They had felt the heel of the oppressor more keenly than the Presbyterians, as many of their ministers had refused to apply for license to preach under the Toleration Act, and as a consequence were often imprisoned as disturbers of the peace.
A noted Presbyterian historian, William Wirt Henry wrote almost grudgingly, “It is proper for me to say, however, that the Baptists were constant, unwavering, and very effective in the part they took for the same end.
From the scourging of Obadiah Holmes in Massachusetts to the imprisonment of John Waller, Lewis Craig, and James Childs in Virginia for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, Baptists have paid a tremendous price for religious liberty in America. Hated alike by both the Congregational Church in New England, and the Established or Episcopal in Virginia, the Baptists suffered immensely both physically and financially at their hands. Life in early America, however, was not easy for the Baptists. One cannot read the various historical accounts of the role of Baptists in the founding of America, the winning of the Revolutionary War, and the securing of personal and religious freedom without being both proud and humbly grateful to be a Baptist. The Baptists in America have a glowing history. Having come to America from England and Wales-where they were known as Particular Baptists in distinction from General Baptists-these Baptists in America came to be known as Regular Baptists to distinguish them from the Separate Baptists with whom they would unite prior to 1800. The Lord’s Churches, as we have seen, have been called by many names. Begun by our Lord as He walked along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and called-out the first baptized believers who both adhered to His teachings and executed His commandments, the church has existed in all ages since in churches which have descended from this first church. INTRODUCTION: As Baptists we believe in the perpetuity of the church.
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