Southern Baptist Denomination Q&A

[TigerintheShadows]

So Ayn Rand proposed a denominational Q&A. I was a touch skeptical at first, but then I thought, why not? I decided to make it a separate thread, of course, so as not to overload the original proposal thread.

We cover all the usual bases; Jesus Christ is the ultimate savior of the world, He is the Son of God, who created said world, He is manifested through us via the Holy Spirit (that is, the Spirit is what resides in every believer), and the Bible is the final and only holy Word of God. As far as this board is concerned, I think everyone feels that way. But if you have any specific questions, I shall answer them to the best of my ability.

[John Chrysostom]

Could you share a bit about your personal journey? Were you raised Southern Baptist? What really draws you to Southern Baptist?

Do you also maybe have some links that have any sort of statement of faith or history of Southern Baptist?

[TigerintheShadows]

I was indeed born and raised in the Southern Baptist church. I think I'm drawn to it because everything I've been taught in church squares with Scripture as I have both interpreted and been taught. I'm also a conservative--to a degree, anyway--and Southern Baptism, at least where I attend, is conservative without being extreme. Another attraction is the fact that I attend a church where we are encouraged not only to read the Bible, but to study it from a scholarly viewpoint. I have an insatiable need to logically justify my viewpoints (on everything, not just Scripture), and the fact that I am encouraged to do so draws me in.

Our statement of faith can be summarized thus:

"Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.

Baptist churches, associations, and general bodies have adopted confessions of faith as a witness to the world, and as instruments of doctrinal accountability. We are not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines we hold precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice.

As a committee, we have been charged to address the "certain needs" of our own generation. In an age increasingly hostile to Christian truth, our challenge is to express the truth as revealed in Scripture, and to bear witness to Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

The 1963 committee rightly sought to identify and affirm "certain definite doctrines that Baptists believe, cherish, and with which they have been and are now closely identified." Our living faith is established upon eternal truths. "Thus this generation of Southern Baptists is in historic succession of intent and purpose as it endeavors to state for its time and theological climate those articles of the Christian faith which are most surely held among us."

It is the purpose of this statement of faith and message to set forth certain teachings which we believe."

[John Chrysostom]

Which confessions of faith do you use?

How often do you take communion and is it open or closed?

Do you have much interaction with people your age from other churches in your denomination? Both locally, if you live in an area with more than one church of your denomination, and nationally.

[TigerintheShadows]

As a denomination, not very many. It's just not traditional for us. We do use the Apostles' Creed once in awhile at my church specifically, but we don't recite the Nicene Creed every morning or anything.

Our communion is open to believers who are not under church discipline or is in good standing with their church. We take it at the first Sunday of every month and during Good Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve services.

The only time we really interact with people of our same denomination outside of our church is when we go to church camps, and those are usually out-of-state. There's also the Southern Baptist Convention, but that's for specific people, not churches in general.

[Steve]

Do you guys listen to as much Third Day music as everyone from up North says you do?

[Whitty Whit]

I've wondered: What type of worship do you have? Singing worship (the phrase escapes me)...

How do you view man: inherently good, or just pure evil?

How did evil come about? Did God create evil?

[TigerintheShadows]

Do you guys listen to as much Third Day music as everyone from up North says you do?

My church specifically, no. I don't know about others. Hey, they can have their Third Day. Chris Tomlin's our man.

I've wondered: What type of worship do you have? Singing worship (the phrase escapes me)...

Our order of events is usually a musical call to worship, then a welcome/baptism time (depending on if someone's getting baptized that day or not), then a few more worship songs, then a sermon, then a hymn/offertory (except on Lord's Supper days, when the offertory is done just before the sermon), then a brief prayer and the pastor telling us all to head out. We believe in both worship through song and worship through education in the Word.

How do you view man: inherently good, or just pure evil?

We believe that inherently, man's nature is to sin, and that we cannot be "good enough" or just "a good person". We believe that everyone is inclined to sin, and that the only way to avoid sinning is through Jesus Christ.

How did evil come about? Did God create evil?

No. I cannot speak for my denomination on this one; I imagine that if one put three or four Southern Baptists in a room and asked them what their view is on predestination/free will, they'd all have a different answer. I believe that this is one of those things about God that we're just not going to figure out, but as best as I can figure, God gives us a choice, but He knows the one we're going to make, and that included Satan and the fallen angels. Because God is not evil, He did not "create" evil; rather, He allowed its presence. Satan didn't "create" evil, either, because that's giving him more power than he actually has. Satan is a natural pervert; he simply took what was good and twisted it, and that is why evil exists. It wasn't created; it is a twisting of what is supposed to be good and perfect.

[Whitty Whit]

How do you view man: inherently good, or just pure evil?

We believe that inherently, man's nature is to sin, and that we cannot be "good enough" or just "a good person". We believe that everyone is inclined to sin, and that the only way to avoid sinning is through Jesus Christ.

So was man created evil?

How did evil come about? Did God create evil?

