As Jason Dees recently observed, among eighteenth-century Baptists there existed an ongoing development of relationships both in the church and in the home.37 The role of the family, while not articulated in depth in any confessional statement, was explored further in other works. For Southern Baptists, the practice, also known as glossolalia, ended after the death of Jesus' apostles. And it is the duty of christians [sic] to marry in them Lord, and therefore those that professn the true religion, ought not to marryo with infidels, or idolaters, nor prophanep [sic] wicked persons in their life, nor yet withq any that maintain damnable heresies.r. In a Southern Baptist marriage, each partner has distinct duties. What made Bush and Nettles book important was their method of seeking to show simply what Baptist leaders believed about biblical inspiration and why have theybelieved those things?2 By presenting what Baptists wrote and advocated about the Bible century by century, Bush and Nettles were able simultaneously to provide what the Nick Fury of Baptist historians, Nathan A. Finn, calls a galvanizing agent to those in the Southern Baptist Convention seeking to uphold the truthfulness of Scripture while also presenting a roadblock of evidence that now required navigation around, over, or through for all who sought to downplay the roll of the Bible among Baptists in history.3 Bush and Nettles argued: Lack of historical awareness will lead a denomination to walk down some of the same roads they have walked before. What shall we do? He said, Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see. So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 1Co 7:39. For other Southern Baptists, this simply suggests that wives are more skilled at household management and child-rearing than are husbands. Yet, in the 1950s and 60s, Baptist understanding of marriage and family could not have foreseen the coming cultural transformation that would take place over the next four decades.49 With the rise of the divorce culture, abortion on demand, escalating feminism, the questioning of the reliability of the Bible, many Baptists did not give as much attention to the defense of these beliefs. 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7. Available from http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/preamble.asp. Headship did not, for the Puritans, mean tyranny. Third, the Bible condemns pre-marital sex as sinful and a violation of Gods design for sex in the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman for life. Consistent with what the Baptist tradition had articulated since the Reformation, Patterson reminds that Doctrine and practice, whether in the home or the church, are not to be determined according to modern cultural, sociological, and ecclesiastical trends or according to personal emotional whims; rather, Scripture is to be the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.54. Southern Baptists believe marriage should be between one man and one woman and last a lifetime. 5: 8. Sadly, we've known Southern Baptist parents who have counseled their children to delay marriage while turning a blind eye to their fornication in order to not jeopardize Suzy and Johnny's education. As a denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention encourages divorced couples to seek reconciliation and reunion with each other and with God. Fewer Americans are marrying than they once did. While marriage is a secular contract in the modern world, Christians still choose to receive marital blessings and weddings in line with their religious traditions. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at the same 1 Among nineteenth century Baptists in America thePhiladelphia Confessionremained the most used confession of faith until the development of theNew Hampshire Confessionin 1833. SBTS - Our Beliefs The History of the SBTS Our Beliefs Two confessional documents guide The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Parents are to demonstrate to their children Gods pattern for marriage. Fourth, we believe that all of us are sexual sinners whether in thought or deed and need the grace of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to forgive us and empower us to pursue Gods design in marriage. gious beliefs of Southern Baptists with regard to health care. "When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. The Southern Baptist Convention is a type of Baptist church, yet it has distinct aspects when compared to other Baptist churches. In days like these, where the recent redefinition of marriage can often discourage, it is helpful and grounding to remember that there are scores of spiritual forebears, a great cloud of witnesses, though now invisible, who sought to define and stand for the original definition of marriage. In 1960, 72 percent of adults over age 18 were married, compared to 51 percent in 2010. A . 