zinaonyesha Wabaptisti wakishindwa kuishi kwa Neno. Tunazisimulia kwa uaminifu, kwa sababu kanisa linalositiri dhambi zake haliwezi kuzitubia. Wanahistoria wanapotofautiana, tunaeleza mitazamo yao kwa haki kisha tunatoa jibu la Kibaptisti. Maandiko yasema, "Jaribuni mambo yote; mkamateni sana lililo jema" (1 Wathesalonike 5:21).This unit is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist students. It is conservative. We hold that the Bible is God's inspired Word and our final authority. Some parts of this story are painful, for they show Baptists failing to live by the Word. We tell them honestly, because a church that hides its sins cannot repent of them. When historians disagree, we state their views fairly and then give the Baptist answer. Scripture says, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Ukuaji katika Taifa ChangaGrowth in the Young Nation

Baada ya Mapinduzi ya Amerika, Wabaptisti walikua haraka kuliko karibu familia nyingine yoyote ya Kikristo nchini Marekani. Uamsho Mkuu wa Pili (Second Great Awakening), ulioanza karibu mwaka 1800, ulileta uamsho katika makazi mapya ya mpakani. Wahubiri wakulima Wabaptisti, waliokuwa na elimu rasmi kidogo lakini bidii kubwa, walikwenda pamoja na walowezi, na makanisa yao yakaongezeka. Walisaidiwa na kanuni zilezile tulizozisoma: kanisa la waumini halihitaji ruhusa ya askofu, na kusanyiko lolote linaweza kumwita mhubiri kutoka miongoni mwake.After the American Revolution, Baptists grew faster than almost any other Christian family in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which began around the year 1800, brought revival in the new settlements on the frontier. Baptist farmer-preachers, who had little formal schooling but great zeal, went with the settlers, and their churches multiplied. They were helped by the same principles we have studied: a church of believers needs no bishop's permission, and any congregation may call a preacher from its own midst.

Makanisa yalipokua, yaliunda mashirika kwa ajili ya kazi ya pamoja. Tuliona Triennial Convention ya 1814 kwa ajili ya utume wa nje. Mwaka 1832 Wabaptisti wa Kaskazini waliunda American Baptist Home Mission Society (Jumuiya ya Kimisionari ya Nyumbani ya Wabaptisti wa Marekani) kwa ajili ya kazi ndani ya Amerika. Mikutano ya majimbo ilitokea Kusini na kwingineko. Wabaptisti pia walianzisha vyuo na magazeti. Haya yote yalikuwa vyombo vya hiari, vilivyoundwa na makanisa na vinavyowajibika kwayo.As the churches grew, they formed organizations for common work. We saw the Triennial Convention of 1814 for foreign missions. In 1832 Baptists in the North formed the American Baptist Home Mission Society for work within America. State conventions arose in the South and elsewhere. Baptists also founded colleges and newspapers. All these were voluntary bodies, created by the churches and answerable to them.

Mgawanyiko wa 1845The Division of 1845

Swali la utumwaThe slavery question

Kufikia miaka ya 1840 utumwa ulikuwa ukiligawanya taifa la Amerika, na ulikigawanya Wabaptisti. Kaskazini, Wabaptisti wengi waliamini kwamba utumwa ulikuwa dhambi na walitaka bodi za kimisionari zisiwe na sehemu yoyote ndani yake. Kusini, Wabaptisti wengi walimiliki watumwa, na viongozi wao wengi walitetea utumwa kama unaoruhusiwa na Maandiko. Kwa muda makundi mawili yalifanya kazi bega kwa bega katika jumuiya zilezile, lakini mvutano ulikua.By the 1840s slavery was dividing the American nation, and it divided Baptists. In the North, many Baptists believed slavery was sinful and wished the mission boards to have no part in it. In the South, many Baptists owned slaves, and many of their leaders defended slavery as permitted by Scripture. For a time the two groups worked side by side in the same societies, but the strain grew.