No. I cannot speak for my denomination on this one; I imagine that if one put three or four Southern Baptists in a room and asking them what their view is on predestination/free will, they'd all have a different answer. I believe that this is one of those things about God that we're just not going to figure out, but as best as I can figure, God gives us a choice, but He knows the one we're going to make, and that included Satan and the fallen angels. Because God is not evil, He did not "create" evil; rather, He allowed its presence. Satan didn't "create" evil, either, because that's giving him more power than he actually has. Satan is a natural pervert; he simply took what was good and twisted it, and that is why evil exists. It wasn't created; it is a twisting of what is supposed to be good and perfect.

Be careful when you say "Satan is a natural pervert". Because when I read that, I instantly thought of people taking that statement and then say "well then people are born gay" or something like that.

[TigerintheShadows]

How do you view man: inherently good, or just pure evil?

We believe that inherently, man's nature is to sin, and that we cannot be "good enough" or just "a good person". We believe that everyone is inclined to sin, and that the only way to avoid sinning is through Jesus Christ.

So was man created evil?

No; man was created perfect. As I said, God is not evil, and therefore He cannot create evil. He allows evil, and as such, humans from Adam and Eve's children forward are born inherently sinful.

How did evil come about? Did God create evil?

No. I cannot speak for my denomination on this one; I imagine that if one put three or four Southern Baptists in a room and asking them what their view is on predestination/free will, they'd all have a different answer. I believe that this is one of those things about God that we're just not going to figure out, but as best as I can figure, God gives us a choice, but He knows the one we're going to make, and that included Satan and the fallen angels. Because God is not evil, He did not "create" evil; rather, He allowed its presence. Satan didn't "create" evil, either, because that's giving him more power than he actually has. Satan is a natural pervert; he simply took what was good and twisted it, and that is why evil exists. It wasn't created; it is a twisting of what is supposed to be good and perfect.

Be careful when you say "Satan is a natural pervert". Because when I read that, I instantly thought of people taking that statement and then say "well then people are born gay" or something like that.

Haha, yeah, when I said that, I knew it would probably come back to bite me in some way, but I couldn't think of another way to put it.

[Dr. Watson]

I am not a Southern Baptist, but it is interesting to note that the original Southern Baptists were decidedly Calvinistic in their doctrine. In modern times, as Ginnie Weasley pointed out, there are vastly differing views inside the SBC.

[TigerintheShadows]

Haha, and we know only too well. My brother, for example, happens to be something of a Calvinist; I don't know if he believes all of the doctrines of John Calvin, but he does believe in a good many. I know several Southern Baptists who are quite a bit more liberal, even within my own church, which is a particularly conservative one (as much as we splash out on programs and T-shirts and whatnot).

[Blitz]

I never think much about Southern Baptists but do you usually sing hymns or do you often sing contemporary.

[TigerintheShadows]

We usually sing contemporary music and remixed versions of hymns, or at least my church does. I've been to other churches where they do that, but we're a pretty big denomination, so I'm quite sure that it's not the same for everybody.

[John Chrysostom]

Does your denomination have stated reasons for only recognizing 66 books in the Bible?

Do you believe that miracles happen in the present age?

[odysseyfan1]

Do you believe only in KJV version? Contemporary or traditional worship music? Do you believe in eternal security and predestination?

[TigerintheShadows]

Does your denomination have stated reasons for only recognizing 66 books in the Bible?

I think it goes back to Church history--where, in searches for authenticity, we concluded that only those 66 needed to be in the Bible. I'm not sure what council or meeting this was, and I'm actually pretty sure it's just a Protestant thing, not specifically Baptist.

Do you believe that miracles happen in the present age?

Certainly. It would make little to no sense not to believe that miracles happen. Maybe we don't have the Son of God curing blindness, but because God still works, miracles still happen, no matter how small.

Do you believe only in KJV version?

We believe in many different translations. The younger members of my church typically use NIV because it's easier to understand, and from there it branches out. I know that most of us use ESV, though.

Contemporary or traditional worship music?

The music doesn't matter to us that much. Some Baptist churches are pretty small and use traditional music; others, like mine, are huge and can't resist splashing out a little to use the more contemporary stuff (Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns, for example).

Do you believe in eternal security

Of course. Once you're saved, you don't have to keep being saved. That, as far as I have learned, was done away with after the crucifixion/resurrection.

and predestination?

Heavens gracious, there's a topic. Really, it depends on the person. Some, like my brother, are Calvinists and believe in predestination; others believe in free will. This is one of those topics that is heavily Your Mileage May Vary.

[John Chrysostom]

Do you have a general idea of what time period those 66 books were decided upon?

[TigerintheShadows]

The general idea is that it took several hundred years. They had to find all of those letters and translate them and determine their canonicity, which I imagine was no mere days' work. As for when the final decision was made, I don't really think it matters much to us; at any rate, that's more of a Protestant denomination thing in general than a specifically Southern Baptist thing.

[John Chrysostom]

I was mostly asking that to see how much agreement there is among Protestant denominations on this issue and if there were any Baptist specific doctrines regarding the canon. Seems there is general agreement.