What does it mean to be Baptist? This is a question that I believe needs to be discussed, so I started a substack called "The Radical Baptist." I'll be posting a variety of articles that intend to answer that question. Read my thesis article here: https://t.co/uivBDyqLVi
A thought on the accusation of "heretical sects" undercutting Baptist perpetuity:
At your church, can you say with 100% confidence every single person can explain the hypostatic union?
One of the craziest moments in the study of Baptist history is that Armitage wrote his Baptist history in 1887, and claims the Paulicians were practically Quakers.
The Key of Truth, a Paulician document, is found and translated in 1898. In it, there's a whole section on baptism
Everyone goes to Trail of Blood (the weakest of all the arguments), and assumes everyone is saying the same thing.
And the work of showing that the "heretical" groups weren't heretical has been done.
Reasons I'm convinced of Baptist perpetuity historically (as theologically, Matt 16:18 already is set):
Every Baptist historian slightly disagrees and interacts with each other about different groups.
On the topic of title and function, the Paulicians (who I'm convinced were NOT heretics) used the (translated) terms "travel companion" and "secretary" to refer to the offices of pastor and deacon.
Yet, they functioned as pastor and deacon.
The only people who actually think an amendment will fix this are the people who think a historic confession of faith will keep a church/organization faithful.
Look, as I read the original amendment and this one, both have the same problem:
It can be interpreted differently. I'm a hardliner (I don't even think "minister" should be used for women), but I could see a CC member taking this to mean a children's pastor is in the clear.
An important update on the Truth & Unity Amendment to the SBC as we get ready to meet in Orlando. We need to get this done and affirm the convictional principles of the SBC.
The problem has ALWAYS been with the CC. Its first problem is that it even exists as a standing committee. Its second problem is the makeup of that committee. And that's not just with female pastors. That with EVERY issue.