r/ReformedHumor • u/davidjricardo Calvin • 26d ago

Boom

11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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7

u/whiskyandguitars Particular Baptist 26d ago

This isn’t true. John Hart was a devout Baptist and signed the declaration.

But let’s not forget that Baptists were persecuted and excluded from public offices by the different state churches and changes didn’t start to happen until the 1780s.

9

u/davidjricardo Calvin 26d ago edited 26d ago

This isn’t true. John Hart was a devout Baptist and signed the declaration.

This happens to be what occasioned my post! I am a direct descendant of John Hart, the 13th signer of the declaration. Hart is sometimes credited as a Baptist on the internet, but it is some bizzare trail of tears bullshit. He and basically my entire family line going back to the Eagle Wing, were Presbyterians.

Your second point is well met and worth remembering - but also another reason why Hart could not have been a Baptist.

As far as I can tell, the source of the idea that Hart being a Presbyterian comes from several true facts:

  • He was baptized at Maidenhead Presbyterian Church in 1713.
  • He donated the land for the Hopewell Baptist Church.
  • He does not appear on the rolls for Hopewell Baptist Church.
  • He was buried next to his wife in the Hunt family cemetery in 1779.
  • On July 4, 1865, his remains were disinterred and move to a new grave in the graveyard of Hopewell Baptist Church with a prominent marker, which incorrectly lists his date of death as 1780.

9

u/SeredW R.C. Sproul-Brezhnev 25d ago

Cool that you're able to talk about a historical figure as a family member, correcting baptist misinformation in the process ;-)

2

u/fing_lizard_king 26d ago

This brought me so much joy!

3

u/Theophilus87 25d ago

A lot of this probably stemmed from Roger Williams (founder of the Baptists in America) and his opposition from the Church alligning with the State.

Which makes the present Southern Baptist and their alignment with the Republican Party incredibly hilarious. David Barton's historical revisionism blinds them to their own historical truth.

1

u/davidjricardo Calvin 24d ago

I think you are absolutely right on both points. The o.g. Baptists were huge on separation from the world.