January 13, 2003
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Drawing circles
___Some people call doctrinal statements "creeds," some "confessions." Some clone the term "confession" and use it for "creed."
___It is easy to tell which is which by the way the statement is used: Creeds divide people. Confessions draw circles around people.
___I have decided I want to draw circles around people. It
may mean hard work helping some people work out problems in their doctrinal errors until they find biblical truth.
___Jesus said, "A house that divides itself will fall."
___
Bentley Gwyn
___
Colorado City
Vanishing breed
___Thanks for running the obituary on my father, Edwin Crawford (Jan. 6). He was one of a vanishing breed of spiritual leaders.
___He believed we ought to major on commonalties and minor on differences. He believed we ought to talk to each other rather than talk about each other. He believed the individual hurts of the world were of greater importance than the personal agendas of men. He believed that more problems could be solved on our knees than could be solved on our soapboxes.
___May his breed of spiritual leadership experience resurrection.
___
Dan R. Crawford
___
Fort Worth
Pioneer spirit
___Bravo to the new Wayland Baptist University scholarship in honor of Associate Professor Christa Smith (Dec. 30). As Wayland alumni, my wife and I are very pleased to see this tribute.
___For those of us who studied under her and those like me who wish they had studied much harder, she is remembered best for her passion for languages, friendliness and marked intelligence. She is fluent in at least three languages, and she always took time to help students learn to study more effectively. She also makes some of the best German food anyone will ever taste.
___This is the Wayland Pioneer spirit at its best.
___
David Sparks
___
Lewisville
States' rights
___Thank you for reporting on Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Black and his statements on "states' rights" (Jan. 6).
___I can't believe a professor at a Christian institution of higher learning could write and speak about "states' rights" and not understand its sinful, racist undercurrent.
___While this man has a right to his personal political beliefs (even though I pray his heart changes), he uses his professorship at Southeastern to add credibility to his fringe right-wing writings. His political essays posted on the web describe the author as "a seminary professor" or as "professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary." This reflects poorly on all of us as Baptists and as Christians.
___Paige Patterson may have cleaned out Southeastern Seminary, but look at what he dragged in as replacement.
___
Jerry Leeper
___
Dallas
Biblical ethics
___How sad! The seminary renowned for its Christian ethics department (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) announces it has suspended doctoral degree programs in this discipline due to the retirement or resignation of faculty.
___Christian ethics at Southwestern was birthed and nurtured by the respected biblical scholar T.B. Maston, who consistently graduated the seminary's second-highest number of doctoral students. (New Testament was always first.)
___As a former professor of Christian ethics at another Southern Baptist Convention seminary, I think I know the reason for the decline. A friend who was contacted about teaching Christian ethics at Southwestern said the administrator explained, "We want a Christian ethics teacher who can help us get away from the Maston tradition and get back to the Bible!" The statement indicates the ignorance of the person and the impossibility of the task.
___Even Maston's critics recognized he was biblical to a fault--if he or his students neglected any area, it was not in biblical teachings.
___Sad it is when political persuasions blind us to the truth and lead us away from the best of our heritage, to the detriment of the theological education of this generation of ministers and church leaders.
___Yes, our SBC seminaries seem to be working at getting away from the Maston tradition, but in so doing, they are also getting away from warm-hearted, compassionate, Christ-centered Christian ethics built upon the Bible, the main textbook in every class taught by Maston, whom most say was the most Christ-like person they ever met.
___
Joe Trull
___
Wimberley
___What do you think? Submit letters for Texas Baptist Forum via e-mail to marvknox@baptiststandard.com or regular mail at Box 660267, Dallas 75266-0267. Letters must be no longer than 250 words. They may be edited to accommodate space but will not be edited to alter content. Published letters reflect a cross-section of letters received. Texas Baptist Forum honors Baptists' historic respect for the priesthood of the believer and provides a place for readers to express their views on issues of the day.
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