Mwaka 1844 swali lilifikia kilele. Wabaptisti wa Georgia walimweka mmiliki wa watumwa kama mgombea wa umisionari, na Wabaptisti wa Alabama waliiuliza bodi ya Triennial Convention kama mmiliki wa watumwa angeweza kuteuliwa. Jibu kutoka Kaskazini lilikuwa kwamba bodi haziwezi kumteua mmiliki wa watumwa. Wabaptisti wa Kusini walilichukua hili kama kukataa kuwatendea kama sawa. Mwezi wa Mei 1845, wajumbe kutoka Kusini walikutana Augusta, Georgia, na kuunda Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). William B. Johnson wa South Carolina alikuwa rais wake wa kwanza. Chombo kipya kilikuwa na Bodi ya Utume wa Nje huko Richmond, Virginia na Bodi ya Utume wa Nyumbani huko Marion, Alabama. Wabaptisti wa Kaskazini waliendelea na jumuiya zao wenyewe, na mwaka 1907 Northern Baptist Convention iliundwa, ambayo leo ni American Baptist Churches USA.In 1844 the question came to a head. Baptists in Georgia put forward a slaveholder as a missionary candidate, and Baptists in Alabama asked the Triennial Convention's board whether a slaveholder could be appointed. The answer from the North was that the boards could not appoint a slaveholder. Southern Baptists took this as a refusal to treat them as equals. In May 1845, delegates from the South met in Augusta, Georgia, and formed the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). William B. Johnson of South Carolina was its first president. The new body had a Foreign Mission Board at Richmond, Virginia and a Domestic Mission Board at Marion, Alabama. Northern Baptists continued their own societies, and in 1907 the Northern Baptist Convention was formed, which is today the American Baptist Churches USA.

Wanahistoria wanazipimaje sababu?How do historians weigh the causes?

Wanahistoria wanapima sababu tofauti, na tunapaswa kueleza mitazamo yote miwili.Historians weigh the causes differently, and we should state both views.

Wengine, wakiwemo wanahistoria wengi wa kisasa, wanasema kwamba utumwa ndio ulikuwa sababu kuu. Mgawanyiko ulikuja pale Kusini iliposisitiza haki yake ya kuteua wamiliki wa watumwa kuwa wamisionari, na waanzilishi wa SBC walitetea utumwa kwa maneno yao wenyewe.Some, including many modern historians, say that slavery was the central cause. The break came when the South insisted on its right to appoint slaveholders as missionaries, and the founders of the SBC defended slavery in their own words.

Wengine, hasa waandishi wa Kusini wa zamani, walisisitiza mambo mengine: swali la kama jumuiya za kitaifa zilikuwa zikiitendea mikoa yote kwa haki, udhibiti wa bodi za kimisionari, na kanuni kwamba bodi ya kimisionari haipaswi kuweka kipimo cha ushirika kwa jambo ambalo Biblia haliwekei wazi kuwa kipimo. Walisema Kusini ilikuwa ikitetea uhuru wa makanisa, si utumwa wenyewe.Others, especially earlier Southern writers, stressed other points: the question of whether the national societies were treating all regions fairly, the control of mission boards, and the principle that a missionary board should not set a test of fellowship on a matter that the Bible does not clearly make a test. They said the South was defending freedom of the churches, not slavery itself.

Jibu la Kibaptisti ni kukubali ukweli katika yote mawili, lakini kuwa wazi kuhusu jambo kuu. Kichocheo cha karibu kilikuwa mmisionari mmiliki wa watumwa. Waanzilishi walishikilia kwamba Biblia iliruhusu utumwa. Tunaamini walikosea. Maandiko yanalaani kuiba na kuuza wanadamu (Kutoka 21:16; 1 Timotheo 1:10), yanawaita mabwana kuwatendea watumishi kwa haki (Wakolosai 4:1), na katika waraka kwa Filemoni Paulo anamwomba bwana ampokee Onesimo kama ndugu mpendwa, zaidi ya mtumwa (Filemoni 16). Injili inafundisha kwamba katika Kristo wote ni mmoja (Wagalatia 3:28). Kutetea utumwa kutoka katika Biblia lilikuwa kosa kubwa la kuisoma vibaya.The Baptist answer is to accept the truth in both, but to be plain about the main matter. The immediate trigger was the slaveholding missionary. The founders did hold that the Bible allowed slavery. We believe they were wrong. Scripture condemns the stealing and selling of human beings (Exodus 21:16; 1 Timothy 1:10), it calls masters to treat servants justly (Colossians 4:1), and in the letter to Philemon Paul asks a master to receive Onesimus as a beloved brother, more than a slave (Philemon 16). The gospel teaches that in Christ all are one (Galatians 3:28). The defense of slavery from the Bible was a serious misreading of it.

Mwaka 1995, katika maadhimisho ya miaka 150 ya kuanzishwa kwake, Southern Baptist Convention ilipitisha azimio lililokiri mizizi ya Mkutano katika kutetea utumwa, na kuwaomba msamaha Waamerika Weusi kwa ubaguzi wa rangi, wa zamani na wa sasa. Huu ni mfano mzuri wa kile kanisa linapaswa kufanya linapogundua kwamba limetenda dhambi.In 1995, at the 150th anniversary of its founding, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that acknowledged the Convention's roots in the defense of slavery, and asked forgiveness of African Americans for racism, past and present. This is a good example of what a church should do when it finds it has sinned.

