It has been way too long since I've blogged!! But I've been thinking more and more how important it is for people to really know what being a Baptist is all about! I see so many churches, many that my personal friends attend, and they are drifting more and more toward Protestantism. The more I think about it the more I realize that it isn't really their fault! Our history has been so corrupted that it's hard to find the truth any more. The history books in our schools state many true facts but, they leave out the stories about the men and women who really did give their lives for true and complete freedom! People like Obadiah Holmes who was whipped almost to death just for preaching the truth and denying infant baptism. Rachel Scammon who for so long prayed for revival in her town that finally came years after her death. John Clarke traveled with Obadiah Holmes and stood trial with him in Massachusetts then went back to England and got a charter from the King for the land we now call Rhode Island. There he started the FIRST Baptist Church in America. (Contrary to the common belief that Roger Williams was the first. He was in fact the second.)
There are so many more I could tell you about. Is there anyone who cares to learn? Is anyone reading this?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
It's Been Awhile!!!
Well it's been too long since I've been on to blog. Sorry folks. A lot of things have been happening lately. I just wanted to get on and let you know that I have been reading a series of books by Gilbert Morris called, The Wakefield Dynasty. These books are amazing!!! This is my fourth time reading them. If you like historical fiction READ THEM!!!! They are very accurate historically.
So I still haven't decided who to write on next. Finding time to knuckle down and do some research has been difficult. I'll do my best to find something for you soon.
So I still haven't decided who to write on next. Finding time to knuckle down and do some research has been difficult. I'll do my best to find something for you soon.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
God's Outlaw
Tonight I watched a movie called God's Outlaw. This movie is about William Tyndale and the hardships he suffered while translating God's word from Greek into English. His strongest desire was to put the Scriptures into the the hands of the Common people of England so that they might read and understand God's Word, but as many of you know it was considered heresy for anyone outside of the Church of England to read or proclaim the Scriptures. People by the hundreds were being imprisoned and burned at the stake just for having Tyndale's New Testament translation or any other books written by him. Eventually Tyndale was betrayed by a "friend", imprisoned, then strangled before being burned at the stake, but he left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.
Tyndale's New Testament translation and much of his translation of the Old Testament are what we have in our Authorized King James Versions today. If men like Tyndale weren't afraid to proclaim the Gospel with threats against their lives then why are so many today afraid to proclaim the Gospel in this our free country, the United States of America! Don't be ashamed of the One you serve. He gave His life for you and many in history have given their lives for him. Don't be afraid to give Him your life. Serve Him!!!
Tyndale's New Testament translation and much of his translation of the Old Testament are what we have in our Authorized King James Versions today. If men like Tyndale weren't afraid to proclaim the Gospel with threats against their lives then why are so many today afraid to proclaim the Gospel in this our free country, the United States of America! Don't be ashamed of the One you serve. He gave His life for you and many in history have given their lives for him. Don't be afraid to give Him your life. Serve Him!!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
An Old Postcard
Hello again Baptist History fans! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted something new, it's just been really hard to decide what to research next. I recently found a copy of a postcard written in 1893 by E. R. Schwindelmeier. He sent this postcard on behalf of a Baptist minister named Kuhlman. Here are the exact words from the postcard. I hope this will stir you as much as it did me.
"Rome, March 24, 1893
Deprived of liberty and light from the depth of the Pope's darkest dungeon Priest Kuhlman cries for help and speedy deliverance to the "American Baptist" of St. Louis. Heretics blood is his drink and the brain of a slain Baptist minister -and God knows how little there is of it- is served him daily as his only food. His execution -burning at the stake- has been set for April 31, a.c.
Is there no ray of hope for him, no braying Ray to come at once to Rome with armed Baptists to deliver him??
E. R. Schwindelmeier"
I don't know if this Baptist minister was ever rescued. I don't know if anyone knows, but I will be doing some research on it. I would like to know the fate of both men, the writer and the prisoner. If you like research this with me and let me know what you can find. Until next time, Thank you for reading The Thoughts of Rachel Scammon.
"Rome, March 24, 1893
Deprived of liberty and light from the depth of the Pope's darkest dungeon Priest Kuhlman cries for help and speedy deliverance to the "American Baptist" of St. Louis. Heretics blood is his drink and the brain of a slain Baptist minister -and God knows how little there is of it- is served him daily as his only food. His execution -burning at the stake- has been set for April 31, a.c.
Is there no ray of hope for him, no braying Ray to come at once to Rome with armed Baptists to deliver him??