7:36. One example of such is in the work of Pastor Samuel Stennett and hisDiscourses on Domestic Duties(1783), which functioned as a family handbook provided to instruct Christian families.38 Rather than seeing families as merely focusing on themselves and their own development, Stennett saw the spiritual health of families as directly related to the spiritual health of the nation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Fairchild, Mary. [32] "We knew that this wouldn't pass. Baptism gives testimony to salvation already received; it is not a requisite for salvation. Ordination of Women:Baptists believe Scripture teaches that men and women are equal in value, but have different roles in the family and the church. 13:4. Were a diverse denomination spanning multiethnic cultures. These beliefs are interpreted differently from one Southern Baptist household to the next. Equality:In a resolution released in 1998, Southern Baptists view all people as equal in God's eyes, but believe the husband or man has authority in the household and responsibility to protect his family. The message is so vital that telling it is like sharing a cure for cancer. 8 Timothy George, Introduction, inBaptist Confessions, Covenants, and Catechisms(B&H, 1996), 5, 9The Baptist Faith and Message. Matthew Haste acknowledges that Stennetts concern for the family was in part, therefore, rooted in his concern for the nation. In one case, a generation of followers of Anabaptist leader Menno Simons, crafted a confession that did address marriage.11 In 1580, the Waterlander Mennonites issued, A Brief Confession of the Principal Articles of the Christian Faith, and said: Marriage we profess to be an ordinance of God which must be entered into according to the primal institution (a); that each man have his own only wife (b) and each woman her own and one husband. There are a few differing opinions on the origin of the Baptist church. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. We permit none of our communion to marry godless, unbelieving, fleshly persons out of the church; but we censure such (as other sinners) according to the disposition and desert of the cause.22. They approve of divorce on Biblical grounds of infidelity. In Puritan theory and practice, a well-ordered family was a hierarchical one in which the husband/father was the accountable head, the wife/mother his subordinate with her own spheres of responsibility, and children subject tothe discipline and nurture of both parents.21. Asan example, the Georgia Baptist Association in 1864 passed this resolution, Resolved, That it is the firm belief and conviction of this body that the institution of marriage was ordained by Almighty God for the benefit of the whole human race, without respect to color; that it ought to be maintained in its original purity among all classes of people in all countries and in all ages till the end of time; and that, consequently, the law of Georgia, in its failure to recognize and protect this relationship between our slaves, is essentially defective, and ought to be amended.47. Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Baptist group in the United States, organized at Augusta, Georgia, in 1845 by Southern Baptists who disagreed with the antislavery attitudes and activities of Northern Baptists. Pioneer isolation influenced Southern Baptists as heavily as the Puritan covenant and ethnic immigration influenced religion in the Northeast.44 On the frontier, while many Baptist families lacked formal education, they still centered life around one of their few possessions, a family Bible.45 Yet, as Hensley notes, with the growth of cities, the expansions of public schools and even the popular implementation of Sunday Schools, Baptist families saw a transfer of the major responsibility for Bible study from the family to the church.46, Further, even though Baptists in America traversed under the blight of slavery, the practice of marriage was one thing recognized and preserved. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent;5 yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord;6 and therefore such as profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or idolators; neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable 7 It is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ. However, while the Southern Baptist confession of faith,The Baptist Faith and Message, as primarily an updated version of theNew Hampshire Confessiondid not include statements on marriage or the family, the Convention did take some steps. WHEREAS, The Bible reveals that marriage is a gospel mystery, pointing to Christ's union with His church (Ephesians 5:22-32); and WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that marriage was established by God "in the beginning" to be a permanent one-flesh union (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:1-9); and WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus commands us The grounding of marriage in creation and the biblical account (God is its author and sustainer), the emphasis on monogamy (contrary to broad assumptions that all Radicals were abandoning these norms), the criteria by which it may be dissolved (as defined by the Bible and not the Pope), and the affirmation of an equal yoke among believers are all indicators of identification with the broader Reformation movement away from a sacramental understanding of marriage as defined and maintained