Ukuaji wa baadaye wa SBCLater growth of the SBC

Baada ya Vita vya Wenyewe kwa Wenyewe SBC ilikua kwa kasi kupitia Kusini na baadaye kote nchini. Iliunda Sunday School Board (Bodi ya Shule ya Jumapili) mwaka 1891 na Cooperative Program (Mpango wa Ushirikiano) mwaka 1925, mpango ambao makanisa yanaunga mkono utume, elimu na kazi nyingine kupitia njia moja. SBC ikawa dhehebu kubwa zaidi la Kiprotestanti nchini Marekani. Tutakutana na historia yake ya baadaye katika Kipindi cha 8.After the Civil War the SBC grew steadily through the South and later across the nation. It created the Sunday School Board in 1891 and the Cooperative Program in 1925, a plan by which the churches support missions, education and other work through one channel. The SBC became the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. We will meet its later history in Unit 8.

Wabaptisti Waamerika WeusiAfrican American Baptists

Miaka ya mwanzoThe earliest years

Hadithi ya Wabaptisti Waamerika Weusi inaanza kabla ya Vita vya Wenyewe kwa Wenyewe, na baadhi ya sura zake za kwanza ziliandikwa na watu waliokuwa watumwa au waliokuwa wameachwa huru hivi karibuni tu.The story of African American Baptists begins before the Civil War, and some of its first chapters were written by people who were enslaved or only recently freed.

Wakati wa miaka ya 1700, mahubiri ya Kibaptisti ya Uamsho yaliwafikia Waafrika waliokuwa watumwa Kusini, na baadhi yao waligeuka na kubatizwa. Kanisa la Kibaptisti la Weusi liliundwa huko Silver Bluff, South Carolina, katika miaka ya 1770. Mchungaji wake wa kwanza inasemekana alikuwa David George.During the 1700s, the Baptist preaching of the Awakening reached enslaved Africans in the South, and some of them were converted and baptized. A Black Baptist church was formed at Silver Bluff, South Carolina, in the 1770s. Its first pastor is said to have been David George.

George Liele (karibu 1750-1820) alikuwa mtumwa huko Georgia aliyegeuka na kubatizwa, akaachiliwa huru na mmiliki wake, na akatawazwa karibu mwaka 1775. Alihubiri kwa wasikilizaji Weusi na Weupe kuzunguka Savannah. Karibu mwaka 1782 alikwenda Jamaica, ambako alianza kuhubiri na kuunda kanisa la Kibaptisti huko Kingston. Alikwenda kama mmisionari karibu miaka kumi kabla William Carey hajasafiri kwenda India. Liele anastahili nafasi ya heshima katika utume wa Kibaptisti.George Liele (about 1750-1820) was an enslaved man in Georgia who was converted and baptized, was freed by his owner, and was ordained about 1775. He preached to Black and white hearers around Savannah. About 1782 he went to Jamaica, where he began preaching and formed a Baptist church in Kingston. He went as a missionary about ten years before William Carey sailed for India. Liele deserves a place of honor in Baptist missions.

Andrew Bryan (karibu 1737-1812), aliyebatizwa na Liele, alikuwa kiongozi wa Wabaptisti Weusi huko Savannah. Kanisa lake, First African Baptist, lilianzishwa rasmi mwaka 1788. Bryan na watu wake waliadhibiwa na kuteswa kwa kukutana kwa ibada, lakini waliendelea.Andrew Bryan (about 1737-1812), who was baptized by Liele, became the leader of the Black Baptists in Savannah. His church, First African Baptist, was constituted in 1788. Bryan and his people were punished and persecuted for meeting for worship, but they kept on.

Lott Carey (karibu 1780-1828) alizaliwa utumwani huko Virginia, alinunua uhuru wake, na akawa mchungaji Mbaptisti huko Richmond. Alisaidia kuanzisha jumuiya ya kimisionari ya Afrika na mwaka 1821 alisafiri kama mmisionari kwenda Liberia katika Afrika Magharibi.Lott Carey (about 1780-1828) was born into slavery in Virginia, bought his freedom, and became a Baptist minister in Richmond. He helped found an African missionary society and in 1821 sailed as a missionary to Liberia in West Africa.

