Liberal Baptist....

alexander284,

The Free Will Baptists are about as "liberal" as Bob Jones University. The Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville is as straight-laced as one could possibly be. It would be akin to Pensacola Christian or Bob Jones in rules and deportment for the students. One of my daughter's best friends went there-for a year! It was so narrow and negative she had to leave.

Skirts for the girls, "white-wall ear" haircuts for the boys, literal interpretation of Scripture, and on and on it goes.

I have had Free Will Baptist pastors as friends, and nothing could be further from the truth (from where I have been and what I have seen in Middle Tennessee--which is a bastion of Free Will).

I say kindly and with love; I would check my source or perspective if I were you?

sdg!

rd

 

At the liberal end of the spectrum you will find the Alliance of Baptists and the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, along with some churches from the American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC-USA). The Church of the Brethren, an Anabaptistic group that cooperates with the ABC-USA, is also liberal by southern standards.

The ABC-USA as a whole is more liberal than the Southern Baptist Convention, although a number of churches are trying to mount their own version of the resurgence that conservatives within the SBC accomplished in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

FYI to all:

The Co-operative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a movement of some (but not all) who were more liberal than those of us who worked for the "conservative resurgernce" in Southen Baptist life. For those of you who don't know this was begun when Adrian Rogers was elected president of the SBC in 1979. (He has just died God rest his soul). The CBF for all intents and purposes is a "split" off the SBC.

One of the primary issues that the CBF folk left over was the issue of confessions of faith. They made the stand that the historic Baptist confessions had been made into creeds. The main differences that were disputed, were the fact that (the liberal) men (and sometimes women) were made to sign a "Confession of Faith" in order to prove their commitment to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Scripures. In their minds this was a "forced issue" and took it out of the "conscience" realm.

The more "progressives" (read liberal) ones called it "creeping creedalism." They used the historic Baptist principle of "soul competency" & "priesthood of each believer" to argue against the "confession of faith" argument.

The "confession of faith" orthodoxy did grant that there was those two issues that mark us and help define us as Baptists. But, these two issues no where in our history have superceded the commonly held view of all Baptists be they; Calvinists, Free Will, Particular, Primitive, pre-, post-, al-, sabbatarian, legalistic, antinominan, IBF, SBC, etc. that all of us were "lashed to the rock of Biblical inerrancy!"

In the last year or two, however, the CBF has had its own problems. They left over the confessional issue and tried to rally 'round "missions" as the hub of the wheel that held them together. They have detested the idea of having to have any formal doctrinal statement to bind them together.

Lately though, this has backfired somewhat on them in the CBF. There have been some very liberal groups like the homosexuals and "tree hugger" types who have tried to force their way into postitions of leadership and committees in order to gain a hearing. So; they have been forced, at least to think about who they are, and what they b/l in order to define their whole structure. So, they might have to draw up a confession of faith of their own.

It seems to be one of the ironies of life. You leave one group b/c you feel that their stance along a doctinal basis and having to sign the document is too strong. Then you leave, and as soon as you do, you have to come up with an instrument similar to what you have just avowedly hated.

If there is a bit of confusion over the two issues of "confession" vs. "creed." This is the place where one of the many arguments over the "conservative resurgence" revolved.

"Confession of Faith:"

A statement of belief held by any body of believers, at any time, with the CONSENT of all who are a member of that body. It can be changed, modified, ratified, etc. as time goes along to show the changing nature of the beliefs held or to respond to the current culture.

"Creed:"

It is similar to a "Confession of Faith" or "Statement of Faith." It does state the theology of those who b/l. The major difference is; you MUST b/l what is written in order to be a _______. An example might be; to be a Roman Catholic you might have to b/l all of the teachings of the church and subscribe to the "Roman Catholic Creed."

This is where the CBF said the conservatives in the SBC had make the Confessions of Faith a Creed, by having to b/l them and sign them.

The issues are CONSENT vs. MUST!

I have said way too much.

sdg!

rd