GEORGE M. BEEBE SON OF ELDER BEEBE And The Civil War (Santamaria)

  

[IT should be made clear that this is a historical article and does not indicate any point of view on this long-ago fought-over issue – ed]

 

G. Beebe = George Monroe Beebe (1836–1927), widely identified as Elder Gilbert Beebe’s son, though one state write-up gives different parents (notes below). Here’s the compact, no-nonsense profile.

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Origins & training. Born Oct 28, 1836, New Vernon, NY; schooled at Walkill Academy; Albany Law School, 1857. Admitted to the bar the same year. (Fact Monster)

• Bleeding Kansas → acting governor. Moved to Kansas Territory in 1858; territorial council member (1858–59). Appointed territorial secretary (1859); served as acting governor twice during the secession winter: Sept 11–Nov 26, 1860, and Dec 17, 1860–Feb 9, 1861—he urged neutrality as statehood loomed. (ksgenweb.org)
• Law, newspapers, and Congress. Practiced law in Missouri and Nevada; back in NY, he edited the Republican Watchman (Monticello) from 1866. In NY politics, he served in the State Assembly (1873–74), then won two terms to the U.S. House (NY-14, 1875–79), chairing Expenditures in the Navy and serving on Mines & Mining. (Fact Monster)
• Later posts. Delegate to Democratic National Conventions (1876, 1880, 1892); judge on the NY State Court of Claims (1883–1900); retired to Ellenville (1892), died Mar 1, 1927; buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (New Windsor/Newburgh). (Fact Monster)
• Marriage. Married Cornelia Bennett Foster at St. Joseph, Missouri, June 12, 1861 (some summaries list a later Jessie Beebe; the Kansas Historical Society cites Cornelia for the 1861 marriage). (Kansas Historical Society)

About the father–son link (the tiny wrinkle)

• Many references explicitly refer to him as the son of Elder Gilbert Beebe of New Vernon, the editor of Signs of the Times, a publication of the Old School/Primitive Baptist movement. (Wikipedia)
• Kansapedia (Kansas Historical Society) lists his parents as George and Lydia (Wiles) Beebe, which conflicts with those accounts. It’s a lone outlier against multiple political biographies, but worth flagging. (Kansas Historical Society)

If you’re exploring Beebe père vs. fils as a thematic contrast, the arc almost writes itself: the father became the ink-and-pulpit voice of Primitive Baptist anti-institutionalism; the son took that native verbal force to the rough theater of territorial politics and later Congress—editing papers, steering committees, and trying (at least in 1860–61 Kansas) to tamp down the fuse. The family lived where doctrine meets power, and both men wielded words like chisels.

How did G. Beebe react to the Civil War?

Beebe publicly styled himself a Union man—constitution-first, anti-sectional, and fiercely Democratic—while defending slavery and blasting Republican “fanaticism.”

• In his 1860 tract against Helper, Beebe says the Republic’s greatness rests on “the bond of union… the Constitution,” and warns that trampling it will shatter the Union into warring confederacies ruled by armies and strongmen.
• He literally cheers the Union on—quoting “Sail on, Union, strong and great!”—and argues peace requires letting each state manage its “domestic affairs” (i.e., slavery) under the federal compact.
• He pitches his newspaper, the Banner of Liberty, as standing “by the Constitution and the Union,” framing his pamphlet as a National Democratic campaign document—i.e., pro-Union but anti-Republican.
• When accused of Southern bias, he counters that he’ll “never prove traitor” to any section of the Union, casting himself as a patriotic mediator while still defending the South’s social system.

So, Unionist—but of the 1860 Democratic, “keep the constitutional compromises” variety. He opposed abolitionist politics as sectarian and incendiary, yet rooted his appeal in preserving the Union as a constitutional order.

The Banner of Liberty Paper

Here’s the gist of Beebe’s Banner of Liberty—in his own 1860 pitch:

• What it was. A weekly quarto newspaper edited and published by Gilbert J. Beebe in Middletown, New York, carrying a full synopsis of each week’s doings in Congress plus news, literary pieces, miscellany, and humor.
• How he positioned it. Beebe trumpeted it as “standing by the Constitution and the Union”—explicitly National Democratic in tone and mission, especially for the 1860 campaign.
• Reach (as he claimed). By his account, in 1856 it had a larger circulation than any other Democratic paper in the U.S., and second only to the New-York Tribune among all political papers. (That’s Beebe’s boast, but it shows the ambition.)
• Business model. He lists subscription bundles and bulk rates (single copies, sets of five, eleven, thirty, etc.), treating the paper as a campaign organ to be spread by the bundle.
• Context. In the same pamphlet, he rallies readers to preserve the Union under the Constitution—then segues to promoting the Banner as the tool to do that work. It’s journalism welded to party organizing.

He wrote a booklet against Helper's Impending Crisis[1].