Wanahistoria wana mjadala mzuri kuhusu dini ya watumwa. Wengine wanaeleza "taasisi isiyoonekana" (invisible institution), ambamo watumwa walikutana kwa siri, mbali na macho ya mabwana, kuabudu kwa njia yao wenyewe. Wengine wanaonyesha kwamba sehemu kubwa ya maisha ya Kikristo ya Weusi yalifanyika katika makanisa yaliyoshirikiwa na Weupe, na kwamba waumini Weusi mara nyingi walikuwa washiriki wa makanisa ya Kibaptisti yaliyoongozwa na Weupe. Yote mawili yalikuwa kweli mahali tofauti. Mpangilio wa kanisa wa Kibaptisti, ambamo kanisa la mahali linaweza kumwita na kumtawaza mchungaji wake mwenyewe, uliwarahisishia Wabaptisti Weusi kuunda makusanyiko yao wenyewe kuliko watu katika makanisa yanayotawaliwa na maaskofu wa nje.Historians have a lively discussion about the religion of the enslaved. Some describe an "invisible institution," in which the enslaved met secretly, away from the eyes of the masters, to worship in their own way. Others show that much of Black Christian life took place in churches shared with whites, and that Black believers often became members of white-led Baptist churches. Both were true in different places. The Baptist church order, in which a local church could call and ordain its own pastor, made it easier for Black Baptists to form their own congregations than for people in churches ruled by outside bishops.

Baada ya Vita vya Wenyewe kwa WenyeweAfter the Civil War

Utumwa ulipoisha mwaka 1865, mamia ya maelfu ya watu walioachwa huru waliondoka katika makanisa yaliyoongozwa na Weupe na kuunda yao wenyewe. Walifanya hivyo kwa sehemu kwa sababu hawakupewa nafasi sawa katika makanisa ya Weupe na kwa sehemu kwa sababu walitaka kuwa huru kuongoza na kuabudu kwa njia yao wenyewe. Makanisa haya yakawa kitovu cha maisha ya jamii ya Weusi, yenye shule, kusaidiana, na uongozi.When slavery ended in 1865, hundreds of thousands of freed people left the white-led churches and formed their own. They did so partly because they were not given equal place in the white churches and partly because they wanted to be free to lead and to worship in their own way. These churches became the center of Black community life, with schools, mutual help, and leadership.

Katika miongo iliyofuata Wabaptisti Weusi waliunda mashirika ya kitaifa. Mwaka 1895, huko Atlanta, vyombo vitatu vya awali viliunganishwa katika National Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. Mwaka 1915 mzozo kuhusu udhibiti wa bodi ya uchapishaji ulileta mgawanyiko, na mwaka 1961 kundi lingine liliunda Progressive National Baptist Convention. Leo familia ya Wabaptisti Waamerika Weusi ni miongoni mwa makundi makubwa zaidi ya Wabaptisti nchini Marekani. Martin Luther King Jr., mchungaji Mbaptisti, alikuwa miongoni mwa waliouongoza harakati ya haki za kiraia ya miaka ya 1950 na 1960.In the following decades Black Baptists formed national organizations. In 1895, at Atlanta, three earlier bodies were joined in the National Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. In 1915 a dispute over control of the publishing board led to a division, and in 1961 another group formed the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Today the African American Baptist family is among the largest groups of Baptists in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist pastor, was among those who led the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Jibu la Kibaptisti kwa swali gumuThe Baptist answer to a hard question

Mtu anaweza kuuliza: kama Wabaptisti wanaamini kwamba wote ni mmoja katika Kristo, kwa nini kuna vyombo tofauti vya Kibaptisti vya Weusi na Weupe? Jibu la kweli ni kwamba mgawanyiko ulitokana kwa sehemu na dhambi na kwa sehemu na uhuru. Wabaptisti Weupe hawakuwakaribisha Wakristo Weusi kama sawa siku zote. Wakati huohuo, Wabaptisti Weusi hawakufukuzwa katika familia bali walijenga taasisi zao wenyewe kwa vipawa vikubwa. Tumaini la Kibaptisti ni umoja wa Wagalatia 3:28, unaoonyeshwa katika ushirika wa kweli. Makanisa na mikutano mingi ya Kibaptisti leo inafanya kazi kuufikia.Someone may ask: if Baptists believe that all are one in Christ, why are there separate Black and white Baptist bodies? The honest answer is that the division came partly from sin and partly from freedom. White Baptists did not always welcome Black Christians as equals. At the same time, Black Baptists were not forced out of the family but built institutions of their own with great gifts. The Baptist hope is the unity of Galatians 3:28, expressed in genuine fellowship. Many Baptist churches and conferences today work for it.