E. R. Schwindelmeier"
I don't know if this Baptist minister was ever rescued. I don't know if anyone knows, but I will be doing some research on it. I would like to know the fate of both men, the writer and the prisoner. If you like research this with me and let me know what you can find. Until next time, Thank you for reading The Thoughts of Rachel Scammon.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Info On Next Story
Hey there Baptist History fans! I hope you all enjoyed the story of Obadiah Holmes. If you want to learn more let leave a comment. I can give you websites for some great books on him. I am going to try and invest in more books on Baptist History. Call me old-fashioned but I trust books way more then I trust the internet as far as true facts go. :) I am still trying to decide who I will be doing the story on. If there is anyone or a group of people that you would like to learn more about just let me know and I will be happy to research them for you and give you more information. Until next time and thank you for reading Thoughts of Rachel Scammon!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Obadiah Holmes
Obadiah Holmes was born in Lancashire, England in 1606-7. (His exact date of birth is currently unknown.) His parents names were Robert and Katherine (Johnson) Holmes. When he was around two years of age he was "baptized" for his family was a part of the Congregational Church. Obadiah married Katherine Hyde on November 20, 1630 and they had eight children.
Obadiah Holmes came to America in 1639 and remained a part of the Congregational Church, but soon he became tired of its defficiencies, and so his great search for a True Church began. When his family moved to Rhode Island he met John Clarke, the pastor of the first Baptist Church in America. The church met in the woods there, away from the persecuting eyes of the Congragational Church. Very soon after Obadiah Holmes met John Clarke he was Scriptuarlly Baptized.
In July of 1651 Obadiah Holmes, John Clarke, and John (or some call him James) Crandall travelled to Lynn, Massachusetts to visit the home of William Witter, who because of his health could not travel to the Baptist Church. While holding services in Mr. Witter's home Holmes, Clarke, and Crandall were arrested and kept in prison over night, after being forced to attend services at the Congregational Church. While in the service they refused to remove there hats. After a few minutes the constable forced them to remove their hats. After spending the night in prison they returned to Bro. Witter's home and had the Lord's Supper together. When the magistrate found out they were once again thrown in prison. In order to teach them a lesson the magistrate charged them a fine, five pounds for John Crandall, 20 pounds for John Clarke, and 30 pounds for Obadiah Holmes. If they refused to pay the fine they were to be whipped. A friend payed the fine for Crandall and Clarke. They also offered to pay the fine for Holmes, but Obadiah refused to sign the papers that accepted the fine as payed.
Obadiah Holmes remained in prison from July to September of the same year. This is how his sentence read, "Forasmuch as you, Obadiah Holmes, being come into this jurisdiction about the 21st of the fifth month, did meet at one William Witter's house, at Lynn, and did here privately (and at other times), being an excommunicated person, did take upon you to preach and baptize upon the Lord's Day, or other days, and being taken then by the constable, and coming afterward to the assembly at Lynn, did, in disrespect to the ordinance of God and his worship, keep on your hat, the pastor being in prayer, insomuch as you would not give reverence in vailing your hat, till it was forced off your head, to the disturbance of the congregation, and professing against the institution of the church, as not being according to the gospel of Jesus Christ; and that you, the said Obadiah Holmes, did, upon the day following, meet again at the said William Witter's, in contempt to authority, you being then in the custody of the law, and did there receive the sacrament, being excommunicate, and that you did baptize such as were baptized before, and thereby did necessarily deny the baptism before administered to be baptism, the churches no churches, and also other ordinances and ministers, as if all was a nullity; and did also deny the lawfulness of baptizing of infants; and all this tends to the dishonor of God, the despising the ordinances of God among us, the peace of the churches, and seducing the subjects of this commonwealth from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and perverting the straight ways of the Lord; the court doth fine you thirty pounds, to be paid, or sufficient sureties that the said sum shall be paid by the first day of the next Court of Assistants, or else to be well whipt; and that you shall remain in prison till it be paid, or security given in for it:
"By the Court,".
And so on that fateful day in September Obadiah Holmes was taken out and was publicly whipped. Thirty lashes is what he received. It has been described as a "brutal beating". But the Lord was with Obadiah Holmes that day! For as his friends walked him past the magistrate he stood tall and cheerfully said, "The Lord has made it easy for me. You have whipped me as with roses." So bad were his wounds that for months he could only sleep by supporting himself on his elbows and knees, and still with great pain!
