The General Baptist Confession of 1660 On July 26,1660, the General Baptists in England presented their “Standard or Brief Confession of Faith” to King Charles II. The statement had been drafted by the General Baptist leaders in March of that year and was designed to clearly outline the movement’s distinctive doctrines, particularly general atonement and believer’s baptism. By this time, the mode of baptism was immersion. Though revised often, the basics of this simple confession served the General Baptists in England and America for the next century and a half. “An Abstract of the Former Articles of Faith Confessed by the Original Baptist Church Holding the Doctrine of General Provision with Proper Code of Discipline” In 1812, Jesse Heath and James Roach were commissioned to revise and reprint the “former Confession of Faith” (of 1660). At this time, the name “Free Will Baptist” had apparently not become official for these remnants of the old General Baptist movement, but it soon would be. Eight of the articles in the “Abstract” were identical to those in the “Standard or Brief Confession of 1660,” and the others were nearly so. The only surprise was in the statement on the question of perseverance. The “Standard” … Continue reading Early Creeds: Setting the Boundaries