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First Baptist Church
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40.8712° N, 82.6631° WOpen map →TraditionBaptistAbout →
Sourcing statusTradition default
Beliefs on file899 positions
Statement of faithNot on file
Where they stand
Each position below is labelled by how it was sourced, so you can weigh it for yourself.
VerifiedConfirmed by the church
From their statement of faithEstimated, not verified
Tradition defaultEstimated, not verified
Showing 62 of 899 positions across 18 topics. Expand any topic to see the rest.
God & the Trinity52 positions
- Analogical LanguageAffirmsTradition defaultHuman language about God is analogical: true but never capturing God univocally as it captures creatures.Estimated, not verified
- Apophatic PriorityAffirmsTradition defaultWhat God is in himself is ultimately beyond human comprehension, so negative ("God is not...") statements are more reliable than positive ones.Estimated, not verified
Christ67 positions
- Assumed Fallen Human NatureStrongly rejectsTradition defaultChrist assumed a fully fallen human nature (subject to the effects of the Fall) in order to heal it from within.Estimated, not verified
- Assumed Unfallen Human NatureStrongly affirmsTradition defaultChrist assumed an unfallen, sinless human nature, untouched by original sin/corruption.Estimated, not verified
Sin & the fall45 positions
- Adams Sin Brought Physical DeathStrongly affirmsTradition defaultPhysical death entered the human race as a consequence of Adam's sin; humans were not originally subject to death.Estimated, not verified
- All Sin Deserves Death EquallyStrongly affirmsTradition defaultEvery sin, however small, deserves God's condemnation/death: there is no class of sin that does not by nature merit it.Estimated, not verified
Salvation60 positions
- Active Obedience ImputedStrongly affirmsTradition defaultChrist's lifelong law-keeping (his "active obedience"), not only his death, is imputed to the believer as their positive righteousness.Estimated, not verified
- Assurance Grounded In Christ AloneStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAssurance rests on Christ's finished work and God's promise, not on the believer's own works or sacramental performance.Estimated, not verified
The Holy Spirit56 positions
- All Gifts Continue TodayStrongly rejectsTradition defaultAll the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament, including the miraculous ones, continue and are normative for the church today.Estimated, not verified
- Assurance Is Normal For BelieversStrongly affirmsTradition defaultSettled assurance of salvation is normal and to be expected for genuine believers in this life.Estimated, not verified
The Church56 positions
- Apostolicity Is Doctrinal Not SuccessionalStrongly affirmsTradition defaultApostolicity consists primarily in fidelity to apostolic DOCTRINE, not in an unbroken chain of ordinations from the apostles.Estimated, not verified
- Baptism Is The Entry Into The ChurchStrongly affirmsTradition defaultBaptism is the rite of entry/incorporation into the visible church.Estimated, not verified
Sacraments & ordinances51 positions
- Age Of Accountability Before BaptismStrongly affirmsTradition defaultBaptism should wait until a person reaches an age of accountability and can repent and believe for themselves.Estimated, not verified
- Anointing Sick Is A SacramentRejectsTradition defaultAnointing of the sick with oil is a sacrament conveying grace, healing, and forgiveness to the seriously ill.Estimated, not verified
Worship & liturgy37 positions
- Altar Call InvitationStrongly affirmsTradition defaultA public invitation/altar call inviting people to come forward to receive Christ or rededicate is a fitting close to worship.Estimated, not verified
- Bowing And ProstrationStrongly rejectsTradition defaultBowing, prostration, or full physical reverence before the altar, icons, or sacrament is fitting in worship.Estimated, not verified
Last things28 positions
- A Literal Mark Of The Beast Is ComingAffirmsTradition defaultA literal future "mark of the beast" will be imposed as a condition of economic participation.Estimated, not verified
- Apocalyptic Prophecy Read Literally FuturisticallyAffirmsTradition defaultThe prophecies of Daniel and Revelation should be read primarily as literal predictions of still-future events.Estimated, not verified
- Beatific Vision Seeing God DirectlyAffirmsTradition defaultThe supreme reward of the redeemed is the direct, face-to-face vision of God himself (the beatific vision).Estimated, not verified
