"The Examiner says that a Baptist minister recently stated that ninety per cent of
the Baptist churches in this country are 'open communion,' and that the old
custom of 'close communion' is abandoned. The Examiner thinks that the
statement might be heavily discounted, if not reversed, taking the country
through, without going very wide of the mark. As our observation goes, and it
has been rather wide, we do not know a single Baptist Church in the South which
practices 'open communion.'"
[Document provided by Ben Stratton; scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall,]
𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟒!
E. E. Folk
(Edgar Estes Folk {1856-1917} was editor of the Baptist and Reflector newspaper in Tennessee
from 1888 until his death in 1917. The Examiner of New York was the leading Baptist newspaper
in the North. Thomas Conant, the editor of The Examiner, stated that 90% of American Baptists
rejected open communion, while Folk stated it was 100% in the South. As a popular newspaper editor,
author, and pastor, Folk was very familiar with Baptists throughout his region. This article
appeared in his newspaper on March 31, 1904.)
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