Metropolitan Tabernacle
The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. Its first pastor was William Rider; other notable pastors and preachers include Benjamin Keach, John Gill, John Rippon and C. H. Spurgeon. The Tabernacle still worships and holds to its Biblical foundations and principles under its present pastor, Peter Masters. History The Tabernacle fellowship dates back to 1650, when the English Parliament banned independent Christian organisations from meeting together. This congregation braved persecution until 1688, when the Baptists were once again allowed to worship in freedom. At this point, the group built their first chapel, in the Tower Bridge area. In 1720, John Gill became pastor and served for 51 years. In 1771, John Rippon became pastor and served for 63 years. During these times, the chu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reformed Baptist
Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith was written along Calvinist Baptist lines. The name “Reformed Baptist” dates from the latter part of the 20th Century to denote Baptists who have adopted elements of Reformed theology, but retained Baptist ecclesiology. Variations Strict Baptists Groups calling themselves Strict Baptists are often differentiated from those calling themselves "Reformed Baptists", sharing the same Calvinist doctrine, but differing on ecclesiastical polity; "Strict Baptists" generally prefer a congregationalist polity. The group of Strict Baptists called Strict and Particular Baptists are Baptists who believe in a Calvinist interpretation of Christian salvation. The Particular Baptists arose in England in the 17th century and took their name from the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth, London Borough of Lewisham, Lewisham, London Borough of Merton, Merton, London Borough of Richmond, Richmond, London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and London Borough of Wandsworth, Wandsworth. South London originally emerged from Southwark, first recorded as ''Suthriganaweorc'',David J. Johnson. ''Southwark and the City''. Oxford University Press, 1969. p. 7. meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey'. From Southwark, London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent. Emergence and growth South London began at Southwark at the southern end o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ecclesiastical Separatism
Ecclesiastical separatism is the withdrawal of people and churches from Christian denominations, usually to form new denominations. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the separating puritans advocated departure from the Church of England. These people became known as dissenters. Ecclesiastical separatism has also been associated with Christian fundamentalism (at times other forms of theological conservatism), and such withdrawals have been mainly due to (perceived) theological liberalism within the established state churches, national churches, and mainline Protestant denominations. They have often been accompanied by a refusal to have any further association with the parent denomination/Christian fellowship with its members, or denominations cutting ties of full communion or altar and pulpit fellowship with other denominations. George Marsden notes that Arno C. Gaebelein was one of the early fundamentalist leaders to advocate ecclesiastical separation in a conference address in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free Offer Of The Gospel
The free offer of the Gospel, sometimes called the well-meant offer of the gospel, in Christian theology, is the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ to all people. It is generally accepted by Calvinists, but rejected by a few small Reformed denominations, such as the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Australia, the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands (Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten in Nederland, abbreviated GGiN) and also by some English Strict Baptists of longer standing, such as John Gill and, later, the Gospel Standard Strict Baptists. The free offer of the Gospel was a point that the Marrow Brethren The Marrow Brethren or Marrowmen were a group inside Presbyterianism, the name is derived from the book " Marrow of Modern Divinity", which caused a controversy in the Scottish Church, called the Marrow Controversy. The leading figures of the Marr ... sought to defend, seeing the high Calvinists who denied the doctrine as misgui ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. It emphasizes the sovereignty of God and the authority of the Bible. Calvinists broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinists differ from Lutherans (another major branch of the Reformation) on the spiritual real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, theories of worship, the purpose and meaning of baptism, and the use of God's law for believers, among other points. The label ''Calvinism'' can be misleading, because the religious tradition it denotes has always been diverse, with a wide range of influences rather than a single founder; however, almost all of them drew heavily from the writings of Augustine of Hippo twelve hundred years prior to the Reformation. The na ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry. The English word is taken from the Latin ''seminarium'', translated as ''seed-bed'', an image taken from the Council of Trent document ''Cum adolescentium aetas'' which called for the first modern seminaries. In the United States, the term is currently used for graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for high schools. History The establishment of seminaries in modern times resulted from Roman Catholic reforms of the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent. These Tridentine seminaries placed great emphasis on spiritual formation and personal discipline as well as the study, first of philosophy as a base, and, then, as the final crown, theology. The oldest C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, asks and seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and, in particular, to reveal themselves to humankind. While theology has turned into a secular field , religious adherents still consider theology to be a discipline that helps them live and understand concepts such as life and love and that helps them lead lives of obedience to the deities they follow or worship. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument ( experiential, philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Downgrade Controversy
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day. Spurgeon was pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years. He was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later he left the denomination over doctrinal convictions. While at the Metropolitan Tabernacle he built an Almshouse, the Stockwell Orphanage and encouraged his congregation to engage actively with the poor of Victorian London. He also founded Spurgeon's College, which was named after him posthumously. Spurgeon authored sermons, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ... and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christianity, Christian teaching by taking into consideration modern knowledge, science and ethics. It emphasizes the importance of reason and experience over doctrinal authority. Liberal Christians view their theology as an alternative to both atheistic rationalism and theologies based on traditional interpretations of external authority, such as the Bible or sacred tradition. Liberal theology grew out of the Enlightenment's rationalism and Romanticism of the 18th and 19th centuries. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was cha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baptist Union Of Great Britain
Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. History The Union was founded by 45 Particular Baptist churches in 1813 in London. In 1832, it was reorganized to include the New Connection General Baptist Association (General Baptist churches) as a partner. Stephen R. Holmes, ''Baptist Theology'', A&C Black, UK, 2012, p. 51 In 1891, the two associations merged to form a single organization. General Baptists and Particular Baptists work was united in the Baptist Union in 1891. The Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1908. In 2013 Lynn Green was elected, with no votes against, as the first female General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain to commence in September 2013. She was received at the vote by a standing ovation and her inaugural message included "I believe that o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |