247. Michael Haykin on Particular Baptist History, Theology, and Tradition

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Michael Haykin to discuss his book Rooted in the Word: Wisdom from the English Particular Baptists. Who are the Baptists, and what is both their place in a broader shared orthodoxy – as well as their core distinctives? With the “first clearly identifiable Particular Baptist church was founded in London in 1638”, Dr. Haykin takes us into the debates surrounding Baptist origins – as well as why he argues for their origins being found in “the matrix of English Puritanism”. How early do we see Baptist confessionalism, and how should we best understand how the Baptist confessions interacted with Baptist polity? Though there may have been some influence from the Westminster Confession of Faith upon the text of the Second London Baptist Confession, Dr. Haykin reminds us that the First London Baptist Confession of Faith was earlier than the Westminster Assembly. Listen in as we ask Dr. Haykin about some of the historic Baptist arguments for Baptist distinctive commitments to believers’ baptism, by immersion – as well as congregational polity. We also hear some highlights about men behind two of the famous hymns written by Baptists of the this early period: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (written by Robert Robinson), and “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” (written by John Fawcett). We also hear some thoughts on the life and legacy of William Carey, “the father of the modern missions movement” – and the context of his work promoting more focus on spreading the Gospel of Grace throughout the world. We end with some of Dr. Haykin’s thoughts on how Baptists should appreciate both their place in a broader Christianity, as well as their own distinctive heritage and history.

Book: Rooted in the Word: Wisdom from the English Particular Baptists

Some other resources by Dr. Haykin:

- Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands: Recovering Sacrament in the Baptist Tradition

- Kiffin, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering Our Baptist Heritage

- Patrick of Ireland: His Life and Impact

- A Thousand Beauteous Dyes: Toward a Reformed Theology of Color

- Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church

- The Spirit of God: The Exegesis of 1 and 2 Corinthians in the Pneumatomachian Controversy of the Fourth Century

- The God Who Draws Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality

Past interviews: here, here and here

Also check out: “’Emblem of the throng that praise the Lamb’: Learning from some English Particular Baptist Associations of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries”

Hymns: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “Blest Be the Tie that Binds”

Other resources:

Trinity and Creation by Richard Barcellos

Orthodox Radicals: Baptist Identity in the English Revolution by Matthew Bingham

With Freedom Fired: The Story of Robert Robinson, Cambridge Nonconformist by Graham Hughes

The English Baptists of the Seventeenth Century; The English Separatist Tradition: From Marian Martyrs to the Pilgrim Fathers by Barrington Raymond White

The Tailor-King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster by Anthony Arthur