The story of Obadiah Holmes is one of the most stirring stories in Baptist History! A man who believed so strongly in The Lord Jesus Christ and the one True Church, the Baptist Church, that he was willing to suffer so terrible a beating! Obadiah Holmes would later become the second pastor of the first Baptist Church in America!
Obadiah Holmes came to America in 1639 and remained a part of the Congregational Church, but soon he became tired of its defficiencies, and so his great search for a True Church began. When his family moved to Rhode Island he met John Clarke, the pastor of the first Baptist Church in America. The church met in the woods there, away from the persecuting eyes of the Congragational Church. Very soon after Obadiah Holmes met John Clarke he was Scriptuarlly Baptized.
In July of 1651 Obadiah Holmes, John Clarke, and John (or some call him James) Crandall travelled to Lynn, Massachusetts to visit the home of William Witter, who because of his health could not travel to the Baptist Church. While holding services in Mr. Witter's home Holmes, Clarke, and Crandall were arrested and kept in prison over night, after being forced to attend services at the Congregational Church. While in the service they refused to remove there hats. After a few minutes the constable forced them to remove their hats. After spending the night in prison they returned to Bro. Witter's home and had the Lord's Supper together. When the magistrate found out they were once again thrown in prison. In order to teach them a lesson the magistrate charged them a fine, five pounds for John Crandall, 20 pounds for John Clarke, and 30 pounds for Obadiah Holmes. If they refused to pay the fine they were to be whipped. A friend payed the fine for Crandall and Clarke. They also offered to pay the fine for Holmes, but Obadiah refused to sign the papers that accepted the fine as payed.
Obadiah Holmes remained in prison from July to September of the same year. This is how his sentence read, "Forasmuch as you, Obadiah Holmes, being come into this jurisdiction about the 21st of the fifth month, did meet at one William Witter's house, at Lynn, and did here privately (and at other times), being an excommunicated person, did take upon you to preach and baptize upon the Lord's Day, or other days, and being taken then by the constable, and coming afterward to the assembly at Lynn, did, in disrespect to the ordinance of God and his worship, keep on your hat, the pastor being in prayer, insomuch as you would not give reverence in vailing your hat, till it was forced off your head, to the disturbance of the congregation, and professing against the institution of the church, as not being according to the gospel of Jesus Christ; and that you, the said Obadiah Holmes, did, upon the day following, meet again at the said William Witter's, in contempt to authority, you being then in the custody of the law, and did there receive the sacrament, being excommunicate, and that you did baptize such as were baptized before, and thereby did necessarily deny the baptism before administered to be baptism, the churches no churches, and also other ordinances and ministers, as if all was a nullity; and did also deny the lawfulness of baptizing of infants; and all this tends to the dishonor of God, the despising the ordinances of God among us, the peace of the churches, and seducing the subjects of this commonwealth from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and perverting the straight ways of the Lord; the court doth fine you thirty pounds, to be paid, or sufficient sureties that the said sum shall be paid by the first day of the next Court of Assistants, or else to be well whipt; and that you shall remain in prison till it be paid, or security given in for it:
"By the Court,".
And so on that fateful day in September Obadiah Holmes was taken out and was publicly whipped. Thirty lashes is what he received. It has been described as a "brutal beating". But the Lord was with Obadiah Holmes that day! For as his friends walked him past the magistrate he stood tall and cheerfully said, "The Lord has made it easy for me. You have whipped me as with roses." So bad were his wounds that for months he could only sleep by supporting himself on his elbows and knees, and still with great pain!
The story of Obadiah Holmes is one of the most stirring stories in Baptist History! A man who believed so strongly in The Lord Jesus Christ and the one True Church, the Baptist Church, that he was willing to suffer so terrible a beating! Obadiah Holmes would later become the second pastor of the first Baptist Church in America!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Hello Friends!
Hello Friends! I have started this blog so that I can share important pieces of Baptist History that to many have been forgotten. There are so many things that the world has allowed us to forget. Very important things that need to be dug up and brought to the light. My first story will be about Obadiah Holmes. He was an amazing man that was brutally whipped by the Congregational church in the 1600's. He is one of my favorite men that suffered for the cause of Christ! The story should be posted next week. Be sure to come back and check it out! I will also be posting links to other Baptist History sites if you would like to learn more. Here is a link to Shiloh Films website. http://www.shilohfilms.org/ Shiloh Baptist Church has created an amazing movie about Obadiah Holmes! The title is "As With Roses". I highly recommend it!! Be sure to check in next week for more Thoughts of Katherine Holmes!
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