Topic	Helper’s[2] claim (as presented/quoted in Beebe)	Beebe’s counterargument
Political role of the book	Republicans mass-circulated the “Helper Book” as a campaign text; many members endorsed it.	The book is incendiary; the House resolution says endorsers are unfit for the Speakership.
Big economic thesis	“Free” states outperform “slave” states across output/wealth; even hay outweighs Southern staples.	Hay is a local input (winter feed) priced at niche markets—can’t be compared to export staples; the claim is a category error.
Livestock vs. “hay wealth”	Northern hay implies superior real output.	Using Helper’s own census tables, livestock/slaughtered stock shows South ≈ North, undercutting the hay brag.
Per-capita production	Northern totals prove the free-labor advantage.	Adjust for population and climate/crop mix: per white capita, the South compares favorably.
Exports & surplus	Northern industry proves superior surplus creation. (Ch. VIII omnibus tables)	National export surplus is driven by Southern staples; sectional split favors Southern ports in Beebe’s cited year.
Abolishing slavery (mechanics)	Lays out steps to end slavery (Ch. II heading & program).	Constitutional math (e.g., Three-Fifths Clause) makes the scheme a non-starter; without it the seat distribution flips.
Founders’ voices	Deploys Washington/Jefferson/Madison et al. as anti-slavery ammunition (Ch. III–IV headings).	“Garbling”: quotes torn from context; founders favored Union/constitutional order, not Helper’s program.
“Testimony of the nations”	European moral authority supports abolition. (Ch. V)	England, etc., has its own poverty/misery; not oracles for American policy.
Churches & Bible	Churches and Scripture witness against slavery (Ch. VI–VII headings).	Beebe waves off Ch. VII as “common-place bluster” and proof-texts NT passages to defend masters/servants.
Cities & commerce	South needs a great emporium; city growth = progress. (Ch. IX)	Cites Jefferson—“cities are sores”—and argues Northern cities concentrate vice and misery.
Character & credibility	—	Long personal attack: quotes Sen. Asa Biggs on alleged theft/name change; cites Helper’s earlier Land of Gold passages to paint hypocrisy.

How did George Beebe feel about Lincoln?

George M. Beebe—Kansas territorial secretary/acting governor and later a New York Democratic congressman—sat on the opposite side of Lincoln’s politics. He worked to keep slavery legal in Kansas and aligned himself with the Buchanan-era Democratic wing that opposed the emerging Republican program.

Receipts, not vibes:

• In June 1860, Beebe wrote Jefferson Davis, insisting he’d “fought in favor of slavery and remain[ed] committed to the cause.” That’s as clear a marker of anti-Lincoln alignment as you’ll find.
• As a Kansas legislator, he filed a minority report against an antislavery bill; as acting governor (Jan. 1861), he urged repealing the law abolishing slavery and even argued for admitting Kansas to the Union as a slave state.

So if Lincoln was the North Star for Republicans, Beebe’s compass pointed the other way. Nothing in his record suggests affection for Lincoln or his war aims; rather, his writings and official messages put him squarely among the Democratic critics of Lincoln’s antislavery and wartime policies. (For biographical context: he was the son of Primitive Baptist elder Gilbert Beebe and later served two terms in Congress as a Democrat.)

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[1] Hinton Rowan Helper’s The Impending Crisis of the South (1857/59): it’s an antislavery polemic that argues—using a blizzard of stats—that slavery was an economic deadweight on the South, especially for non-slaveholding whites. Even its chapter map signals the thesis: a head-to-head “comparison between the free and slave states,” with output, wealth, and productivity tables meant to prove that free labor beats enslaved labor.

The book detonated. A pro-slavery pamphlet by Gilbert J. Beebe—A Review and Refutation of Helper’s “Impending Crisis”—framed Helper’s work as “incendiary,” and the U.S. House actually debated a resolution saying no member who endorsed the book (or its compendium) was fit to be Speaker. That wording appears in the record Beebe reproduces. Southern critics went further, claiming Helper’s text encouraged enslaved people to murder their masters—a tendentious reading, but it shows the level of panic and propaganda in late-1850s politics.

Beebe also cataloged Republican endorsements—dozens of congressmen and public figures backed the wide circulation of a cheap compendium—while quoting William H. Seward’s blurb praising the book’s data and logic. Those lists and the Seward line help explain why the “Helper Book” controversy dominated the 1859-60 speakership fight.

Net-net: Helper tried to beat slavery with balance sheets rather than sermons; his opponents answered with character assassination, biblical defenses of slavery, and parliamentary roadblocks. That clash—numbers vs. hierarchy—was a microcosm of the Union’s fracture. Want to keep digging? I can map Helper’s main economic claims against modern data, or chart the “Helper circular” and its role in the 1859 Speaker brawl to show how a book became a political tripwire.

[2] Links to both:

·        Beebe, A Review and Refutation of Helper’s “Impending Crisis” (1860)
Your uploaded PDF: sandbox:/mnt/data/Beebe The Impedning Crisis.pdf
(Public catalog record for the pamphlet: (National Library of Australia Catalogue))

·        Helper, The Impending Crisis of the South (1857)
Project Gutenberg (read/download): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36055 (Project Gutenberg)
Library of Congress scan: https://www.loc.gov/item/01004197/ (The Library of Congress).

THE CHURCH OF GOD OBSCURED AND RENDERED ALMOST INVISIBLE IN SOME PLACES, AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE CAUSE OF IT FROM ANCIENT TIMES.

As the moon, notwithstanding her substance and body never perish, is not always seen in her full light by the human eye, either, because she sinks beneath the horizon,

OF THE STABILITY, DURABILITY, AND VISIBLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD.

That this church, from the beginning to the time of David, was always visible, discernible, and distinguished from other nations, is clear and manifest, and, as far as we know, not doubted by anybody. There remains, then, only to be proven that the same after the time of David has always been discernible, according to the preceding manner, and will continue to be so to the end.

