500th Anniversary of the Reformation – Sola Fide

Fundamentalist Baptists have always had a curious relationship with the Reformation. This article clearly wants to appreciate the Reformation, but wants to stand apart from it, too. I suspect the controversy over the issue of Baptist origins lies behind this arms-length embrace. I don’t think there is a need to be coy … unless you’re a spiritual kinship guy or someone who is fearful of alienating a constituency.

The article continues:

It is important for us, as Baptists, to recognize the role that Luther played in history without bowing to “Reformation Theology.”

That’s not too surprising. I’ve heard MBU used to take a more spiritual kinship position. When I took Baptist History there, we used McBeth’s text, which advocates an English Separatist position. This article’s approach is clearly to stand outside the Reformation, looking inward from a distance. I have become more convinced the English Separatist view is the best one, and that Baptists (especially Particular Baptists) are direct heirs of the Reformation.