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Note: This essay first appeared in the
December 2008 Baptist Studies Bulletin.
Next month Baptists begin a year long celebration of their four
hundredth birthday. In 1609 John Smyth and Thomas Helwys parted ways with the Church of
England and established the first Baptist church in the world. In 2009, the
world will have an opportunity to see Baptists again for the first time.
The emergence and
ascendancy of fundamentalism in the twentieth-century communicated a false
perception of Baptist identity and served to publicly derail much of our
Baptist heritage. True, fundamentalist Baptists are yet Baptists, although the
central tenets of the movement―creedalism,
textual inerrancy, pro church-state leanings, and anti-pluralism―are contrary
to historic Baptist beliefs. Against the backdrop of fundamentalist
distractions, the most important task of the four hundredth anniversary of
Baptists is to publicly reintroduce the Baptist heritage, both within and
without our church buildings. To this end, the Center for Baptist Studies is
teaming up with the Baptist History and Heritage Society to provide monthly,
free church bulletin inserts to the Baptist public throughout the coming year.
Hundreds of churches have already signed up to use the inserts.
In a larger perspective,
2009 will provide an excellent opportunity to publicly discuss and reaffirm
core Baptist historical beliefs. Many of the same conversations heard within
today's Baptist circles echo 1609 dialogue: scripture, pluralism, religious
liberty, separation of church and state, baptism, and local church autonomy,
for example. Whereas Baptists in the early seventeenth century discussed these
issues from the perspective of a persecuted religious minority, Baptists today
have a significant religious presence worldwide: the Baptist World Alliance
represents
105 million persons. While today's moderate Baptists have far more
influence and reach than their earliest spiritual ancestors, in the
twenty-first century historic Baptist beliefs sometimes are taken for granted
(local church autonomy) or overlooked (separation of church and state), adding
urgency to the task of remembering our past.
On a local level, when is
the last time your congregation participated in a discussion of the Baptist
principles which birthed and have sustained your church? Are your congregants
aware of how their individual and collective faiths were shaped by their
Baptist forebears? Do the members of your congregation who do not have a
Baptist background understand how modern Christianity has been indelibly
influenced by the Baptist heritage of believer's baptism, local church
autonomy, and religious liberty?
Each edition of the
Baptist Studies Bulletin in the coming year will seek to foster conversation
about Baptist history and heritage. We hope your church will join in the
dialogue, and if you choose to do,
we encourage you to let us know.
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