 To show this, the song of David of the city or church of God, Ps. 46:3,4, serves an excellent purpose. “Though the sea rage and roll, so that through its tempest the mountains fall in, Selah! The city of God shall nevertheless remain glad with her fountains, where the holy tabernacles of the Almighty are.” This passage, beginning with the preceding verse, reads as follows according to the original text: “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.”3Who is there so ill versed in the word of God, as to suppose that he is to understand by the words city of God and the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High, etc., the city of Jerusalem in the land of Palestine, and the temple which was built in that city? for this city and the temple which was in it, were laid waste and totally demolished and destroyed, first by the Chaldeans, in the time of Jeremiah, and subsequently by the Romans, who conquered the land of Canaan and Jerusalem; so that, according to the prophecy of Christ, not one stone was left upon another. We must, therefore, understand this as relating to the church of God, which is called, in holy Scripture, the city of God. Heb. 12:22; for of the same it is said that God is in the midst of her, and that, therefore, she shall not be moved, etc., as shall appear more fully from the following testimonies, Isaiah 2:2: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountains36 of the Lord’s house shall be established . . . and all nations shall flow unto it.” It is beyond dispute that here, by the words the Lord’s house, we are to understand the church of the Lord, unless there be one who holds, with the Jews, that it must be understood as having reference to the house of stone, which, in former time, Solomon built, to the honor of God, on Mount Moriah; which house is now in ruins, but was to be rebuilt. But this cannot be expected, for the prophet Daniel, with respect to this desolation, says clearly that it shall be poured upon the desolate, even until the consummation (that is, the end of the world). Dan. 9:27 compared with Matt. 24:15.

No small proof of this is furnished by the fact that about forty years after the ascension of Christ, this very house was destroyed, demolished and burned by Titus Vespasian, and has not yet been rebuilt, though about sixteen hundred years have elapsed since; and, on account of the continual quarrels of the Palestinean and other eastern rulers, it is, viewing it from a human standpoint, not likely that it will ever be done.

Since it is true, then, that by the words “the house of the Lord,” we must understand the church of the Lord, there follows also what is said in connection with it, namely: that the same shall be firmly, i. e. invincibly, established on the mountain, that is, Christ, the immovable foundation.

Besides the adduced prophecy, Isaiah 2:2, showing the firmness and immovability of the house (or the church) of God, which is founded upon the mountain of the Lord—Christ Jesus—the same prophet treating of the durability, glory and divine dignity of this church, under the type of the New Jerusalem, produces various commendatory testimonies for this purpose, saying among other things, chap. 60, verse 11: “Thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night.”

This is a simile drawn from a peaceful city which has neither fear nor care that enemies will attack her, and, therefore, leaves her gates open by night as well as by day, for the accommodation of the citizens, and the messengers and strangers who are traveling in the night. Thus, he would say, will it also be with the future church of Jesus Christ?

Then, in verse 14, speaking of the enemies of the church of God, and of those who had slandered her, he says: They “shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

When a city has become so great that even her deadly enemies who had purposed to lay waste and destroy her, come bending their knees, and, as begging for favor, bow down before her, as is shown here of the enemies of the city and church of God; there is no probability that such city will easily be conquered, laid waste, or subjugated. So it is, in a spiritual sense, with the city and church of Jesus Christ; for it is this to which this prophecy has reference.

Immediately after, in the 15th verse, the prophet declares that God will make this city or church an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

And, as though by this the durability and excellency of this city, well-beloved of God, were not yet sufficiently expressed, he adds these words, verse 19: “But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.”

And, lastly, verse 21: “Thy people, O God, also shall be all righteousness: they shall inherit the land forever.” Here, no further explanation is required, since the text plainly and clearly expresses our meaning; and we will, therefore, let it suffice.

We then proceed to what Christ, the Son of God, himself testifies concerning this matter. Matt. 16:18: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Christ, in another place, speaking by parable of a man who built his house upon the sand, adds the explanation: that the same was a foolish man; because such a foundation, and, therefore, also the building which is founded upon it, cannot stand before the floods, rains, and storms, which beat against it.

On the other hand, he commends him as wise and prudent, who built his house upon a rock; since the same, being well-founded, can withstand all dangers.

But the foundation upon which the Lord speaks here, that he will build his church upon it, is much firmer than any material rock, for these must all pass away with time; but the foundation which is Christ himself, remains, shall remain, and shall never decay: for “the foundation of God standeth sure,” 2 Tim. 2:19.

Yet not only the foundation, but also the building of the church shall not decay, though in nature it is otherwise; for a house, church, or tower, resting on an immovable foundation, but being not sufficiently firm or strong in itself, finally decays, yea falls to the ground; but here it stands so that no opposing 23agencies, not even the devil himself, can prevail against it, which is evident from these words: “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

In or under the gates councils were wont to be held, and the gates were the strength and power of the cities. Compare Zech. 8:16 with Ps. 147:13. Hence, by the words, “The gates of hell,” etc., we are to understand the council and power of the hellish fiend. Yet, according to the last-mentioned place of Scripture, these shall not prevail against the church of Christ;37 and, consequently, no other opposing agencies, for these are the most powerful and worst enemies.