by Rome.13 Further, this confession and statement are significant for the Baptist tradition because the early General Baptist leader, John Smyth, sought the confessions republication in 1610 as a means by which to compare his congregation with the surviving Mennonites he encountered in Holland.14 Thus, we see the early Baptist perspective on marriage and family as rooted in the Reformation tradition ofSola Scriptura. Whether ages ago a Captain in the British Navy who, through his telescope, sees that a newflag of the enemy has been raised ashore in his home port, or in our own day an opposing team and their fans storm the court after a major road winand with that the irony of opposing colors overtaking the colors of home sinking in to help the fan realize this loss is not a dream. This paper is presented to that end and will seek to answer for such encouragement in a time like ours, how have Baptists thought of Marriage and Family from the Reformation to the present?1, Both Galvanizing and Impeding: Baptists and the Bible. He previously worked in information technology as a network engineer. Marriage is to be between oneMan and one Woman;1 neither is it lawful for any man to have more than oneWife, nor for anyWomanto have more then [sic] oneHusbandat the sameincreasing stability and regularity of the Baptist churches, and the increasing desire for harmony with other Protestants., Marriage was ordained for the mutual help2 ofHusbandandWife,3 for the increase of Man-kind, with a legitimate issue, and for4 preventing of Numb. Children are to honor and obey their parents. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. A common theme in Puritan discussions of the wifes submission was that God commands it in Scripture . He is married to Kalee and together they have two sons of Adam and two daughters of Read 7:39. TheSecond London Confessionthe Particular Baptists first published in 1677 and then more broadly in 1688 contains the first four statements from theWestminster Confessionsarticle on marriage.32 Michael A. G. Haykin and Ian Clary helpfully explain that the first statements affirmation of monogamy is an attempt by the English Baptists to (1) distance themselves from the Munster Revolutionary Anabaptists and (2) to show an area of clear commonality among fellow Protestants.33 Further, they note that the language in the second statement of mutual help is informed by theBook of Common Prayerand the statement that marriage was created for mutual society, help, and comfort.34 The third statement admonishes that Christians should marry Christians, but as Haykin and Clary note, there is a socially radical view expressed here that all sorts of people can marry, meaning across ethnicities or classes.35 The final statement speaks against the practice of incestuous marriage. 52 Dorothy Kelley Patterson, The Family, in Doug Blount and Joseph Woodell,The Baptist Faith and Message 2000(Rowman and Littlefield, 2007), 184. Nashville, Tennessee 37203 1 Tim. Mk 6:18; 1Co 5:1. J. Wayne Flynt observed, Baptist life in the nineteenth century was rooted in the frontier, rural culture. The Baptist Church governs the individual churches, whereas the Southern Baptist Church does not govern the individual churches. Church Authority:Each Southern Baptist church is autonomous, operating under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. The article on the family reviews the role of the parents relationship to the children especially in terms of their instruction in religion, both public and private. Further, the 1958Southern Baptist Encyclopediaentry for Marriage and the Family affirmed the positions established during the previous centuries by Baptist forebears. However, both at church and at home, Baptists in America were undergoing significant change. We were interpreted as suggesting that Southern Baptists as a matter of convention policy ought to marry younger. 7:3; I Cor. This doesn't mean Southern Baptist women are all stay-at-home moms, of course. March 4, 2015. 2:15. Some understand this to mean that the husband has the final say on all family issues, while others take it to mean the husband should be the spiritual leader of the family. The latter follows the pattern seen in previous confessions as it affirms monogamy, that believers should marry believers, and not incest. 40 Stennett,Discourses, 447-448. Frequency of feeling spiritual peace and wellbeing among members of the Southern Baptist Convention by views about same-sex marriage % of members of the Southern Baptist Convention who feel a sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing Save Image Chart Table Share Southern Baptists believe that the husband and wife are equally worthy in the eyes of God. 34 See also Dearly Beloved, in Plummer and Haste,Held in Honor,68. At the same time, the Baptist holds to the autonomy of the local church. Allen earned a bachelor's degree in history and religion/philosophy from Indiana Wesleyan University, a master's degree in humanities from Central Michigan University and completed his graduate studies at Christian Theological Seminary. 