UlandmarkLandmarkism

Ni niniWhat it is

Mkutano ukiwa bado mchanga, harakati nyingine ilitokea ndani yake. Iliitwa Ulandmark (Landmarkism). Jina lake linatoka katika Mithali 22:28, inayoonya dhidi ya kuondoa mpaka wa zamani waliouweka baba. Walandmark walishikilia kwamba desturi za Kibaptisti ndizo mipaka ya zamani ambayo haipaswi kuhamishwa.While the Convention was young, another movement arose within it. It was called Landmarkism. Its name comes from Proverbs 22:28, which warns against removing the ancient landmark that the fathers set. Landmarkers held that Baptist practices were the ancient landmarks that must not be moved.

Viongozi walikuwa J. R. Graves (1820-1893), mhariri wa gazeti la Kibaptisti huko Tennessee, James M. Pendleton (1811-1891), mchungaji huko Kentucky, na A. C. Dayton. Mwaka 1854 Pendleton alichapisha An Old Landmark Re-set (Mpaka wa Zamani Umewekwa Upya), kazi fupi iliyojadili hoja kuu. Mwaka 1880 Graves alichapisha Old Landmarkism: What Is It? (Ulandmark wa Zamani: Ni Nini?)The leaders were J. R. Graves (1820-1893), editor of a Baptist newspaper in Tennessee, James M. Pendleton (1811-1891), a pastor in Kentucky, and A. C. Dayton. In 1854 Pendleton published An Old Landmark Re-set, a short work that argued the main case. In 1880 Graves published Old Landmarkism: What Is It?

Walandmark walifundisha niniWhat Landmarkers taught

Walandmark walifundisha mambo kadhaa.Landmarkers taught several things.

1. Makanisa ya Kibaptisti tu ndiyo makanisa ya kweli ya Kristo. Makanisa ya madhehebu mengine si makanisa kwa maana ya Agano Jipya.1. Only Baptist churches are true churches of Christ. Churches of other denominations are not churches in the New Testament sense.

2. Makanisa ya Kibaptisti yamekuwepo katika mstari usiokatika hadi Agano Jipya, mtazamo unaoitwa mfululizo (succession) (tazama Kipindi cha 2).2. Baptist churches have existed in an unbroken line back to the New Testament, a view called succession (see Unit 2).

3. Ni ubatizo uliofanywa na kanisa la Kibaptisti tu ndio wenye mamlaka. Kuzamishwa kulikofanywa na kundi lingine, kunakoitwa kuzamishwa kwa mgeni (alien immersion), si halali.3. Only a baptism performed by a Baptist church has authority. Immersion done by another group, called alien immersion, is not valid.

4. Meza ya Bwana inapaswa kuchukuliwa tu pamoja na washiriki wa kanisa lako la mahali (desturi inayoitwa ushirika wa kufungwa au closed communion).4. The Lord's Supper should be taken only with the members of one's own local church (a practice called close or closed communion).

5. Kazi ya umisionari inapaswa kufanywa na makanisa moja kwa moja na si kupitia mikutano mikuu au bodi.5. Missionary work should be done by churches directly and not through conventions or boards.

Jibu la KibaptistiThe Baptist answer

Ulandmark haukuwa na makosa yote, na haukuwa sahihi wote. Tunapaswa kuwa wa haki.Landmarkism was not all wrong, and it was not all right. We should be fair.

Nguvu yake ilikuwa heshima yake ya juu kwa kanisa la mahali na kwa ubatizo wa waumini, vyote viwili ni vya kweli kwa Agano Jipya. Uliwakumbusha Wabaptisti wasichukulie uanachama wa kanisa kwa wepesi. Pendleton mwenyewe baadaye aliandika Church Manual (Mwongozo wa Kanisa) (1867), kitabu chenye manufaa na upole ambacho Wabaptisti wamekitumia kwa vizazi.Its strength was its high regard for the local church and for believer's baptism, both of which are true to the New Testament. It reminded Baptists not to treat church membership lightly. Pendleton himself later wrote the Church Manual (1867), a useful and gentle book that Baptists have used for generations.

