|
Bishop Peter Daniel
of Tobago |
The name “Baptist” is a nickname given to the
believers and practitioners of adult baptism by their enemies in the 17th
century. Baptists form one of the largest protestant communions in the world.
Historically there have been:
1. Calvinistic/Particular Baptist, ascribing, that the
atonement is limited to those predestined to be saved.
2. Freewill/General Baptist; tending towards Arminianism
in theology and declaring that the atonement of Christ is for all men and
rejecting the idea of baptismal regeneration.
3. Spiritual Baptist; [though not recorded] advocating free
movement of the Spirit and Spirit possession.
All Baptists believe that their Church’s origin is in the
New Testament. Some take it at the encounter between Zacharias and the
Arch-angel Gabriel and the birth of John the Baptist[ Luke1:5-25.&1:57-80]which
was foretold [Mal.3:1]. Some take it at the baptism of Jesus Christ. Some take
it from the choosing of the apostles. One way or the other
Christ is the
Head of the Baptist Church.
The modern Baptist Church arose out of the Reformation of
the sixteenth [16] century and the Anabaptist movement, and the effort to
re-establish the free Church- the Church based upon New Testament witness. The
first modern Baptist Church being established in Amsterdam in 1609.
The Baptist Faith has been practiced in Trinidad and Tobago
for the last 190 years. It was brought here between 1815-1816 by
African-American refugees of the American war of independence who were
themselves members of the earliest Black Baptist Congregation in the Southern
United States of America. They were ex-soldiers of the "CORPS OF COLONIAL
MARINES" who had fought on the side of the British during the conflict.
The
spread of “Baptist Witness” has been phenomenal. From the original seventy,
[70] to an estimated one hundred thousand, (100,000) today. In fact by the end
of the 19th century , three[3] variations of the Faith existed:
1. The ‘Orthodox’ London Baptist.
2. The Independent Baptist.
3. The Spiritual Baptist.
Today there are at least six [6] variations
1. The Baptist Union of Trinidad and Tobago. [The London
Baptist].
2. The Independent Baptist.
3. The Spiritual Baptist.
4. The Sovereign Grace Mission Baptist.
5. The Fundamental Baptist.
6. The Trinidad and Tobago Baptist Association.
The Spiritual Baptist Faith
THE SPIRITUAL BAPTIST FAITH is the only
indigenous religious tradition of Trinidad and Tobago. It was born out of the
19
th century struggle of the Afro-American adherents of the
Baptist Faith for freedom of worship, to practice their Christianity with a
blend of Africanism. A brand of African survival, reflecting the joys, trials, tribulations and frustrations of a people whose ancestors were uprooted from
their Motherland and its rich traditions, and dehumanized, seeking to
spiritually go back home. Hence in their worship emphasis is placed to a greater
extent on handclapping, singing, shouting, and rejoicing more than formal
worship.
In the past, Spiritual Baptists were called:
Wayside/wayward Baptist - Because they held religious
meetings at the side of the road.
Candle Baptist - Because they
preached the ‘”gospel’ by the wayside , in tents by candle light with the
ringing of bell and blowing of horns.
*Shouters - Because of the
practice of shouting during worship.
It should be noted here that Asram L. Stapleton in his
book “
Birth and growth of the Baptist Church in Trinidad and Tobago and
the Caribbean” page 31, states that “
This definition can no longer apply
to a Christian Church in the 20th century , due to the grammatical
analysis of the word “shout’ or “shouter”. He further stated that in his
opinion “
whenever the word is used in the context of the Spiritual Baptist it
must be treated as a gross misinterpretation”.
Stapleton also went on to give a definition of the term
“Spiritual Baptist.”
[1] The word “
Baptist” has dual meaning.
a. It depicts members of a Christian Denomination who
maintain that Baptism, usually applied by immersion, can be administered only
upon a personal confession of the Christian faith.
b. It is a title given to some one whose duty it is to
perform the act of Baptism.
[2] Whereas the word
“Spiritual” means motivation by
incorporeal or disembodied spirits pertaining to the Church or Divine things,
in this document [i.e. his book] the word “Spiritual’’ is here used as a
qualifying adjective to the word Baptist as the noun, thus arriving at the name
“
Spiritual Baptist”.
