Point One: The little church at Scrooby were separatists, but they were not Puritans. In fact, after these Pilgrims established their colony at Plymouth, the Puritans that came later tried every way they could to wipe the Pilgrims out.
Point Two:
Your diagram is not right. The early Christians (of which the Baptists lay claim) should have a line extending through the indicated "Great Schism" continuously to the present. That line is conspicuously absent. Draw one in, please.
Point Three:
Just because some newly-formed Baptists drew up a document of confession (statement pf faith) in the late 1600s doesn't mean that--though few in number--there weren't plenty of immersionist assemblies still around in Europe, Asia Minor, etc. History affirms this.
Point Four:
Though immersionist believer-disciples have never been absent in this world, The Holy Scripture is its own testimony, and the True Faith can always be rediscovered and implemented through revelation from the Word, and by thoroughly adhering to the doctrine of the disciples therein contained. Feeding on The Bible is fully sufficient to produce newborn Spiritual humans.
Be careful not to hang your hat on anything that isn’t God. Even immersionism, which is a valid concern but shouldn’t be the tail that wags the dog either.
I think you mean well here, but I would like to be more specific. Feeding on God's Spirit is the key. The bible is the medium; as we read the words written with the ink on the paper, the Spirit will speak in them if we understand them correctly. (It's possible to miss their point, especially early in a Christian life when confusion is still great.)
Point One: The little church at Scrooby were separatists, but they were not Puritans. In fact, after these Pilgrims established their colony at Plymouth, the Puritans that came later tried every way they could to wipe the Pilgrims out.
Ouch. So did the Plymouth Pilgrims become Baptists? I am aware that during colonial times there was a strong Baptist following in New England, especially CT/RI/MA.
Point Two: Your diagram is not right. The early Christians (of which the Baptists lay claim) should have a line extending through the indicated "Great Schism" continuously to the present. That line is conspicuously absent. Draw one in, please.
I cannot take credit for the diagram. That came from Wikipedia. I've generally been impressed with a lot of the Chrisitan entries in Wikipedia, but you have pointed out something that I imagine most Christians don't know.
Point Three: Just because some newly-formed Baptists drew up a document of confession (statement pf faith) in the late 1600s doesn't mean that--though few in number--there weren't plenty of immersionist assemblies still around in Europe, Asia Minor, etc. History affirms this.
Had to think on that 1 for a moment, then I realized you were refering to the full immersion style of baptism.
Point Four: Though immersionist believer-disciples have never been absent in this world, The Holy Scripture is its own testimony, and the True Faith can always be rediscovered and implemented through revelation from the Word, and by thoroughly adhering to the doctrine of the disciples therein contained. Feeding on The Bible is fully sufficient to produce newborn Spiritual humans.
That would be sola scriptura. I follow this path of thinking.