"Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." I Peter 1:8
KU KLUX KLAN
Brief History:
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Founded in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for Black Americans. Its members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and Black Republican leaders. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s. After a period of decline, white Protestant nativist groups revived the Klan in the early 20th century, burning crosses and staging rallies, parades and marches denouncing immigrants, Catholics, Jews, African Americans and organized labor. The civil rights movement of the 1960s also saw a surge of Ku Klux Klan activity, including bombings of Black schools and churches and violence against Black and white activists in the South.
In Pulaski, Tennessee, a group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the “Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government’s progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of the local African American population.
The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kyklos, meaning “circle,” and the Scottish-Gaelic word “clan,” which was probably chosen for the sake of alliteration. Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back Reconstruction and its enfranchisement of African Americans. Former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the KKK’s first grand wizard; in 1869, he unsuccessfully tried to disband it after he grew critical of the Klan’s excessive violence.
Most prominent in counties where the races were relatively equal in number, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African Americans and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections. In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan. In 1871, the Ku Klux Act passed Congress, authorizing President Ulysses S. Grant to use military force to suppress the KKK. The Ku Klux Act resulted in nine South Carolina counties being placed under martial law and thousands of arrests. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Act unconstitutional, but by that time Reconstruction had ended and the KKK receded for the time being.
The 20th century witnessed two revivals of the KKK: one in response to immigration in the 1910s and ’20s, and another in response to the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s. Various chapters of the KKK still exist in the 21st century. White supremacist violence, in general, is again on the rise in America. Several high profile events, including the 2015 Charleston church shooting; the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting; and the 2019 shooting in an El Paso, Texas Walmart were all fueled by white supremacy and racism.
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1. Creeds
Originally, the Ku Klux Klan was a social club, but a year after it was founded, it was taken over by "night rider" elements. It then began engaging in arson, beatings, destruction of property, lynchings, murder, rape, tar-and-feathering, whipping, and voter intimidation. The Klan targeted newly freed slaves, carpetbaggers and scalawags, and the occupying Union army.
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2. Vehemently anti-Catholic, the 1915 Klan espoused an explicitly Protestant Christian terrorist ideology, partially basing its beliefs on a "religious foundation" in Protestant Christianity and targeting Jews, Catholics, and other social and ethnic minorities as well as people who engaged in "immoral" practices such as adulterers, bad debtors, gamblers, and alcohol abusers.
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3. From an early time onward, the goals of the KKK included an intent to "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible", and it believed that "Jesus was the first Klansman Although members of the KKK swear to uphold Christian morality, virtually every Christian denomination has officially denounced the KKK.
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4. From 1915 onward, "second era" Klansmen initiated cross burnings (adapted from scenes in the 1915 film Birth of a Nation), not only to intimidate targets, but also to demonstrate their respect and reverence for Jesus Christ. The ritual of lighting crosses was steeped in Christian symbolism, including prayer and hymn singing. Modern Klan organizations remain associated with acts of domestic terrorism in the United States.
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5. Numerous individuals and groups have cited their Christianity or Christian beliefs as the motivation for their terrorist acts. This can mean that they see Christianity as their identity and the main reason for their existence, partially in contrast to the identities and existence of other groups which they consider threatening and non-Christian. Terrorists can also cite their interpretation of the Bible or Christian beliefs as their motivation. All types of terrorism have a complex interrelationship with psychology and mental health, however only a minority of terrorists have diagnosable medical illnesses. Christianity can also be disingenuously claimed as a motive to inspire followers or curry political favor or protection. All these motivations are not independent and often complexly interwoven.
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6. Confession at Baptism
The baptismal candidate is asked to confess that he believes God has pardoned his sins, even before baptism (a common practice).
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7. Baptism is an immersion , but "Not essential to salvation." (Hiscox, p.20, Note 8) Must be baptized in order to enter the Baptist church; baptism is a "church ordinance." (Pendleton,p.65,90)
Must relate 'experience' then the membership votes whether to receive new member and allow him to be baptized. (Pendleton,p.17, 103; Hiscox,p.23).
Early church quickly received new member. Now it is different! Must now vote! Read entire page 22, Hiscox.
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8. Use instruments of Music in Worship
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9. The name Baptist Church; The name non-essential.
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10. Lord's Supper (non-immersed (baptized) not allowed to commune. (Pendleton,p.89,90,97). Observed monthly by Baptists.
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WRONG TIME: 1607 A. D.
WRONG PLACE: Holland
WRONG FOUNDER: John Smythe
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1. The church of the Bible was never designed to be a "social club" it is the place of the "called out" in Christ.
The Greek term for “church” is ekklesia (found 114 times in the New Testament). In the New Testament context, the word is employed in four senses:
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It represents the body of Christ worldwide, over which the Lord functions as head (Mt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22; 1 Tim. 3:15).
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The expression can refer to God’s people in a given region (Acts 9:31, ASV, ESV).
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Frequently, it depicted a local congregation of Christians (1 Cor. 1:2; Rev. 1:11).
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It could also signify a group of the Lord’s people assembled for worship (1 Cor. 14:34-35).
2. While the KKK profess to be anti- Catholic while being pro- Protestant their a actions have shown anything but Christian. The church of the Bible is neither Catholic nor Protestant. There is ONE body (church) Eph. 4:4.
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3. KKK started at the wrong place to attempt to "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America."
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4. . Matthew 16:18: I will build; nothing prevail against
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