Udhaifu wake ni mzito. Dai la mfululizo usiokatika wa makanisa ya Kibaptisti haliwezi kuthibitishwa kutoka katika historia, kama tulivyoona katika Kipindi cha 2. Kristo aliahidi kwamba atalijenga kanisa lake na milango ya kuzimu haitalishinda (Mathayo 16:18). Ahadi hiyo ilitimizwa kwa nguvu za Bwana mwenyewe, si kwa kuendelea kuwepo kwa mnyororo wowote wa makanisa ya Kibaptisti. Agano Jipya pia linazungumza juu ya kundi zima la waliokombolewa kama kanisa la Kristo (Waefeso 5:25-27; Waebrania 12:22-23), kwa hiyo kukana kwamba waumini wengine ni wa Kristo ni kwenda zaidi ya Biblia. Wabaptisti wengi wanasema kwamba Wakristo wengine ni ndugu katika Kristo, hata tunapotofautiana kuhusu ubatizo na mpangilio wa kanisa. Kuhusu bodi za kimisionari, Wabaptisti wengi wanashikilia kwamba makanisa yanaweza kushirikiana kwa uhuru kutuma wamisionari, kama makanisa ya Antiokia na Filipi yalivyofanya (Matendo 13:1-3; Wafilipi 4:15-16).Its weaknesses are serious. The claim of an unbroken succession of Baptist churches cannot be proved from history, as we saw in Unit 2. Christ promised that He would build His church and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). That promise was kept by the Lord's own power, not by the survival of any Baptist chain of churches. The New Testament also speaks of the whole company of the redeemed as Christ's church (Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 12:22-23), so to deny that other believers belong to Christ is to go beyond the Bible. Most Baptists say that other Christians are brothers in Christ, even when we disagree on baptism and church order. As for mission boards, most Baptists hold that churches may cooperate freely to send missionaries, as the churches at Antioch and Philippi did (Acts 13:1-3; Philippians 4:15-16).

Mawazo ya Ulandmark yaliwaathiri Wabaptisti wengi Kusini kwa muda mrefu, na baadhi ya makanisa ya Kilandmark yaliondoka SBC katika karne ya ishirini kuunda vyombo vyao wenyewe. Maswali ya ubatizo kwa kuzamishwa na ya Meza ya Bwana yatachukuliwa tena katika Kozi za 2 na 4.Landmark ideas affected many Baptists in the South for a long time, and some Landmark churches left the SBC in the twentieth century to form their own bodies. The questions of baptism by immersion and of communion will be taken up again in Courses 2 and 4.

Dkt. Wayne Cook, mwanzilishi wa seminari hii, anakumbuka mchungaji Mbaptisti wa Kilandmark akimwambia kwamba, kama alivyoelewa, wahubiri wa Kibaptisti wa Kusini walipata mahubiri yao tu kutoka kwa Sunday School Board. Maneno hayo hayakuwa ya haki, lakini yanaonyesha kile Walandmark walichokiogopa: kwamba bodi na mikutano mikuu zingechukua kile kilicho cha kanisa la mahali. Katika makanisa mawili aliyoyachunga kwanza, Dkt. Cook alihudumu karibu na makanisa kadhaa ya Missionary Baptist ambayo, kama alivyoelewa, yalikuwa yamejitenga na Wabaptisti wengine wa Kilandmark karibu miaka ya 1930. Walishikilia viwango vikali vya kujitenga: wanawake hawakuvaa suruali, hawakukata nywele wala kujipaka vipodozi, na washiriki hawakutazama televisheni. Viwango hivyo vilitokana na imani zao kuhusu utakatifu wa kibinafsi, si kutoka kwa mafundisho ya Ulandmark wenyewe, na Wabaptisti wasiozishiriki bado wanapaswa kuheshimu hamu ya dhati nyuma yake ya kujitenga na ulimwengu (2 Wakorintho 6:17; Warumi 14:4). Hata hivyo Dkt. Cook pia aligundua kwamba washiriki wengi wa makanisa yake mwenyewe walikuwa wametoka katika mazingira hayo, na msisitizo juu ya kile kilichokatazwa ulikuwa mkubwa sana hata wakataka kitu tofauti. Hilo ni somo kwa kila mchungaji: utakatifu unaofundishwa tu kama orodha ya makatazo unaweza kuwafukuza watu, wakati utakatifu unaofundishwa kama upendo wa furaha kwa Kristo unawavuta (Yohana 15:11; 1 Yohana 5:3).Dr. Wayne Cook, the founder of this seminary, remembers a Landmark Baptist pastor telling him that, as he understood it, Southern Baptist preachers simply got their sermons from the Sunday School Board. The remark was unfair, but it shows what Landmarkers feared: that boards and conventions would take over what belongs to the local church. In the two Baptist churches he first pastored, Dr. Cook served near several Missionary Baptist churches that, as he understood it, had separated from other Landmark Baptists around the 1930s. They held strict standards of separation: women did not wear pants, cut their hair or wear makeup, and members did not watch television. Such standards came from their convictions about personal holiness, not from Landmark teaching itself, and Baptists who do not share them should still respect the sincere desire behind them to be separate from the world (2 Corinthians 6:17; Romans 14:4). Yet Dr. Cook also found that many members of his own churches had come from that background, and the focus on what was forbidden had been so strong that they wanted something different. That is a lesson for every pastor: holiness that is taught only as a list of prohibitions can drive people away, while holiness taught as joyful love for Christ draws them in (John 15:11; 1 John 5:3).