- Christ Returns Before The MillenniumAffirmsTradition defaultChrist returns bodily before the millennial kingdom and personally inaugurates it on earth.Estimated, not verified
- Christ Returns Personally BodilyStrongly affirmsTradition defaultJesus Christ will return personally, visibly, and bodily to the earth at a future point in history.Estimated, not verified
- Conscious With Christ After DeathStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAt death the believer's soul consciously enters the presence of Christ and remains aware while awaiting the bodily resurrection.Estimated, not verified
- Date Or Season Of The End Can Be CalculatedStrongly rejectsTradition defaultIt is possible, by study of prophecy, to calculate or closely estimate the time of the end.Estimated, not verified
- Final Judgment Of All HumanityStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere will be a final judgment at which all people are judged by Christ and assigned their eternal destinies.Estimated, not verified
- Final State Is Earthly EmbodiedAffirmsTradition defaultThe eternal destiny of the redeemed is embodied life on a renewed earth, not a disembodied existence in a non-material heaven.Estimated, not verified
- Future Bodily Resurrection Of The DeadStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere will be a future, literal resurrection of the body: the dead raised with transformed physical bodies.Estimated, not verified
- Future Seven Year TribulationLeans toward affirmingTradition defaultA specific future seven-year period of unprecedented tribulation (often tied to Daniel's seventieth week) remains to be fulfilled.Estimated, not verified
- Hell Is Eternal Conscious TormentStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe finally unrepentant suffer conscious punishment in hell that continues without end.Estimated, not verified
- Hopeful Universalism Without CertaintyStrongly rejectsTradition defaultWhile not asserting it as doctrine, one may legitimately hope and pray that all may ultimately be saved.Estimated, not verified
- Immortality Of Soul Not Bodily ResurrectionStrongly rejectsTradition defaultFinal hope is essentially the immortality of the soul in a spiritual realm, not the raising and transformation of the physical body.Estimated, not verified
- Judgment By Works For Believers RewardsAffirmsTradition defaultBelievers will be judged for their works to determine differing degrees of reward (while their salvation itself is secure).Estimated, not verified
- Limbo For Unbaptized InfantsStrongly rejectsTradition defaultUnbaptized infants who die occupy a state of natural happiness apart from the beatific vision (the "limbo of infants").Estimated, not verified
- Millennium Is Literal Thousand YearsAffirmsTradition defaultThe thousand-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20) denotes a literal, future, earthly period of roughly a thousand years.Estimated, not verified
- No Separate Rapture DoctrineStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThere is no distinct "rapture" doctrine at all; the New Testament describes one return of Christ at which the living and the dead are gathered together.Estimated, not verified
- Observable Signs Will Signal The Nearness Of The EndAffirmsTradition defaultIdentifiable signs (wars, earthquakes, gospel preached to all nations, rise of deception) will mark the approach of the end and can be discerned.Estimated, not verified
- Parousia Accompanied By Cosmic SignsStrongly affirmsTradition defaultChrist's return will be accompanied by literal cosmic upheaval: darkened sun, falling stars, and visible glory seen by all.Estimated, not verified
- Prayers For The Dead Are EfficaciousStrongly rejectsTradition defaultPrayers, almsgiving, or the Eucharist offered for the departed can benefit them in the intermediate state.Estimated, not verified
- Purgatory Purifies Before GloryStrongly rejectsTradition defaultMany of the saved undergo a purifying process after death (purgatory) before entering the fullness of heaven.Estimated, not verified
- Resurrection Body Is Physical ContinuousStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe resurrection body is a real, physical body in genuine continuity with the body that died, though glorified and incorruptible.Estimated, not verified
- Return Already Occurred Ad70Strongly rejectsTradition defaultThe decisive "coming of the Son of Man" prophesied in the Gospels was fulfilled in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, not a still-future event.Estimated, not verified
- Return Is Imminent Any MomentLeans toward affirmingTradition defaultChrist's return could occur at any moment, with no remaining prophecy that must be fulfilled first.Estimated, not verified