We pass on to other Scripture testimony written for the same purpose. Matt. 28:20: “And, lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the ages.” Nearly all translators, in order to follow therein the Dutch way of speaking, render the last words of this sentence: “unto the end of the world.” But we have, for good reasons, preserved the Greek mode of expression, inasmuch as it serves better and more clearly to the end we have in view. For we have found that, after the common translation, the words, “unto the end of the world,” have been misinterpreted, and stretched beyond their meaning, by some inexperienced persons, so that these expound that which has been spoken of the consummation of time, as referring to the end of locality; even as though Christ had not here promised his apostles, to remain with them till all time should have come to an end; but only until, for the promulgation of the Gospel, they should have traveled unto the uttermost parts of the earth, which, because it is not possible to travel farther by land, are called the end of the world.

This is a great error, for, according to his explanation, this promise would have belonged to the apostles alone, and been limited by their lifetime, since they traveled everywhere to preach, so that their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.38 Compare Mark 16:20 with Rom. 10:18.

But, in order that all true followers of Christ and his apostles, to the end of time, might comfort themselves with this promise, the Lord has expressly spoken of the consummation of the ages, and declared that so long (understand: spiritually) he will be with them.

We arrive now at the point we had in view from the beginning, and which we shall now present more plainly and fully. The Lord has certainly spoken here of the preaching of the holy Gospel, of faith, of baptism, and of the manner of establishing and building up his church, as it was his will that the same should be built up and maintained through all ages. After saying this, he gave the aforementioned promise.

It is settled, therefore, that the visible church of Jesus Christ (for this is the one in whom the preaching of the holy Gospel, faith, baptism, and whatever there is more besides, have place) shall exist through all time, even unto the consummation of the ages; for, otherwise, the promise, “Lo, I am with you all the days,” etc., can not be fulfilled in her.

Even as, besides preaching and faith, baptism shall continue in the church to the end of time, so also the holy supper. This appears from the words of Paul, 1 Cor. 11:26: “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew forth the Lord’s death till he come.”

Thus, if mention is made here of the eating of the bread, the drinking of the cup, and the shewing forth of the Lord’s death, with the additional clause that this shall be observed, and continue, till the Lord come (that is, in the end of time, to judge the world), it follows: that there will be, throughout all ages to the end of the world, a church which will observe the external ordinances of Christ not only in respect to holy baptism, but also to the holy supper, and the shewing forth of the Lord’s death; unless it can be shown that the words, “till he come,” have another signification, such as we have never yet met with in any commentator, since the text is not only too clear, but also too conclusive.39 Compare this with Matt. 25:31; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 14; Rev. 1:7; 22:12,20.

IN WHAT POINTS HAS THE CHURCH OF GOD ALWAYS CONTINUED THE SAME.

 [As in the following work a survey is given, to some degree, of the succession and establishment of the church, we find it expedient so that the same may not be misinterpreted, and because some of our good friends have requested and besought us (though we had intended to leave it as it was), to precede, by way of introduction, that which follows, by our exposition of the true and the false church, and of their respective good and evil succession and progress; also, to state the views we hold with the right of succession. We will, therefore, begin here, and, so as not to be tedious, endeavor to be as brief as possible.]

As there are two different people, two different congregations and churches, the one of God and from heaven, the other of Satan and from the earth; so there is also a different succession and progress belonging to each of them.

We shall first speak of the divine and heavenly church, and then of the last-mentioned one.

The divine and heavenly church, which is the separated holy flock and people of God, originated upon earth at the beginning of the world; has existed through all the ages up to the present time; and will continue to the end of the world.

OF THE DIVINE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH.

The state and divine service of this church have varied from the beginning according to the different periods in which it existed and flourished.

From Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Christ, from Christ to the end of the world, God ordained, for each of these periods, different customs, as regards the external divine service of this church; also different signs, seals, and appurtenances; though it is, was and shall be, the same church, the same people, and also the same God whom they served, still serve, and shall serve unto the end.

Before Adam fell, divine service had no respect to Christ; he had not yet been presented to men as a means of salvation, much less as their only Prophet, Priest, and King, or as the only true way, entrance and door to heaven, through whom alone men can be saved; but their happiness depended on their obedience to the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen. 2:16,17.31

After the fall, divine service had respect altogether to Christ, Acts 4:12. Truly God promised his Son to men, represented him by types, and finally gave him to them. In the meantime, the fathers who were before the advent of Christ, hoped in him, longed for his coming, and ordered and founded all their divine services, whatever these, according to the time and the command of God, might be, on his only and eternal reconciliation. Compare Gen. 3:15; 22:18; 49:10,18 with John 5:46; 8:56; 1 Peter 1:10,11.

Touching the external mode of divine service, this was not uniform at all periods, but varied very much; for it seems that in the time from Adam to Noah, men followed the implanted light of nature, or, to speak properly, the engraven law of the conscience or the mind; observing no essential and express ceremonial commandments, excepting Abel’s offering, and the commandment that the sons of God, that is, the members of his church, should not marry the daughters of men, that is, those who were not members of the church of God; which was enjoined under a severe penalty. Compare Gen. 4:4 with Gen. 6:3.32

In the time from Noah to Abraham, there was added God’s command, not to eat blood, nor to shed human blood. At that time God made a covenant with Noah and every living creature, that he would destroy them no more by a flood; and he set the bow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant. Compare Gen 9:4,5 with verses 11,12,13.