Pingamizi na Majibu ya KibaptistiObjections and the Baptist Answers

Pingamizi la 1: Mkutano ulioanzishwa kwa kutetea utumwa hauna dai juu ya uaminifu wetu.Objection 1: A convention founded in defense of slavery has no claim on our loyalty.

Jibu letu. Dhambi ya waanzilishi ni ya kweli, na hatuitetei. Lakini kanisa la Kibaptisti halifungwi na mkutano wowote. Kila kanisa ni huru mbele ya Kristo, na ushirikiano ni wa hiari. SBC yenyewe ilikiri dhambi hii mwaka 1995. Chombo kinachotubu si sawa na chombo kinachokana. Kazi ya injili ya SBC, miongoni mwa waumini Weusi na Weupe, inabaki kuwa tunda la kweli la neema ya Bwana, ingawa si sababu ya kusahau dhambi.Our answer. The sin of the founders is real, and we do not excuse it. But a Baptist church is not bound to any convention. Each church is free before Christ, and cooperation is voluntary. The SBC itself confessed this sin in 1995. A body that repents is not the same as a body that denies. The gospel work of the SBC, among both Black and white believers, remains a genuine fruit of the Lord's grace, though not a reason to forget the sin.

Pingamizi la 2: Wabaptisti walishindwa kutenda Wagalatia 3:28.Objection 2: Baptists failed to practice Galatians 3:28.

Jibu letu. Katika visa vingi hili ni kweli, na tunalisema. Dawa si kuacha mstari, bali kuutii kikamilifu zaidi, kama Roho ameyaongoza makanisa mengi ya Kibaptisti kufanya.Our answer. In many cases this is true, and we say so. The remedy is not to drop the verse but to obey it more fully, as the Spirit has led many Baptist churches to do.

Pingamizi la 3: Ulandmark ndio mtazamo pekee thabiti wa Kibaptisti.Objection 3: Landmarkism is the only consistent Baptist view.

Jibu letu. Ulandmark ni thabiti kwa masharti yake, lakini dai lake la mwanzo linategemea historia isiyoweza kuonyeshwa, na unatoa hukumu juu ya makanisa ambayo Biblia haitoi. Imani za Kibaptisti kuhusu ubatizo na kanisa la mahali zinaweza kushikiliwa kwa uthabiti bila huo.Our answer. Landmarkism is consistent in its own terms, but its starting claim depends on history that cannot be shown, and it passes judgment on the churches that the Bible does not pass. Baptist convictions about baptism and the local church can be held firmly without it.

Matumizi ya KichungajiPastoral Application

Wewe ni mchungaji katika kanisa la Kibaptisti katika nchi ya Amerika ya Kilatini. Mtu aitwaye Carlos anaomba kujiunga na kanisa lako. Aligeuka akiwa na miaka 20 katika kanisa la dhehebu lingine, na alibatizwa huko kwa kuzamishwa baada ya kuungama imani. Shemasi mwenye mtazamo wa Kilandmark anasema kwamba Carlos lazima abatizwe tena, kwa kuwa kanisa la Kibaptisti tu ndilo linaloweza kubatiza.You are a pastor in a Baptist church in a country in Latin America. A man named Carlos asks to join your church. He was converted at 20 in a church of another denomination, and he was baptized there by immersion after he professed faith. A Landmark-minded deacon says that Carlos must be baptized again, since only a Baptist church can baptize.

