Changes

They generally strongly oppose Calvinism, except they hold to the doctrine of eternal security.  They also generally oppose Pentecostalism and charismatic teachings.

They generally strongly oppose Calvinism, except they hold to the doctrine of eternal security.  They also generally oppose Pentecostalism and charismatic teachings.

Historically they have not hesitated to practice Biblical separation from groups and persons not holding to similar views: many churches either broke away ''en masse'' from other Baptist denominations (mainly the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]) or split off from churches which remained in the denominations.  As such they tend to speak against more popular Christian teachers such as [[Billy Graham]], [[Rick Warren]], and [[Joel Osteen]]. However, this practice has waned in recent years among larger congregations which have, in some cases, joined or rejoined denominations (an example being Thomas Road Baptist Church, which was originally independent and a member of the quasi-denominational [[Baptist Bible Fellowship International]], but later joined the Southern Baptist Convention and now is dually aligned with both groups).  Of all the Protestant groups they have the hardest stance against [[Roman Catholicism]]; some holding the view that it is the [[Whore of Babylon]] mentioned in Revelation 17-18.  Even on matters where they would agree with another denomination (such as abortion) they refuse to have any association with them due to their hard stance on separation.

Historically they have not hesitated to practice Biblical separation from groups and persons not holding to similar views: many churches either broke away ''en masse'' from other Baptist denominations (mainly the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]) or split off from churches which remained in the denominations.  As such they tend to speak against more popular Christian teachers such as [[Rick Warren]] and [[Joel Osteen]], and to a lessor extent, [[Billy Graham]]. However, this practice has waned in recent years among larger congregations which have, in some cases, joined or rejoined denominations (an example being Thomas Road Baptist Church, which was originally independent and a member of the quasi-denominational [[Baptist Bible Fellowship International]], but later joined the Southern Baptist Convention and now is dually aligned with both groups).  Of all the Protestant groups they have the hardest stance against [[Roman Catholicism]]; some holding the view that it is the [[Whore of Babylon]] mentioned in Revelation 17-18.  Even on matters where they would agree with another denomination (such as abortion) they refuse to have any association with them due to their hard stance on separation. IFBs generally have even stronger opposition to [[Mormonism]] and [[Jehovah's Witness]], often considering the two to be [[cult]]s.

They tend to be highly conservative in lifestyles, with almost all shunning alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs, and with most being highly critical of movies and television, with some avoiding secular programming altogether. Independent Baptists typically dress very conservatively: some congregations discourage women from wearing pantsuits, and it is extremely rare for the pastor not to wear a coat and tie while preaching. [[Homeschooling]] is quite prevalent among IFB's; while other families may send their children to a private Christian school, often sponsored by an IFB church. In fact, one of the largest publisher of homeschooling materials is Abeka, which is affiliated with [[Pensacola Christian College|an Independent Baptist college in Florida]]. Nonetheless, some IFB families send their children to [[public school]], sometimes for financial reasons, sometimes hoping that their children will provide a good testimony to other children, sometimes due to a lack of other options, and sometimes because the IFB families themselves work in the public school system.

They tend to be highly conservative in lifestyles, with almost all shunning alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs, and with most being highly critical of movies and television, with some avoiding secular programming altogether. Independent Baptists typically dress very conservatively: some congregations discourage women from wearing pantsuits, and it is extremely rare for the pastor not to wear a coat and tie while preaching. [[Homeschooling]] is quite prevalent among IFB's; while other families may send their children to a private Christian school, often sponsored by an IFB church. In fact, one of the largest publisher of homeschooling materials is Abeka, which is affiliated with [[Pensacola Christian College|an Independent Baptist college in Florida]]. Nonetheless, some IFB families send their children to [[public school]], sometimes for financial reasons, sometimes hoping that their children will provide a good testimony to other children, sometimes due to a lack of other options, and sometimes because the IFB families themselves work in the public school system.