In the time from Abraham to Moses, God instituted the circumcision among his people, which served for the purpose of distinguishing the descendants of Abraham, of whom the church of God consisted, from all other nations, and as a seal of the covenant which God had made with Abraham and his seed, in particular. See Gen. 17:10,11,12, compare with Rom. 4:11.

From the time of Moses to Christ, God gave, in addition to circumcision, many laws and commandments, too numerous to mention, which were to be observed by his people. These consisted in manifold sacrifices, oblations, purifications, etc., for the performance of which holy times were set apart, as 21the Passover, Pentecost, feast of tabernacles, new moons, and fast days; together with sacred places, as the tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon; Shiloh, Mizpah, Moriah, etc.; also holy persons, as prophets, priests, Levites, singers, and door-keepers. See Ex., Lev., Num., and Deut.

 

From the time of Christ to the end of the world, God, through Christ, has taken away the ceremonies of the Mosaic law as well as the signs by which it was sealed; and, to the acknowledgment of the grace of Christ, commended the observance of other ceremonies and signs, as baptism, supper, etc. These external commandments, together with faith and true penitence of life, which is the spiritual and moral virtue, the Lord has very strictly enjoined upon all members of the church of Christ. See Matt. 28:18–20; Mark 16:15,16, compared with 1 Cor. 11:2–28; also the entire epistles of the apostles, which treat of the fulfillment of the Mosaic ceremonial law, as Rom. 10:4; Gal, 4:10,11 and 5:1–4; Col. 2:16.

 

Having now briefly shown the diversity of the external divine service of the church of God, through all the times, it behooves us to state, on the other hand, in what points this church has always continued the same.

OF THE GREATER DANGER THERE IS AT THIS TIME, THAN IN THE BLOODY AND DISTRESSING TIMES OF THE MARTYRS

Of the Greater Danger There Is at This Time

Th. J. van Braght^[†] — Dordrecht, July 25, 1659

A devotional illustration reflecting the era of Mennonite persecution referenced by van Braght.

Foreword

Dutch Mennonites and Baptists share similarities like believer's baptism, emphasis on scripture (𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎 ), and the priesthood of all believers, but they differ in their views on church authority and community. A key difference is that Mennonites tend to emphasize accountability to God through a close-knit community, while Baptists focus more on individual accountability and "soul freedom". Mennonites also historically have a stronger, more consistent tradition of pacifism and separation of church and state.SimilaritiesBeliever's Baptism:Both traditions believe in baptizing only adults who have made a personal confession of faith, rejecting infant baptism.Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide:Both denominations adhere to the Protestant principles of "scripture alone" and "faith alone".Priesthood of All Believers:Both believe that all believers have direct access to God without the need for an intermediary priest.Congregational Polity:Both generally have a congregational form of church government, where the local church is largely autonomous.

DifferencesCommunity vs. Individualism:

Mennonites: Place a strong emphasis on accountability to God through the community, which influences their church discipline and other practices.Baptists: Emphasize "soul freedom" and individual accountability before God, which is a core tenet of their belief system.

Pacifism and Church-State Separation:

Mennonites:

Traditionally held to pacifism, nonresistance, and a more distinct separation of church and state.

Baptists:

While not always pacifist, their emphasis is on religious freedom and individual liberty in all matters, including the relationship between church and state.

By 1659, the Mennonites of the Dutch Republic were living in what you might call their “quiet century”—after a stormy birth but before the soft prosperity that would gradually dull their edges. The persecution that had burned their founders a hundred years earlier had ceased, but the memory of those flames still shaped their identity.

Here’s the landscape in 1659, just one year before Thieleman J. van Braght published his Martyrs Mirror:

1. Legal status and toleration.The Dutch Republic officially outlawed Anabaptism, but by mid-century, enforcement was lax. Mennonites (often called Doopsgezinden, “baptism-minded”) could meet publicly under certain conditions, pay fines instead of facing imprisonment, and own property. In places like Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Friesland, they had built meetinghouses and developed active trading and artisan networks. They were still tolerated outsiders—not full citizens—but prosperous and increasingly secure.

2. Internal divisions.Peace did not mean unity. The movement had splintered into several streams:

The Waterlanders,^[1] more open to education, culture, and business life.

The Flemish and Frisian^[2] groups, stricter in dress and discipline.

The Old Flemish (or Huiskoopers)^[3] who rejected worldly compromise.Disputes over marriage discipline, ban (excommunication), and the proper use of wealth often produced small schisms. Van Braght himself came from the Flemish branch at Dordrecht,^[4] known for its rigorous ethics.

3. Economic and social standing.Many Mennonites had become successful merchants and millers—names like de Hooghe, de Vries, de Wael. They quietly helped finance Dutch trade and shipbuilding, but their refusal to bear arms or swear oaths still excluded them from civic office. It was a paradox: thriving communities, yet perpetually reminded that they were pilgrims.

4. Spiritual climate.Within that uneasy prosperity, ministers worried that wealth and peace were dulling zeal. The memory of martyrs was fading from the younger generation. Van Braght saw this decline of fervor and, in 1659–1660, gathered the old martyr records to awaken conscience and gratitude. The Martyrs Mirror was meant as a mirror indeed—to show comfortable believers the cost of discipleship.

5. Wider world.The Dutch Republic was at its imperial height, sailing to Asia and the Americas. The Remonstrant–Calvinist debates still echoed, and Spinoza was just beginning to scandalize Amsterdam’s thinkers. Against that cosmopolitan backdrop, Mennonites preserved a counter-culture of simplicity and pacifism.