Mchungaji mwenye hekima hatafanya hili kuwa vita. Kwanza, anamsikiliza Carlos na kuuliza kuhusu kugeuka kwake na ubatizo: je, alimwamini Kristo kabla ya kubatizwa, na je, alizamishwa? Pili, anasoma Mathayo 28:19, Warumi 6:3-4 na Matendo 8:36-38 pamoja na shemasi, na kuonyesha kwamba vifungu hivi vinaeleza maana ya ubatizo, muumini aliyezamishwa kwa jina la Mungu wa Utatu. Tatu, anafuata kile ambacho katiba na desturi ya kanisa lake mwenyewe vinahitaji, kwa kuwa uhuru wa kanisa la mahali unamaanisha kila kanisa huamua. Nne, anaeleza mtazamo wa Kilandmark kwa wema kwa kanisa, na hamdhihaki shemasi. Tano, anamkaribisha Carlos kama ndugu katika Kristo kwa njia yoyote kanisa litakayoamua.A wise pastor will not make this a battle. First, he listens to Carlos and asks about his conversion and the baptism: did he trust Christ before he was baptized, and was he immersed? Second, he reads Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-4 and Acts 8:36-38 with the deacon, and shows that these passages describe the meaning of baptism, a believer immersed in the name of the Triune God. Third, he follows what his own church's constitution and practice require, since local church autonomy means each church decides. Fourth, he explains the Landmark view kindly to the church, and does not mock the deacon. Fifth, he welcomes Carlos as a brother in Christ whichever way the church decides.

MuhtasariSummary

Wabaptisti walikua haraka mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1800 na kuunda jumuiya za kitaifa kwa ajili ya utume. Mwaka 1845 utumwa ulileta mgawanyiko, na Wabaptisti wa Kusini waliunda Southern Baptist Convention huko Augusta, Georgia, huku William B. Johnson akiwa rais. Wanahistoria wanapima sababu tofauti, lakini kichocheo cha karibu kilikuwa kama wamiliki wa watumwa wangeweza kuwa wamisionari. Jibu la Kibaptisti ni kwamba kutetea utumwa kutoka katika Maandiko kulikuwa kosa, na SBC iliutubia mwaka 1995. Wabaptisti Waamerika Weusi wanajumuisha George Liele, aliyekwenda kama mmisionari Jamaica karibu mwaka 1782, Andrew Bryan, na Lott Carey, na baada ya 1865 waliunda makanisa yao wenyewe na, mwaka 1895, National Baptist Convention. Ulandmark, ulioongozwa na Graves, Pendleton na Dayton, ulidai kwamba makanisa ya Kibaptisti tu ndiyo makanisa ya kweli na kwamba yana mfululizo usiokatika. Wabaptisti wanaheshimu upendo wake kwa kanisa la mahali, lakini wanaujibu kutoka katika Maandiko. Katika Kristo hakuna mtumwa wala mtu huru, na sisi ni mmoja.Baptists grew rapidly in the early 1800s and formed national societies for missions. In 1845 slavery brought a division, and Southern Baptists formed the Southern Baptist Convention at Augusta, Georgia, with William B. Johnson as president. Historians weigh the causes differently, but the immediate trigger was whether slaveholders could be missionaries. The Baptist answer is that the defense of slavery from Scripture was wrong, and the SBC repented of it in 1995. African American Baptists include George Liele, who went as a missionary to Jamaica about 1782, Andrew Bryan, and Lott Carey, and after 1865 they formed their own churches and, in 1895, the National Baptist Convention. Landmarkism, led by Graves, Pendleton and Dayton, claimed that only Baptist churches are true churches and that they have an unbroken succession. Baptists honor its love of the local church, but answer it from Scripture. In Christ there is neither slave nor free, and we are one.

Usomaji ZaidiFurther Reading

• James M. Pendleton, An Old Landmark Re-set (Mpaka wa Zamani Umewekwa Upya) (1854) na Church Manual (Mwongozo wa Kanisa) (1867), kikoa cha umma.• James M. Pendleton, An Old Landmark Re-set (1854) and Church Manual (1867), public domain.

• J. R. Graves, Old Landmarkism: What Is It? (Ulandmark wa Zamani: Ni Nini?) (1880), kikoa cha umma.• J. R. Graves, Old Landmarkism: What Is It? (1880), public domain.

• H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (Urithi wa Kibaptisti) (1987).• H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (1987).

• Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways (Njia za Kibaptisti) (2003).• Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways (2003).

• David W. Bebbington, Baptists Through the Centuries (Wabaptisti Katika Karne Zote) (2010).• David W. Bebbington, Baptists Through the Centuries (2010).

• Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn na Michael A. G. Haykin, The Baptist Story (Hadithi ya Wabaptisti) (2015).• Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn and Michael A. G. Haykin, The Baptist Story (2015).

Wasilisha mtihani na uone kama umefauluSubmit Exam & Check Pass Anza upyaReset