General Baptist Origins and Original Sin

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhether John Smyth and the General Baptists emerged out of the Anabaptist or English Separatist movement remains a subject of debate. One understudied point in this debate is Smyth’s developing thought on the subject of Original Sin. Careful study of Smyth’s writings reveals that he adhered to a traditional, Augustinian, understanding of Original Sin until after he founded the first Baptist Church. Once this church was founded, his views shifted in a distinctly Anabaptist direction, not a merely Arminian one. This adds another important data point in favour of the English Separatist theory of Baptist origins.