Whatever happened...
...to the real Baptist church? Baptists were once fiery non-conformists who insisted on freedom of conscience, but today they're largely a bunch of right-wing theocrats. Roger Williams must be turning in his grave like a top.
Baptist Struggles In Blue-State Birthplace
Baptist Struggles In Blue-State Birthplace
Most Baptist factions trace their roots to Roger Williams, the 17th-century minister who founded Rhode Island and organized the nation's first Baptist congregation in 1638. The uncompromising provocateur was banished from Massachusetts for attacking state-sponsored Puritan congregations, demanding the separation of church and state and arguing that American Indians had property rights.Technorati Tags: Baptist, Williams, Providence, RI
Williams was fiercely committed to what he called "soul freedom" _ or freedom of religion. Just months after organizing the first Baptist congregation, he left it and rejected the institutional church altogether.
