Baptist? Not What You Think.

What Baptist Means to Us – and Why Baptist and Liberal can go hand in hand
Core Baptist principles are freedom and autonomy.  At Judson that means that our Congregation can, and does, reflect the perspectives, personality and spirituality of the people who come here.

Baptists are highly autonomous, believing authority flows upward from the congregation rather than downward from a hierarchy, with each believer responsible for their own understanding of scripture.

At the core, each congregation makes its own decision based on its own community.

Judson is American Baptist, very different from Southern Baptist, and here’s what that means.
Today American Baptists actively support many progressive issues, including strict separation of church and state, religious freedom and respect for the faith of others, racial, cultural and theological diversity, and the welcoming of all.

Judson is very committed to welcoming people of all orientations, providing a place to explore, share and celebrate spirituality.

Here’s a little Baptist and American Baptist History you might not know.
Baptists emerged in the early 17th century by rejecting the authoritarian structure of the Church of England, and were among the first to come to America searching for religious freedom.  In defiance of Puritan law, they refused to have their children baptized, contending there is no scriptural basis for infant baptism, only for believers reaching the age of reason. They were thought of as dangers to civil and political safety, and apt to bring the wrath of God upon the community, and many were imprisoned rather than allow their infants to be baptized.

During the Revolutionary War, Baptist clergy served as Chaplains to Washington’s troops. In 1845, Baptists separated over the issue of slavery, and the Southern Baptists were formed, while the Northern Baptists, later renamed American Baptists, condemned slavery. In the 1880’s, Baptists were among the first to ordain women.