Being Baptist Christians

“I do not know precisely what a Christian Baptist is, but I suppose it is to distinguish him from Baptists who are not Christians.”

While these sarcastic words might well come from the lips of a modern day critic of Baptists, or perhaps a late-night comedian, they are instead the words of Hannibal Hamlin.

Hamlin, from Maine, was Abraham Lincoln’s first vice-president, serving in that capacity from 1861 to 1865. Marrying into a Baptist family prior to the Civil War, Hamlin uttered these humorous words in 1865 to his wife, upon occasion of an invitation to attend a Baptist church.

Today, a similar phrase – “Baptist Christian” – is frequently invoked as a way to convey that the speaker is a Christian of the Baptist variety. In the twenty-first century, being a “Baptist” in and of itself is often deemed inadequate in an increasingly non-denominational, ecumenical climate; explicitly emphasizing the “Christian” element of faith signals that one is part of a broader fellowship of believers. This clarifying phraseology is helpful in many ways, reminding us of the larger context of our faith and affirming our loyalties to the Christ of scripture.

The earliest Baptists understood themselves as Christians first and foremost, a claim disputed by most other Christians, who insisted Baptists were heretics. Early Baptists split their time between defending Baptist distinctives viewed by others as heretical (freedom of conscience, voluntary faith, believer’s baptism, religious liberty, separation of church and state) and stating their agreement with broader Christian convictions (the Trinity, Lordship of Christ, scriptural authority, etc.). For these early believers, being Baptist meant they were not truly Christian in the public eye, while an affirmation of basic Christian tenets did little to dispel the derision that the Baptist label evoked.

Now, four centuries later, the Baptist label has been so maligned by associations with religious fundamentalism in recent decades that many Baptists, liberal and conservative alike, seemingly prefer to avoid the term. Conversely, believers throughout the theological spectrum contend mightily to define the term “Christian,” resulting in a schizophrenic word play that can be hopelessly confusing to people of faith and of no faith.

Thus, being a Baptist Christian is a challenge both in name and substance. The usage of the label “Baptist” will likely continue to decrease in our post-denominational age, and it is doubtful that a universally-accepted definition of “Christian” will ever emerge. Baptists who choose to continue using either term will have to be prepared to offer their own definition of each.

Nonetheless, embracing the label of Baptist Christian is just as important today as it was four centuries ago. Baptists of yesteryear, despite being persecuted, contributed tremendously to a larger faith narrative and to the trajectories of nations. If we Baptists of the twenty-first century so choose to carry forth the best of our faith heritage, we will bring to the table of contemporary Christianity determination and convictions that can serve to leaven faith communities, nations, and even the world.