Theology professor examines
background to statement's changes
___By James Leo Garrett Jr.
___The proposed 2000 Baptist Faith & Message statement to be presented to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando contains five types of changes in comparison with the 1963/1998 Baptist Faith & Message: (1) items restored from the 1925 Baptist Faith & Message; (2) newly composed additions; (3) minor alterations to the language of the Baptist Faith & Message; (4) deletions from the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message; and (5) an addition to Article 18, adopted in 1998. These five types of changes in respect to origin can best be understood by means of a selective topical commentary on the changes that focuses on likely intent, meaning and effect.
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Preamble. The new preamble contains the same five-fold statement of purposes and limits of Baptist confessions of faith which was contained in the 1925 and the 1963 versions. It does not include all the remainder of the prefatory material used in either 1925 or 1963. Instead, the preamble is a new historical review and rationale.
___In 1925 the Baptist Faith & Message was said to be needed because of the prevalent "naturalism" (or "anti-supernaturalism"), and the new preamble makes reference to this. In 1963, Southern Baptists were said to have a "living faith" rooted in Jesus Christ, whose will is revealed in the Scriptures. Likewise, in 1963, the fact that Baptists emphasized "the soul's competency before God, freedom in religion and the priesthood of the believer" should not be taken to mean that Baptists did not "believe, cherish," and identify with specific doctrines. These particular 1963 statements are noticeably absent from the preamble to the new Baptist Faith & Message. But neither the 1925 nor the 1963 nor the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message specifically defines either soul competency or the priesthood of all Christians.
___ The Scriptures. The proposed Baptist Faith & Message makes two alterations to the 1963 article: one an addition and the other a substitution. The sentence, "Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy" is added. By affirming clearly but in general terms the full truthfulness and trustworthiness of the Bible and by not opting for one of the seven or eight theories of biblical inerrancy, the committee has invited a broad acceptance among Southern Baptists. The final sentence of the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message was deleted, allegedly because it could be used to permit some authoritative source for the knowledge of Jesus Christ other than the canonical Scriptures or used to support the view that, by appealing to the higher authority of Jesus, one could accept the so-called valid and reject the so-called invalid elements in the Bible. The 1963 statement read: "The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." In its place one finds this sentence: "All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is himself the focus of divine revelation."
___ God (introductory). Two additions are proposed. The first, affirming that God is "all powerful" and "all knowing," is doubtless designed to counter the views of the "openness of God" theology (John Sanders, Clark Pinnock), according to which God does not foreknow all future events because God has yet to experience them or lest human freedom be abridged. But the committee does not opt for John Calvin's view on the opposite extreme, namely, that God foreknows all future events because of his having foreordained all events. Instead, the centrist position is affirmed, namely, that God foreknows "the future decisions of his free creatures."
___Second, the one word "triune" is inserted in "The eternal God" so as read "The eternal triune God." Since the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message affirmed that God "reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit," the committee seemingly intends to affirm that God in his very being is eternally triune (ontological Trinity) and not simply that God has revealed himself in history as triune (Trinity of manifestation). Even so, the Trinity remains one of the most underdeveloped doctrines in the new Baptist Faith & Message.
___God the Son. The only substantive change is the addition of the word "substitutionary" so that "his death" becomes "his substitutionary death." This means Southern Baptists would affirm that the death of Jesus is to be understood because of the righteousness of God as Jesus' bearing or enduring the punishment due on account of the sins of human beings instead of or in the place of those human beings (Isaiah 53:4-12; Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 5:21). This statement does not thereby deny that Southern Baptists also may hold that Jesus' death, in relation to his life and his resurrection, is an expression of God's love and its drawing power or God's victory over sin, death and Satan or a powerful example for the disciples of Jesus.
___God the Holy Spirit. Very significant is the addition, "At the moment of regeneration, he (the Holy Spirit) baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ." Undoubtedly this change is intended to refute the Pentecostal teaching that believers are to seek a post-regenerational baptism by Christ with the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues. But the six New Testament texts contrasting the baptism by John the Baptist with that by Jesus (Mark 1:8; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16) refer to Jesus as the baptizer. Moreover, many Baptists have held that the baptism in or with the Holy Spirit occurred once for all on the Day of Pentecost. While Baptists often have interpreted 1 Corinthians 12:13a as referring to the new birth, many commentators have taken it to refer to water baptism.
___Salvation. Two additions appear in the fourth article. Whereas the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message declared that "salvation includes regeneration, sanctification and glorification," presumably suggesting their past, present and future dimensions and using these three as the structure of the article itself, the new Baptist Faith & Message adds "justification" to the list, possibly because the 1925 Baptist Faith & Message included an article on justification. But why not also conversion, adoption, redemption, liberation, forgiveness, reconciliation and union with Christ?
___The other addition denies any "salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord." Probably this has been written to affirm an exclusivist position (Hendrik Kraemer, John Newport, Ronald Nash) in the current debate about the destiny of the unevangelized. According to exclusivism, Jesus is the only Savior of humankind, and salvation hinges on explicit faith in Jesus. The pluralist view (John Hick) affirms that a Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist may be saved in or through his own religion. The inclusivist view (Sanders, Pinnock) affirms possible salvation through the transcendent Christ without any knowledge of the historical Jesus, any expressed repentance or profession of faith or any adherence to a Christian community of faith.
___The Church. Five changes are being proposed. First, the word "autonomous" in reference to a church is being moved from a sentence on church polity to the basic definition of a church. Second, the 1963 affirmation that a church is to be "committed to his (Christ's) teachings" has been deleted and the 1925 statement "governed by his laws" instead inserted. Third, the 1963 statement that in a Baptist church "members are equally responsible" in its "democratic processes" has been omitted. In its place the committee proposes: "Each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord." Such a statement reduces the collective responsibility of the congregation's members and offers no hindrance to pastor-dominated or deacon-dominated or elder-ruled or faction-dominated polity. Fourth, acknowledgement is made that "both men and women are gifted for service in the church," but only males may occupy "the office of pastor." The former will probably be a welcome addition to Baptist confessions. The latter will likely prove to be the most controversial change in the new Baptist Faith & Message. In addition to widespread support, it may evoke opposition from the few Southern Baptist churches in which women serve as pastors, from those who reckon this a local church, not a convention, issue, and from those who have a more egalitarian approach to this issue. Fifth, to the definition of the church as the body of Christ is added a quotation of Revelation 5:9c.
___The Lord's Day. Two changes are proposed. First, whereas the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message stated that the Lord's Day "should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion," the new document states that it "should include" such exercises. Second and more importantly, the 1963 statement about "refraining from worldly amusements and resting from secular employments, work of necessity and mercy only being excepted" has been deleted. In its place one finds a new statement that "activities" on the Lord's Day "should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under" Christ's lordship. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this is an accommodation to the secularization/ desabbathization of Sunday in American society and among Southern Baptists.
___The Christian and the Social Order. There are four substantive additions. First, "racism" is added to those practices Christians should oppose. Second, "all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality and pornography," are likewise inserted. Third, "the abused" are added to the groups for which Christians should make provision. Fourth, Christians "should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death." The moral condition of American society is sufficient causal explanation for these changes, which include specific words about homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia.
___Peace and War. The 1925 Baptist Faith & Message statement urging Christians "throughout the world" to "pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace" is reinserted, but the connected statement that Christians should "oppose everything likely to provoke war" is not so reinserted.
___James Leo Garrett is distinguished professor of theology emeritus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth
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