The Doctrine of the Spiritual Baptist is based on the Holy
Trinity-Father , Son and Holy Spirit and their conservative super naturalism
includes six [6] points.
1.The inerrancy of the Bible.
2.The virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
3.The Supernatural Atonement.
4 The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
5.The Authenticity of the Gospel miracles.
6.The Second coming of Christ.
“Therefore with anthropology and history colliding
at a certain point , the Spiritual Baptist Church or Faith can be defined as
Christianity tempered with Africianism, and as such it must be recognized as a
Christian Church and not a cult” A.L.Stapleton.
The West Indian United Spiritual Baptist Sacred Order Inc.
was born out of the struggle of the Elders of the Faith at that time to be
identified as Christians and part of the world wide Baptist Community because
of their beliefs and thus not be debarred from practicing their Religion by
the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance of 1917.
The passing of the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance in 1917
is one of the darkest nights in the history of the people of Trinidad and
Tobago. It seemed to be an attempt by the Colonial Government at the time to
appease the powers that be [the police, the landed gentry, and the established
Church, ] in suppressing the growth and development of a local religious
movement, THE SHOUTER BAPTIST. However, this did not happen., for by 1946 the
movement was approx.30,000 strong and also a political might by virtue of
Universal Suffrage giving each Shouter Baptist over 21 years a say.
There were two [2] umbrella Organizations representing
them at the time. The West Indian United Baptist Sacred Order [claiming to
represent the Spiritual Baptists] established in 1942 and the West Indian Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith[ claiming to represent the Shouters]
established in 1945.
General agreement existed on the articles of faith, but
important differences were to be found among the leaders,
especially on
the question of mode of worship.
Thus, because of this question, the Leaders of The West
Indian United Baptist Sacred Order, at that time [Leo Sandiford, Clifford
Cato, Harvey Glaud, Christopher Meyers, Phillip Alexis, Farrell Thomas and
Roderick Nicholas] decided to make themselves into a corporate body, and to
obtain legal incorporation status from the Colonial Government. The name of the
Order was also changed to West Indian United Spiritual Baptist Sacred Order.
It
should be noted here that as late as 1993, His Grace
The Archbishop of The West Indian United Spiritual
Baptist Sacred Order Inc. The Rt. Rev. Ivan
Lancaster, in his capacity as Head of the National
Congress of Incorporated Baptist of Trinidad and Tobago, amid growing
controversy again on this question, in a letter to the Editor of the
Trinidad Express captioned ‘Baptist: We are not
Shouters’ reinforced this point to all Spiritual Baptists and the world at
large. The Trustees/Leaders of the West Indian United Baptist Sacred Order
were bringing the Shouter Baptist Faith within the boundaries of the law as it
stood in 1949. From their Constitution, their aims and objectives implied that
they were not Shouters.
After accepting the Report of the Select Committee of
the Legislative Council on the private bill entitled “
An Ordinance for the
incorporation of certain persons as trustees of the West Indian United Baptist Sacred Order”, which had held two
meetings - on May 09 ,1949 & September 01, 1949 with the
Trustees, The Ordinance to incorporate
The West Indian United Baptist
Sacred Order was passed in the Legislative Council of Trinidad and
Tobago on
November 04, 1949. The
Organization was now known as
West Indian United
Spiritual Baptist Sacred Order Inc. to look after the affairs of
Spiritual Baptists as enshrined in their constitution.
Today 2007, nearly sixty-five [65] years after
its first establishment, with over one hundred and twenty -five [125] active
ordained ministers and with over fifty-nine [59] member churches, The Diocese
still forges on stronger and better than ever in the name of the
LORD doing
this.
N.B. Sources of information.
Constitution of W.I.U.S.B.S.O.Inc.1949.
The Express Newspaper.Saturday,23rd January
1993 Edition.
C.M.Jacobs. 1996 “Joy Cometh in the Morning”;
A.L.Stapleton “ The Birth and Growth of the Baptist
Church in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean..” ;
H.P.S.B. Southland School of Theology library.
