MikeClawson was just providing information in case someone wanted to know what “primitive” meant in the context of this baptist sect.
Not like he was personally calling you an idiot., i like tea.

You’ve always annoyed the shit out of me. Good to see that trend continue.

huh?

A question I have, though, is: Is that a redefinition of the word ‘primitive’ by the Primitive Baptists, or is it a restoration of an older meaning?

Not a redefinition (it did used to mean “original”) but it’s not exactly a “restoration” either. The Primitive Baptists have just been around long enough that when they first chose the name (in the mid-1800’s) it still did mean “original”. The meaning of the word has changed since then, but the Primitive Baptists apparently never bothered to update their name.

We sometimes forget that words didn’t always mean what they mean to us today. Living languages are constantly in flux.

You’ve always annoyed the shit out of me. Good to see that trend continue.

“We sometimes forget that words didn’t always mean what they mean to us today. Living languages are constantly in flux.”

Yeah but, funny, right? I mean, come on. That’s part of the humor of language. Multiple meanings.

“Who’s on first?”
“Primitive Baptist! Though the friction from the knuckles dragging might become a factor in later innings…”

A question I have, though, is: Is that a redefinition of the word ‘primitive’ by the Primitive Baptists, or is it a restoration of an older meaning?

The word “Primitive” is sometimes taken by outsiders to mean “backward,” but in context of this division among Baptists, it means “original.” These churches attempt to retain and/or restore primitive (or original) patterns of the church, such as family worship, a cappella singing, closed communion, and feet washing.

We sometimes forget that words didn’t always mean what they mean to us today. Living languages are constantly in flux.

The Primitive Baptists – wow. I stumbled across them a few years ago when I was doing some genealogical research and discovered one of my ancestors had been a Primitive Baptist circuit-riding preacher. I wrote to one of their societies because they had some historical information on him, and stepped right into a hornet’s nest of controversy when they started sending me tracts and letters, etc. The vitriol was quite amazing!

These folks have been fighting for about 200 years with other Baptists over whether Christians should evangelize and send missionaries to other countries. The Primitives think the holy spirit is in charge of bringing the proper people to belief in Christ and Christians should not be meddling in that or devoting any money to the effort. This is the total opposite of what evangelicals believe!