July 10, 2000
Faith statement poses 'guilt by association'
___By Bob Allen
___Associated Baptist Press
___ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP)--Recent revisions to the Baptist Faith & Message are creating a quandary for moderate Southern Baptists who now disagree with the denomination's declaration of faith.
___Fellowship members discussed the impact of the new Baptist Faith & Message during the group's June 29-July 1 general assembly.
___"There's a distrust of people to make up their own minds and be free," said David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church of Winston-Salem, N.C. "It reminds me of the medieval Catholic system, where the church didn't even want you to own a Bible, much less read one, because you didn't have the ability to interpret it for yourself."
___"In an attempt to eliminate 'aberrant thinking,' whatever that is, there's now a need to stay strongly and tightly accountable as you read Scripture," Hughes said. "It reflects a profound distrust in the ability of regular people to read the Bible."
___Some participants said the new statement should prompt the 9-year-old Fellowship to declare it no longer is Southern Baptist.
___"We've always been very reluctant to say anything about being separate from" the SBC, said a speaker who did not identify himself. "Is it time that we admit we are not part of them anymore?"
___Others wished it were that simple. Ninety percent of participants indicated they attend churches that send money both to the Fellowship and SBC.
___Some who support the Fellowship as individuals said no CBF church exists in their community and that leaving the SBC would entail that they become a non-Baptist.
___An unidentified audience member said every Southern Baptist church is now perceived to share the disputed views because of "guilt by association."
___Some said the theological battle that divided the SBC in the 1980s now moves to a new level.
___"This has now become a local church and an association struggle," said Randall Lolley, former president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
___"We've seen a sea shift," Lolley said. "This has so far been national and state. This puts it right in Peoria and on Main Street. This is going to become an acid test for any participation on the state or national level."
___Gary Parker, CBF principles coordinator, said the issue in the SBC is "no longer a power struggle but a shift in theology," noting some parts of the new Baptist Faith & Message statement are "heresy."
___Churches are faced with an issue of "doctrinal integrity" about whether they can remain in the SBC, he said.
___"This very much resembles a divorce that is never going to be closed until one side decides to walk away without getting everything he wants," said Annette Hill-Briggs, whose church, University Baptist in Bloomington, Ind., was expelled from its association for calling her as pastor.
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