Edenite Baptist Church

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Edenite Baptist Church
IconEdeniteBaptistChurch.png
Symbol
Organised Religion
Ideological doctrine: Dual seed doctrine, Protestant theology, evangelicalism
Council President of the Church: Hezekiah Whent
Operation
Region(s) of operation: Teegarden System
Based in: Eden
Status & relations
Internal factions: Orthodox Baptists
Historical information
Predecessors: Various Protestant sects
Founded: 38th century
Founded by: Edenite Baptists, Jericho Church, Nazarenes
Notable splinter factions: Unreformed Baptists, Cainites
[Source]
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

–2 Corinthians 11:3

The Edenite Baptist Church is the official state church of the Godly Republic of Eden and largest religion within the Teegarden System. Flavored by the disparate beliefs of Eden's original colonists, the Edenite Baptist Church is primarily defined by its reactionary beliefs on various Biblical subjects and its controversial Serpent Seed doctrine.

History[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

The Edenite Baptist Church, as its name indicates, is descended from the Baptist denomination of Christianity (among others) and largely falls within the fold of Protestantism, perhaps ironically being the largest single Protestant denomination remaining after the formation of Christianislam. The church also takes influences from the Pentecostals, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Unification Church.

The origins of the Edenite Baptist Church lie with Eden’s colonisation by various Protestant sects and those sects’ subsequent warring against one another. This warfare would plunge the Teegarden System into darkness for nearly three hundred years while various factions, most motivated by their religious zeal, vied for control of Eden. The Evangelical Union would be the first dominant power on Eden, then the Baptist Martial Brotherhood later. By 3411, it looked as if the Baptist Martial Brotherhood and its Grandmaster would overtake the entirety of Eden to the chagrin of the Jericho Church. However, a prophet with no name, called “the Lamb” by some, would emerge from the hinterlands to warn the masses of the seed of the serpent and how the devil walked among them and in the Grandmaster's army. The prophet’s words seemed to rally the people of Jericho in a frenzy, and they threw back the attacking army, shaming the Grandmaster in the process. He would incorporate the serpent seed doctrine into his own ranks to purge his army of “impure elements” and the once obscure doctrine spread quickly among the churches of Eden. Various Edenites, with the exception of the Nazarene Church, concluded that they had been chosen by God to live on this new Eden and that their enemies were of the serpent seed. However, the various faiths of Eden still remained fractured and dissonant.

Things would take an ugly turn when the Commonwealth Wars came to Eden. The arrival of the Commonwealth of Earth seemed to signal a sort of apocalyptic war to end all wars for many Edenites, with the serpent seed descending from the stars to butcher God’s flock. It was for this reason and general fear that many Edenites left the safety of their domes to their eventual deaths after the Commonwealth conquered Eden’s many dome cities.

Most Edenites were just very confused at the occupation, as they had assumed Earth had been destroyed centuries ago. Now, the Devil's armies were seemingly upon them. The three dominant churches of Eden were allowed to remain, but their territories and assets were mostly seized by the Commonwealth. The idea of the invaders being of the "Serpent Seed" was strong, and the only people willing to really deal with the Commonwealth were members of the Nazarene Church, who did not believe in the concept of Serpent Seed. So, along with some more accepting Baptists, Nazarenes were put in charge of settlements across Eden. The Commonwealth successfully utilized divide and conquer tactics along religious lines on Eden for many years, with the only unifying factor in the early years of the occupation being all sects condemnation of the Commonwealth’s attempts to colonise Tartarus. Edenites who refused to give up their xenophobic Serpent Seed beliefs were regulated to second class status while Earther colonists (Cainites), Nazarenes, and Loyalist Baptists were given significantly more rights.

Religion of Eden would finally being to unify before the Second Edenite Rebellion with the formation of the Edenite Brotherhood. The Edenite Brotherhood sought to transcend the religious sectarianism that plagued Eden in the past and called for all Edenites to unite under one banner to throw out the Commonwealth, the Cainites, and all traces of the Serpent Seed. This goal attracted the attention of many Edenite religious leaders and though the leadership of the main churches continued to ask for peace, many preachers and laypeople began to drift towards the Edenite Brotherhood in hope of liberating their home.

Within the Edenite Brotherhood, the various Christian denominations of Eden homogenized into one doctrine that would carry the group and its adherents through half a century of war. Upon achieving total victory over the Commonwealth in 3713, Eden would rest on its laurels for a while with an uneasy peace settling down between the various religious sects. However soon enough, the Edenite Brotherhood and religious leaders set about establishing a conference to establish a state church for Eden to avoid the past unpleasantness of the Edenite Wars of Religion. This conference set about nailing down doctrine for over twenty years before agreement between all sects on Eden was achieved in 3731. The merger was set to go through in 3736 but was rushed with the establishment of the Godly Republic of Eden in 3735. To coincide with the Godly Republic's founding, the Edenite Baptist Church was created in 3735.

After the establishment of the Edenite Baptist Church, it took a long while to truly establish the state church's authority over its new jurisdiction. For next century, the church struggled to impose its new unified doctrine upon everyone. The issue of the Serpent Seed had become controversial, and groups began to separate from the mainline church as early as the 3780s. The Orthodox Baptists were those who did not believe in the Serpent Seed but did not actively oppose the idea while the Unreformed Baptists were those who actively challenged the idea of Serpent Seed. The Unreformed Baptists were seen as detriments and allies to the Cainites while the Orthodox Baptists were accepted with some apprehension.

Current Era[edit | edit source]

In two centuries, the Edenite Baptist Church has settled into a status quo as a powerful state entity and the main religion of the Teegarden System. However, the church has stayed careful not to become too comfortable in its position as it is still on guard against internal threats such as the Unreformed Baptists and Cainites and external threats such as materialism and consumerism. Edenite Baptists remain mostly confined to the Teegarden System though they do have a small presence on Zhu Que and a few other planets as well.

Structure[edit | edit source]

The Edenite Baptist Church is a hierarchical organisation with the elected Council President of the Church at the head. The church council is the governing body of the Edenite Baptist Church deciding doctrine and theology. The church is further divided into four levels: the local congregation, the local council, the state council, and the church council. There are 8 affiliated state councils or fellowships including those on Eden, Tartarus, and Ukobach.

Local congregations are headed by pastors or reverends who lead their congregations in Sunday services and matters of community. Within the Edenite Baptist Church, the local church, the building itself and community around it, is the cornerstone of religious activity.

Membership[edit | edit source]

The overwhelming majority of the Godly Republic of Eden are members of the Edenite Baptist Church, as it is the state church and omnipresent throughout Edenite society. Outside the Teegarden System, the religion is only present in a few other places most prominently the tiny Edenite diplomatic community on Zhu Que.