- Second Coming Is Symbolic Not EventStrongly rejectsTradition defaultLanguage about Christ's "return" is best understood symbolically (as the ongoing triumph of his cause or spiritual presence) rather than as a single future historical event.Estimated, not verified
- We Are Living In The Last Days NowStrongly affirmsTradition defaultWe are currently living in the biblically described "last days."Estimated, not verified
- World Worsens Into Apostasy Before ReturnStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe age will end in increasing apostasy, deception, and tribulation rather than in a Christianized golden age.Estimated, not verified
Scripture62 positions
- Authority Holy Tradition OrthodoxStrongly rejectsTradition defaultScripture is rightly read only within Holy Tradition: the Fathers, councils, liturgy, and consensus of the Church.Estimated, not verified
- Authority Magisterium InterpretsStrongly rejectsTradition defaultThe authentic interpretation of Scripture is entrusted to the Church's living teaching office (Magisterium), whose judgments bind the faithful.Estimated, not verified
Revelation, creation & science35 positions
- Adam Special Creation From DustStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe first human was specially and directly created by God from the dust, not biologically descended from earlier hominins.Estimated, not verified
- Angels Created BeingsStrongly affirmsTradition defaultAngels and other spiritual beings are part of God's created order, made by God.Estimated, not verified
Life & bioethics63 positions
- Abortifacient Contraception WrongStrongly affirmsTradition defaultMethods that can prevent implantation of an already-fertilized embryo (e.g., certain IUDs, emergency contraception) are morally equivalent to early abortion and impermissible.Estimated, not verified
- Abortion A Protected RightStrongly rejectsTradition defaultAccess to abortion is a fundamental right that should be legally protected.Estimated, not verified
Sexuality & marriage54 positions
- Abortifacient Contraception WrongStrongly affirmsTradition defaultContraceptive methods that may act after fertilization (potential abortifacients) are morally wrong even if other contraception is permitted.Estimated, not verified
- Annulment Recognizes Invalid MarriageRejectsTradition defaultSome unions that appeared to be marriages were never valid marriages, and the church can rightly declare them null (annulment).Estimated, not verified
Society & politics48 positions
- Active Nonviolent Resistance ObligatoryAffirmsTradition defaultChristians should actively resist injustice through nonviolent means (protest, civil disobedience, noncooperation), not merely abstain from violence.Estimated, not verified
- Capital Punishment LegitimateAffirmsTradition defaultThe civil authority may rightly execute criminals for grave crimes.Estimated, not verified
Angelology Demonology49 positions
- Angelic Fall Caused By PrideStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe angels fell primarily through pride: refusing subjection to God / seeking to exalt themselves.Estimated, not verified
- Angelic Fall Predates Human FallAffirmsTradition defaultThe angelic rebellion occurred before the fall of humanity, and the serpent's temptation issued from an already-fallen angel.Estimated, not verified
Anthropology45 positions
- Body Essential To PersonStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe body is essential to being a complete human person, not an accidental or dispensable container for the soul.Estimated, not verified
- Body GoodStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe material human body is intrinsically good as created by God.Estimated, not verified
Covenant Law Israel30 positions
- Abrahamic Covenant Foundational And OngoingStrongly affirmsTradition defaultThe Abrahamic covenant is foundational and its promises remain operative for the people of God today.Estimated, not verified
- Baptism Replaces Circumcision Covenant SignStrongly rejectsTradition defaultBaptism is the New Covenant counterpart to circumcision, marking entrance into the covenant community.Estimated, not verified
Mariology Saints61 positions
- All Believers Are SaintsStrongly affirmsTradition default"Saints" in the New Testament sense means all believers, not a special canonized class.Estimated, not verified
- Altar Relics Required Or ProperStrongly rejectsTradition defaultIt is fitting (or required) that altars contain the relics of saints.Estimated, not verified
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