As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Because the Bible teaches that individuals, not the state or some other entity, are accountable for themselves to God, Leland and the Baptists believed in the rights of conscience….They also believed in separation of church and state.” - P&D
“Ortlund helpfully examines the historical place of the creeds in the life of Baptists. He engages with the current conversation animated by the SBC Annual Meeting motion to add the Nicene Creed to the Baptist Faith and Message.” - Credo
“Giving creeds and confessions a derivative, though real, authority is not a so-called ‘abomination of creedmaking’ ” - London Lyceum
“The current total membership of Southern Baptist congregations is 13,223,122, down from 13,680,493 in 2021. The 457,371 members lost is the largest single-year numerical drop in more than 100 years.” - BPNews
“Backus’s theological rationale of liberty is not that every person should do what he desires, but that every person must reckon with God as an individual.
Edgar Mullins was the fourth president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I recently finished his classic The Axioms of Religion: A New Interpretation of the Baptist Faith (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1908). His is a refreshingly simple exposition of Baptist Christianity. I’ll provide a sketch of Mullin’s position here, and note some of its implications and possible rebukes for modern Baptists in 2022 America.
“Yes, the bride of Christ — the church — is seared, spotted, smudged and smeared. Yet even so. The gentle and humble can still be found. Like Pastor Vern. And like countless other pastors, missionaries, teachers and servants who spend hidden lives of no name or repute, toiling for God’s kingdom in The Middle of Nowhere, day in and day out.” - C.Leaders
The Free Will Baptist literature explains their American heritage comes from two distinct movements in the early to mid-18th century which eventually coalesced into the modern-day National Association of Free Will Baptists in 1935. Here, we present some excerpts from their statement of faith:1
The True Confession (1596) was the work of an English-Separatist congregation of Baptists in exile in Amsterdam. This excerpt is from William L. Lumpkins, Baptist Confessions of Faith, revised ed. (Valley Forge, PA: Judson, 1969). The spelling was updated where necessary.
Discussion