In my last post, I wrote about the proposed revisions to the Foundational Statement of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. I noted that these proposed revisions are quite radical as the new proposed statement abandons a commitment to cherished Baptist principles such as priesthood of all believers.
You can read my post here: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of NC to Abandon Soul Freedom & Adopt New Baptist Identity
Since then, two respected Baptist scholars from North Carolina have publicly voiced their concerns and called for the proposed Foundational Statement to be further revised to retain the long-standing commitment of Fellowship Baptists to the right of the individual to read and interpret Scripture for herself/himself.
Dr. Glenn Jonas is the chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. Jonas is also a Baptist historian. Here is a snippet from his blog post titled CBFNC and the Priesthood of the Believer:
Second, and more troubling, I have big problems with leaving out all references to priesthood of the believer, liberty of conscience, etc. This concept is at the very center of the Baptist tradition from my understanding of the primary sources which I have read. It is not some invented concept that Enlightenment-era American Baptists developed. It is the very heart of the tradition from John Smyth to the present. It is clear. Sometimes it is stated more blatantly than at other times. But, it is a thread that runs through all types of Baptists for 4 centuries of our history….
…The proposed CBFNC foundational statement needs a robust statement of this concept included. At the very least, they should bring the statement on priesthood of the believer which is in the current foundational statement into the revised version. Perhaps a good compromise would be to bring from the former document the entire section titled, “Our Principles,” which contains statements on the “Centrality and Authority of Scripture,” “Priesthood of All Believers,” “Autonomy of the Local Church,” and “Freedom of Religion.” The document is terribly lacking if something resembling this is not included somewhere. Without it, CBFNC will be saying to the world that we are something very different than what we have been.
Dr. Tony Cartledge is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Campbell University Divinity School. Cartledge is also Contributing Editor of Baptists Today. Below is a snippet from his blog post titled CBFNC seeks, needs feedback on proposed revisions to “foundational statements”
The closest thing to a statement on priesthood is actually a rejection of the traditional view. CBFNC’s current foundational statements clearly affirm “the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.”
The proposed revision contains two statements that approach the issue. The second confession says “As we study and practice the Scriptures communally and personally, the Holy Spirit transforms our lives, our congregations, and our world.” The third confessions declares “We confess that the Christian faith is best understood and experienced within the community of God’s people who are called to be priests to one another.”
Those statements seem designed to remove the right of individual interpretation from the Baptist equation, leaving the only legitimate interpretation of scripture as being within the larger, authoritative community.
Take a few minutes to read both posts in their entirety.
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