Seventeenth-Century General Baptist Identity: A Response to Matthew C. Bingham

Abstract

ABSTRACT Matthew C. Bingham’s recent scholarship represents an essential revision of traditional Baptist historiography. Bingham’s account of early Baptists challenges the existence of any coherent General Baptists movement until late into the seventeenth century. He claims no interaction between Particular and General Baptists and no continuity between one generation of General Baptists to the next. After a survey of the relevant recent scholarship, this essay explores Bingham’s assertions about seventeenth-century General Baptists. Upon further evaluation, it is demonstrated that these claims are overstated. Bingham is appreciated for his willingness to challenge anachronistic denominational history, but his conclusions regarding General Baptists fall short.