So in 1659, the Mennonites were no longer fugitives, but not yet assimilated. They were a community remembering its suffering past and struggling with the temptations of respectability—precisely the tension that produced van Braght’s monumental book.

Would you like a glimpse into how those same Dutch Mennonites influenced later groups—like English Baptists or the peace churches that migrated to Pennsylvania a generation later?

BAPTISM AND CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Santamaria)

BAPTISM & CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

FOREWORD

Does baptism involve Church membership? Can an individual be baptized and just float around apart from any church supervision? We hold that they should not. This is an excerpt from an upcoming eBook on the same subject.

EBENEZERS IN WOOD & BRICK (Santamaria)

EBENEZERS IN WOOD AND BRICK^[1]

Some have come to think that we regard our meetinghouse as a sacred place. If this were so, it would become an idol. And it would be better if it were burned than kept.

 

Guillermo Santamaria

 

REVELATION CHAPTER BY CHAPTER (Santamaria)

REVELATION CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

A symbolic depiction of Christ revealed in glory (face not shown).

FOREWORD

This is a primer for the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Old School Baptists have traditionally been amillennial in their view of it.

Guillermo Santamaria

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM A MISUNDERSTOOD TEACHING (Santamaria)

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM: A FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF AMERICAN HISTORY

FOREWORD

This is an old debate. It has some half-truths with it. It seems very attractive when you first hear that America is a “Christian Nation.” But upon further thought, one realizes that it is fraught with difficulties, ambiguities, and intolerance. We write this work to clarify some important issues.

Guillermo Santamaria

Corporate Prayer Among the Baptists (Santamaria)

CORPORATE PRAYER AMONG BAPTISTS

FOREWORD

This is an excerpt from an upcoming eBook titled Corporate Prayer?

Guillermo Santamaria

Corporate prayer—people praying together as a gathered body—is as old as the Scriptures themselves, but its shape and meaning have shifted across time and traditions. Let’s trace the thread.

Crucified With Christ and Eternal Vital Union (Santamaria)

Section 1. Introduction – The Mystery of Union with Christ

Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20 stand among the most breathtaking statements in the New Testament: 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.'

Spiritual Trials and Blessed Assurance: A Biblical Contrast (Santamaria)

If you listen carefully to the Bible, you will hear two very different voices rising from the pages of its saints.

Under Constant Assault: A Biblical Study of Satan’s Attacks on Believers (Santamaria)

Section 1. Introduction – The Battlefield of Christian Life

The Bible never presents the Christian life as a stroll through a tranquil meadow. Instead, it portrays the path of the believer as a narrow road hemmed in by dangers, snares, and enemies both visible and invisible.

THE CRY OF THE LONELY SERVANT (Santamaria)

Every age of the church has heard the same cry echo across its valleys: “I, even I only, am left.” It is the cry of loneliness, the lament of one who feels abandoned, the sigh of a servant who mistakes his own weakness for the collapse of God’s kingdom. Few words in Scripture are so raw, so relatable, and—if we look closer—so arrogant.

All Things in the Gospel Must Come Through Christ (Santamaria)

The gospel is not an abstract system, nor a bare philosophy, nor even a set of moral rules. At its center stands a Person: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Without Him, there is no gospel. Without Him, the promises of God are empty, the Scriptures are a closed book, and salvation is an impossibility. All things in the gospel must come through Christ, because He is Himself the gospel.

EZEKEL 37 AND OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST CHURCHES (Santamaria)

Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14) has always been one of the most haunting and hopeful passages in Scripture.

CONDITIONAL TIME SALVATION (Santamaria)

Elder Lemuel Potter

Q. Does the Bible teach that there is a conditional time salvation? A. The Bible does not use this phrase, and, as its truth is controverted by some of our brethren, it would probably be best to avoid it. But it is certain that the Bible does teach that there is a salvation or deliverance here in time, which we ourselves are to work out (Philip 2:12; Acts 2:40; I Tim. 4:16); yet we can only do this as God works in us by His grace (Philip 2:12,13; 4:13; John 15:4,5; I Cor. 15:10). The cause of the most controversies is the affirmative of one part and the denial of another part of the truth.

"Bible Studies" (Crowley)

Our sister church, Mars Hill, Hoboken, has adopted full-time meetings and formal Bible studies, giving rise to wounded feelings among our fellowship. We wish to record our reasons for opposing these new things and the measures we propose to take in regard to them. Empire sent Mars Hill a letter stating our reasons for protesting the adoption of full-time meetings. We will here confine ourselves to the question of formal Bible Studies.

EXPERIENTIAL PREACHING AS OPPOSED TO LETTER PREACHING (SANTAMARIA)

Let’s put them face-to-face, the way the old Baptists themselves loved to do — the living voice of experimental preaching against the barren drone of dead-letter preaching.

