Baptistic Theologies, 2009

oming worse and worse’. Diesen, Norges Vekkelseshistorie gjennom 1000 dr, p. 35. Baptist Beginnings in Norway 109 only way to be rid of the ‘problem’ was to seek to banish all the Zionists who were in jail, expelling them from the country. In 1744, forty-eight of them left Norway for Altona near Hamburg, Germany, which at the time was a free town for religious dissenters. The banishment of the leaders from the country, together with the vagaries of fanatical elements in the movement, was too heavy a burden for the movement to survive, and by the end of the century it had become practically extinct. Although most of the leaders were removed some remained and later became influential in Norway. Conclusion The Zionittene impact, although brief, set the stage for future changes. Their ardent search of the scriptures led them to practice and teach four basic principles of Baptist identity, which is for me the key to their impact and preparation of the soil for the eventual establishment of the Baptist work in Norway in 1857. These were: new birth with believer’s baptism; a believer’s church; separation of church and state; and the priesthood of all believers. We can establish the connection between the Zionittene and the next and maybe the most important movement in Norwegian spiritual history, namely the Haugian Revivals. The founder of the movement Hans Nilsen Hauge wrote fifty years later when in Asker about the Zionittene movement. 33 Hans Nilsen Hauge and the Haugian Revival Prior to Hans Nilsen Hauge’s entrance onto the spiritual landscape of Norway, the Norwegian spiritual landscape had been changing drastically. Rationalism had its greatest impact. It was during this period when the view was put forward that human intellect should impact all of life, and of course God’s Word especially. When rationalism arrived in the church sanctuary and in theology, it denied the reality, possibility, and necessity of 32 First of all, they proclaimed strongly the necessity of a new birth experience, rejecting infant baptism and practising total immersion based upon their faith in Christ. Secondly, they taught that the local congregation was made up of only the saved. Thirdly, they believed strongly in separation of Church and State. Fourthly, they believed in the biblical concept of the priesthood of the believer and practiced the Lord’s Supper as a symbol and meal of remembrance. All of these are strongly held Baptist beliefs today (Personal Comments). 33 He wrote: ‘In Asker there was a remnant of a religious movement, which I believe a lay person had been the originator of, since from the beginning he had been a very humble and God fearing man, who when persecution began in Norway against them, some of them went to Germany, but later returned to Norway. I did not know any of them, but recognised differences between them and the State religion, and their strong desire and strength. People talked about