15 As a helpful working definition of Puritanism, B. R. White indicated that it seems right to define the period of true Puritanism as 1570-1640 and a Puritan as an earnest Protestant, his understanding of the Bible shaped by a theology which was broadly Calvinist in type, who, while remaining a member of the established Church of England, sought its further reformation often, though not always in the direction of Presbyterianism, in Introduction, inThe English Puritan Tradition(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980), 12. It is also the duty of a wife to manage the household and nurture any children. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. The Baptist contribution to the Protestant community in the area of biblical authority can only benefit the people of God if it is clearly defined and expressed.4. It is Gods unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. 7:39. In the 1960s, men and women were much more likely to marry in their early 20s. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibilityto respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. 1 Cor. The Birth of the Popular Hindu God Krishna, General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center. Members come into the church personally, individually, and freely. This is sometimes called, "Once saved, always saved." Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6, 15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15, 17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes, 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans, 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy. All who receive Christ as Lord may have it. Academic Provost and Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Research Fellow, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. NEW ORLEANS Messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, went on record Wednesday to oppose any attempt by gay rights activists to frame same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue. Fax: (202) 547-8165, Explainer: Why the ERLC still opposes the Respect for Marriage Act, Explainer: Senate considers the Equal Rights Amendment, How we can speak to men in the abortion conversation. Those who have been saved will live eternally in the presence of God in heaven, and those who die without being saved will go to hell. Southern Baptists believe that the husband and wife are equally worthy in the eyes of God. In Baptism, an individual chooses to proclaim their faith and belief in Christ publicly by baptism. Mary Fairchild is a full-time Christian minister, writer, and editor of two Christian anthologies, including "Stories of Calvary.". For in the spirit of the words of Elisha, we are not to be afraid or downcast for, with eyes to see, those who are with us are more than those who are with the evil one. Or, perhaps in the wake of a major Supreme Court decision on the definition of marriage, the full impact and intent is on display as a rainbow flag of colors engulfs the home of the most powerful leader in the world. Deut. Likewise, it portrays what Christ has done through the new birth, enabling death to the old life of sin and newness of life to walk in. 7 In terms of a starting and stopping date, this paper will follow both Bush and Nettles and also James Leo Garrett, Jr,Baptist Theology: A Four Century Study(Mercer, 2009), and recognize the influence of Reformation and Radical Reformation groups followed by the solidification of a continual Baptist church in 1609 to the present day. 19:5, 6. https://www.learnreligions.com/southern-baptist-beliefs-700524 (accessed March 4, 2023). 17 Leland Ryken,Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were(Zondervan, 1990), 39-56; 73-90. I intend to follow the trail blazed by a previous generation of historians who traced the development of doctrine among Baptists and who, thankfully, have left the lights on for us to be able to see our way. 1 Cor. Jason Duesing CONTACT INFO American Baptist Church USA P.O. Phone: (615) 244-2495 While these restrictions are consistent with Southern Baptist beliefs that hold marriage to be "God's lifelong gift 'of uniting one man and one woman in covenant commitment for lifetime,'" in their present form, the "Guidelines" are incompatible with military ethics and regulations. Southern Baptists, on the other hand, think about Jesus Christ in a much more peremptory way. The high-profile divorce of Dr. Charles Stanley, however, has many Southern Baptists rethinking the tradition. xiii. 4:3. It encourages its ministers to marry only couples that are considered to be Biblically qualified, meaning that they agree that marriage is meant to be a lifetime union. This is a position shared by all post-reformational Christian groups. The SBC supports the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. My attempt to categorize those under four headings follows: Baptists have sought to define marriage and family according to the Bible, Created by God 1. The Confession was not fully adopted until 1660 and was then soon moved out of official use with the Restoration of the Monarchy.29 Nevertheless, the influence of the Westminster Confession was immediate and far reaching.
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