SUMMARIZATION VERSES PENETRATION (Santamaria)

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind Colossians 2.16

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Hebrews 8.5

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Hebrews 10.1

BIBLICAL BLESSINGS TWO DIFFERENT UNIVERSES

 
“Blessing things” is one of those phrases that sits at the intersection of theology, anthropology, and daily habit. [This article was "inspired" by a family member who wanted her children's book bags "blessed" by the priest of an Episcopal church.  We decided to investigate how such a blasphemous practice emerged ed]

LETTER FROM ELDER CHARLES POLKINHORN TO THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

City of Washington, Dec. 12, 1822

Dear brother Beebe:

It gave me much pleasure to receive the first number of the Signs of the Times period. The Times truly calls for a zealous support of all those principles as outlined in its interesting pages. It is indeed a day of rebuke and blasphemy; For however meek the advocates of missionary, tract, and such societies might have been in the introductions of their worldly schemes in persuading the churches to receive the yoke., They have now cast off all fear and have arrived at that degree of effrontery spoken of by Jeremiah 3.3. “Thou hast of a whore’s forehead.” Shamelessly railing against and denouncing all those who will not join in the praise and support of their Great Goddess Diana. There is no neutrality with them. Their motto is, All that are not for are against them, and Bran, with opprobrious epithets of Antinomians, all those who acknowledge no other authority but that of Zion's King.

It pleased the Lord in much mercy to give me an early discovery of the hypocrisy and deception carried on under the name of Mission and other anti-Christian societies. The circumstances that led to this happy result I will briefly relate. A short period after professing an interest in the merit of our precious Redeemer, I joined a mission society and, of course, was made a collector. You're no doubt aware, it required the sum of $100 to entitle the society to representation in the General Convention. We were few in number and had much difficulty in raising that amount at our meeting for business. A letter was read and adopted by the Society, addressed to the Convention, setting forth in the glowing and extravagant colors of our extraordinary success, and congratulating the Convention. Of the signs of the near approach of the latter-day glory. Indeed, from the letter, you would suppose it was breaking in upon us in all of its transcendent splendor. I assure you. I felt not a little confounded at this elusive statement, for I could not with all my warmth of feeling. And imagination. Discover the truth of it. But judge of any astonishment? At the substance of the dialogue which followed, it was moved that the letter be printed in the Latter Day Luminary (if I mistake not) and that the amount of money collected be also inserted in the letter, but an objection was made and approved of; That if the amount collected should be inserted. In the letter, along with the glowing statement. That had been made, one part would militate against the other, and consequently destroy the effects that it otherwise might elsewhere produce. The word effects has rung in my ears from that day to this. Could it be possible that I, that the Kingdom of our glorious Redeemer is to be built up by such means, who declares that by His spirit and not by the power of man? (Either physical or moral as. The schoolmen say close parentheses the mighty work as accomplished, how much less than by artifice and cunning.

From that time, I have read with new eyes, and from a comparison of this letter with others of that class, they all appear to me to be animated by the same spirit, and are evidently designed and calculated to raise that great. Animal excitement, which now prevails almost to an overwhelming extent. How awful an applicable is the rebuke of Jehovah to all such “Behold! All you that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your own fire, and the sparks that you have kindled, this shall you have at my hand. You shall lie down in sorrow.” From that period, I have raised my feeble voice against all such Proceedings, and I trust in the strength of the Lord to bear witness that Jehovah reigns. The government being on his shoulders, who is alone able to build a temple and bear the glory. May the great head of the Church enable you to persevere as you have begun; earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the Saints, to promote unity among all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the utter confusion of all self-constructed societies and collegiate mercenaries. Truth is mighty, as you justly remark, it must and will triumph gloriously.

I was much disappointed at not finding in the signs of the Times some strictures on Jetson's letter urging the establishment of a plain-dressed society. I thought it calculated to do good, and would tend to open the eyes of many of our bewitched Galatians. Some of our brethren who read them and could not believe that it was written by a Baptist, much less that the author was the great Baptist missionary to the Hindus, for whose use so many of their pockets and suffered. Goliath had a large sword, but David managed to take his head off with his own weapon. David said that there was none like it. So I would say of Jetson's letter, I think it was well calculated to kill him in the estimation. Of all those who have experienced the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.

With my earnest prayers for the success of that cause in which you are engaged.

 I remain yours, ever to serve in the gospel of Christ,

Charles Polkinghorn

FORBEARANCE (Coulter)

The relationship that all the family of Adam bear to each other in our natural life is one of dependence.

CORRESPONDENCE 17 (Coulter)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Dec. 24, 1918.

DEAR BRETHREN: – We are coming to the close of another year, one to be long remembered by us. What shall we say concerning it?

Communication 16 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 24, 1916.

