Christian Church

==Baptist tradition==
Many [[Baptist]]s, who uphold the doctrine of [[Baptist successionism]] (also known as [[Landmarkism]]), "argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times" and "claim that Baptists have represented the true church" that "has been, present in every period of history".<ref name="McGoldrick">{{cite book|last=McGoldrick|first=James Edward|title=Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810836815|pages=1–2|quote=Although the two most popular textbooks used in America to teach Baptist history cite Holland and England early in the seventeenth century as the birthplace of the Baptist churches, many Baptists object vehemently and argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times. Some Baptists deny categorically that they are Protestants and that the history of their churches is related to the success of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Those who reject the Protestant character and Reformation origins of the Baptists usually maintain a view of church history sometimes called "Baptist successionism" and claim that Baptists have represented the true church, which must be, and has been, present in every period of history. The popularity of the successionist view has been enhanced enormously by a booklet entitled ''The Trail of Blood'', of which thousands of copies have been distributed since it was published in 1931.}}</ref><ref name="Johnson2010">{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Robert E.|title=A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches|date=13 September 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139788984|page=148|quote=One was its belief that the Baptist Church was the only true church. Because only the Baptist Church was an authentically biblical church, all other so-called churches were merely human societies. This mean that only ordinances performed by this true church were valid. All other rites were simply rituals performed by leaders of religious societies. The Lord's Supper could correctly be administered only to members of the local congregation (closed communion). Pastors of other denominations could not be true pastors because their churches were not true churches.}}</ref> Walter B. Shurden, the founding executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies at [[Mercer University]], writes that the theology of Landmarkism, which he states is integral of the history of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]], upholds the ideas that "Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches."<ref name="Shurden1993">{{cite book|last=Shurden|first=Walter B.|title=The Struggle for the Soul of the SBC: Moderate Responses to the Fundamentalist Movement|year=1993|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=9780865544246|page=103|quote=Also, and perhaps more important for this study, ''The Trail of Blood'' should be remembered because it was one of the principal documents to support Landmarkism. No historical or doctrinal aberration, I believe, affected Southern Baptist thinking more during the nineteenth century-and still shapes Southern Baptist ecclesiology, especially in the Southwest-than that of Landmarkism. What were the teachings of J.R. Graves, J.M. Pendleton, A.C. Dayton-a dentist converted from Presbyterianism to Baptist Landmarkism-and J.M. Carroll? Briefly, proponents of Landmarkism insisted (1) There is no such entity as the "invisible church" or the "Church Universal." There are only ''local churches''. (2) Only Baptist churches bear the marks of the true New Testament church. (3) Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches. (4) If you want to see the Kingdom of God at work, look at Baptist churches for they are the only visible signs of the Kingdom of God. In fact Landmarkism insisted, Baptist churches and the Kingdom of God are really two sides of the same coin. (5) All other so-called churches are counterfeit, imitations, or "human societies" as the Landmarkers called them, and Baptists should have no dealings whatsoever with them. (6) Finally, only a true church-that is, a Baptist church-can legitimately celebrate the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Any celebration of these ordinances by non-Baptists is invalid.}}</ref> In addition Shurden writes that Baptists who uphold successionism believe that "only a true church-that is, a Baptist church-can legitimately celebrate the ordinances of [[baptism]] and the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]]. Any celebration of these [[Ordinance (Christianity)|ordinances]] by non-Baptists is invalid."<ref name="Johnson2010"/><ref name="Shurden1993" />

Other Baptists do not adhere to Landmarkism and thus hold a broader understanding of what constitutes the true Christian Church, e.g. the [[American Baptist Churches USA|American Baptist Churches]] (which are maintain [[ecumenism|ecumenical relations]] with other Churches).<ref name="FitzGerald2004">{{cite book |last1=FitzGerald |first1=Thomas E. |title=The Ecumenical Movement: An Introductory History |date=30 April 2004 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-05796-0 |language=en |quote=Neither the American Baptist CHurches in the USA nor the more conservative Southern Baptist Convention have been active in Protestant union discussions. While the former is engaged in ecumenical activities, the latter has generally avoided ecumenical dialogues and associations.}}</ref>