Baptist History, Heritage & Distinctives – The Biblical Waldenses Reject the Popes Doctrines – Baptist Peculiarity Two – Part 3

‎Thomas E Kresal‎ toBaptist Church HistoryAdmin · 10 hrs February 18, 2020

Baptist History, Heritage & Distinctives – The Biblical Waldenses Reject the Popes Doctrines – Baptist Peculiarity Two – Part 3

Second: The Baptists regard the Bible alone as their rule of faith and practice; and, upon examination, it will be found that the Waldenses also possessed the same peculiarity. No historic fact is more clearly developed than that the Waldenses adhered with unyielding tenacity to the Scriptures as their only guide in matters of religion.

AEneassylvius, who came to be Pope Pius II, gives the following statement in his account of the Waldenses: “Whatsoever is preached without Scripture proof, they account no better than fables. That the Holy Scriptures is of the same efficacy in the vulgar tongues in Latin, and according they communicate and administer the sacraments in the vulgar tongue. They can say a great part of the Old and New Testament by heart.” (Churches of the Piedmont by Dr. Allix, p. 236)

This acknowledgment of Pope Pius concerning this peculiar feature of the Waldenses, is but the voice of history on this point: the Waldenses claim no other standard of faith and practice except the Bible. To the same effect Mr. Robinson testifies of the Waldenses, as follows: “From the Church of Rome they distinguish themselves by reducing, as they supposed, the ancient Roman doctrine to practice, by rejecting the Pope the prelates, and all the religious orders, by renouncing councils, fathers, and all traditions, and adhering to Scripture alone as a rule of faith, and by refusing all the papal ceremonies of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, penance, orders, and so on. They are also distinguished from the latter Vaudois, and the reformed churches, by not using any liturgy; by not compelling faith; by condemning parochial churches; by not taking oaths; by allowing every person, even women, to teach ; by not practicing infant baptism ; by not admitting god-fathers; by rejecting all sacerdotal habits; by denying all ecclesiastical orders of priesthood, papal and episcopal ; by not bearing arms ; and by their abhorrence of every species of persecution.” (Robinsons Eccles. Research, p.461)