The Tennessee Liberal

In the grand tradition of South Knox Bubba's bird blogging and Bob Harris' pudu blogging, I'm going to blog about some interesting and misunderstood creatures: Baptists.

In my church's newsletter this week, the pastor reprinted a piece from the same newsletter fifty years ago. I think it is a wonderful summation of some of the things that set Baptists apart, and also how my personal faith informs my politics. Without further ado:

Baptists do not believe that we have a complete monopoly on truth. But we are Baptists because we sincerely believe our faith is based on God's truth as revealed in God's Holy word.

We believe in the Lordship of Christ, and because of that we believe that the State cannot direct the religious experiences of its citizens.

We believe in the competence of the individual before God, and because of that we believe that each individual is of eternal value; every believer is a priest.

We believe in salvation by grace through faith, and because of that we believe that eternal security cannot be purchased by money or goods.

We believe in the security of the believer, but we also believe that real faith is matched by consistent Christian living.

We believe in the sovereignty of each individual church, and because of that we do not recognize creeds or hierarchy.

We believe that these principles have meaning for a troubled world, and because of that we send missionaries to share these beliefs around the world.

So, there you go. Ponder, comment, do what you will. Just know that when Richard Land and Jerry Falwell are identified as Baptists, they are merely two men with the Baptist title, and there are many others who see things very differently than they.