DEAR BRETHREN: – I feel impressed to talk a little while this evening with the readers of the dear old SIGNS. I have you all in my mind and in my heart; I think of you as having the mind of Christ, as formed into a bundle of love, love flowing from heart to heart and faith answering to faith. Unlike the love of men and women in the world, which becomes blurred and often blotted out by reason of reverses and offences, but a love which Iiveth and abideth forever in the hearts of the Lord’s chosen. I love to think of each one of you as having one desire, and that to serve the Lord acceptably and with godly fear. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Ye are a “peculiar people,” because all your possessions in righteousness are exclusive and peculiar to you, not being found in the world. Ye are a “chosen generation,” the generation of Jesus Christ, chosen in him before the foundation of the world. Ye are “an holy nation,” as in contrast to all earthly nations, standing alone and apart, illuminated by the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness; in the world, but not of it. Ye are “a royal priesthood,” kings and priests unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Is it not in your hearts to say, “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!” Self- righteousness is a snare and temptation to you, and while you are led by it in the lusts of your flesh you hate it with a perfect hatred, for Christ is your righteousness. You are meek and lowly of heart, because your gracious Redeemer was meek and lowly, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Sometimes your harps are hung upon the willows, and being in a strange land you cannot sing the songs of Zion, while at other times you are lifted up and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. At times you groan and say, O, if I only knew for a certainty that I am a true follower of Jesus, born of God, but alas, if your hope was converted into certainty you cease to be a child; it is your precious hope that saves you and leads you on to a victorious end. The apostle John addresses you as “little children,” reminding you that you are in your flesh idol worshipers, beseeching you to “keep yourselves from idols.” Do you sometimes feel like Paul when you meet with the brethren, that you are determined to know nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified? and yet you find yourself right in their midst talking fashions and crops. These things teach you your weakness and helplessness. Do you mourn your emptiness in spiritual things? This is an evidence that spiritual things are yours, otherwise you would not mourn. Do you sometimes wish you were like brother or sister so and so, they seem so much better than you? But do you know that the Lord has fitted you for a certain place in his temple, which no one else can fill, and you would not fit in the shoes of your brother or sister? You are made to be willing to be the Lord’s anything, if only you are the Lord’s. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.” How great and wonderful is that mystery made known to us in a varied experience. The shuttle in the hands of our master weaver, filling in the threads of our life journey, both warp and woof, completing the garment, which sets forth in its lengthwise threads faith and hope and love, and in its cross lines depicting the conflict and the striving against the pride of life. “fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind,” a perfect garment of the life and spiritual exercises of the children of our heavenly Father. Surely at times you become discouraged and say within yourselves, We will give it all up, is it worth this continual striving? Has any one ever been able to give it up? No, you are sweetly forced into the kingdom, and you press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The attaining unto salvation through grace is your highest ambition and your sweetest inspiration. Strive on, brethren, in hope of the day that is to follow. Write for the SIGNS, you ready Writers. “But to do good, and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

B. F. COULTER.

Signs of the Times
Volume 84, No. 20.
October 15, 1916

CORRESPONDENCE 14 (Coulter)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., August 20, 1914.

Correspondence 13 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., March 16, 1908.

CORRESPONDENCE 12 (Coulter)

Oak Lane, Philadelphia, Pa.

Correspondence 11 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 12, 1907.

Dear Brother Ker: – There are a great many questions in my mind, some more prominent than others

Correspondence 10 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 4, 1907.

CORRESPONDENCE 9 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., August 16, 1907.

CORRESPONDENCE 8 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 15, 1905.

CORRESPONDENCE 7 (Coulter)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Nov. 11, 1902.

CORRESPONDENCE 6 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., April 19, 1902.

CORRESPONDENCE 5 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., July 9, 1901.

Dear Brother Chick: – Do you ever have conflicting emotions exercising you at the same time!

CORRESPONDENCE 4 (Coulter)

Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 9, 1901.

Dear Brother Beebe: – The brethren say to me sometimes, “I have written to you in my mind, but did not put my thoughts on paper.”

CORRESPONDENCE 3

Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 5. 1900.

EXPERIENCE. (Coulter)

Whence doth arise that exercise of mind and heart which we call a Christian experience, or an experience of grace in the heart!

CORRESPONDENCE 2 (Coulter)

Dear Sister Jenkins: – It seems a long time since I have, written to you, and I am sure the loss is mine rather than yours.

CORRESPONDENCE 1 (Coulter)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Sept. 12, 1890.

DEAR SISTER JONES: A sister kindly permitted us to read the letter she received from you. My wife read it several times, and enjoyed it so much that she now insists that I write to you, hoping thereby that she might also some day receive a letter from you, so you will please consider this letter as coming from us both, and if in your heart you can feel it worthy an answer, we will be glad indeed.

THE EFFECT OF GRACE. (Coulter)

Grace itself is a holy principle, not an attribute, but an embodiment of God’s love to his chosen people.

BIBLE CHARACTERS AND EVENTS. (Coulter)

Among the multiplicity of published literature extant in the world in all its various hues and colors, the Bible stands apart, clear and distinct from all the rest.

THE CHILD JESUS. (Coulter)

Out of the mists of the morning comes the light of the natural day. There is a glory of the sun from which the light cometh.

THE CHRISTIAN TRAVEL. (Coulter)

 

It is a long journey. It takes up all the time that was consumed by the children of Israel, from the day Abram left the land of his nativity, going he knew not whither, to a country that God would show him, up to the present. Beyond that we never get, although continually we are going into the future.

THE CHRISTIAN WALK (Coulter)

[Who was Elder BF Coulter? We found the following in RH Piman’s Biography of Old School Baptist Ministers:

 

Coulter, Elder B. F. (M. D.), of Philadelphia, Pa., Dr. Coulter who is a successful physician as well as an able and zealous minister, was born September 3, 1846; graduated in medicine March, 1880; convicted of sin, given a hope in the Savior and in September, 1883, united with Welsh Tract Old School Baptist Church in New Castle County, Delaware—the oldest Old School church year 1887. Dr. Coulter moved his membership to Salem Church, Philadelphia, Pa., and was, in the year 1905, ordained to the full functions of the gospel ministry. The following year, he was called to the care of this church, which holds regular meetings every Sunday morning. Elder Coulter is an able defender of the doctrine of God our Savior, a fluent writer, and greatly loved by his people.

Guillermo Santamaria]

How often have we cause to remember that, “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”