May 27, 2002
Historian traces roots and modern influence of Baptist-style Calvinism
___By Robert O'Brien
___Associated Baptist Press
___RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)--The current Baptist "fuss" over Calvinism is just that--"a fuss, not a full-blown controversy," according to historian Walter Shurden.
___But the fuss is likely to be around for a while, he added, and it has significant implications for Baptist theology.
___"Some fundamentalists are Calvinists, but not all Calvinists are fundamentalists," explained Shurden, professor of Christianity and executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University. He spoke May 17 to the Virginia Baptist Historical Society.
___Shurden and other scholars have noted a recent resurgence of Calvinistic teaching and preaching among Southern Baptists. Calvinism is a theological framework developed during the Reformation by John Calvin. Its adherents call their views "Reformed" theology or "the doctrines of grace."
___Calvinists differ from other Baptists primarily on two related points of doctrine. Calvinists teach that before the foundation of the world God chose certain people for salvation, thereby assigning others to damnation by default. Calvinism further teaches that God's grace is so irresistible to the elect that it is not possible for them to die without first professing faith in Christ.
___Southern Baptist Calvinists now hold their own annual theological conference, called the Founders Conference. Prominent Southern Baptist Convention Calvinists include Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and Timothy George, dean of the Beeson School of Divinity at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
___The Calvinism issue has practical concerns, such as what kind of pastors will fill Baptist pulpits and what kind of influences will prevail on campuses of universities and seminaries, Shurden said.
___With its new influence, "Many Baptist young people raised on John 3:16, are turning to strict Calvinism," Shurden said.
___Implications for biblical interpretation, he added, include balancing Calvinistic-cited passages (such as Romans 8:28-30; Romans 9; 1 Peter 1:1-2; and Ephesians 1:3-12) and non-Calvinistic passages (such as John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9.)
___Considered in theological terms, "The core issue is the exercise of divine sovereignty," Shurden said: Did God use divine sovereignty to "elect" some to salvation, while passing others by? Or did God use divine sovereignty to give all people freedom to respond to the gospel?
___Historically, a non-Calvinist approach to faith appeared first in Baptist life, Shurden said. Over time, Calvinism became a prominent part of the Baptist tradition, but strict Calvinism never has owned the Baptist field to itself or constituted the major tradition of Baptist life.
___"The vast majority of Baptists today are not strict Calvinists," Shurden said.
___Streams of the history of Baptists in America--such as the Regular or Particular Baptists, the General Baptists, and the Separate Baptists--have deposited mixed elements in Baptist theology.
___That mixture has tempered the extremes of Calvinism, but a stricter Calvinism that proponents tend to equate with "the gospel" is beginning to resurface in Baptist life, Shurden suggested.
___Calvinism finds its roots in John Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" and the Reformation. It underlies the doctrine in Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Calvin also influenced the early Puritans.
___Shurden described Calvin as a "great man," but said many of his followers have taken his teaching to extremes.
___In some extremes in Baptist history, Shurden said, Calvinism has generated an anti-missions and anti-evangelism spirit on the grounds that God has already chosen or "elected" those who will have salvation.
___Citing Baptist historian Leon McBeth's assessment of Calvinism, Shurden said that a stricter Calvinism has resurfaced in recent years for several reasons. Some Baptist Calvinists see themselves rediscovering the main tradition in Baptist history, while rejecting a shallow and pragmatic evangelism. He also noted that the uncertainty of society and the consequent drive for certainty and security play into the hands of a rather dogmatic Calvinism.
___"There is a heresy of 'exactness' in our society," Shurden said. "It can cause divisions among us."
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