A Letter to Fellow Baptists
A Letter to Fellow Baptists
By David Scholar, Professor of NT and Associate Dean,
Dear colleagues and friends,
There is considerable talk these days about biblical authority and soul freedom and their relationship to each other; I would like to offer some brief reflections on this from my life experience and study.
Both biblical authority and soul freedom have been Baptist distinctives since our beginnings in the early 1600s; most Baptists have treasured and nurtured these commitments over the centuries in many different contexts.
Both of these commitments are important and are not opposed to each other; it is never a matter that one of them “trumps” the other. In fact, they work together to safeguard all that is precious to us—the clear and sole authority of Scripture in an environment in which ecclesiastical authorities do not dictate to us what the Scripture teaches. Soul freedom is actually, from a Baptist perspective, the commitment that guards and protects the commitment to biblical authority over against other kinds of authority.
Our history makes it clear that we have recognized from our beginnings that differences arise among us as to what the Bible teaches on various themes and in multiple contexts. We now understand quite well that the Bible does require interpretation; that is the responsibility that goes handin-hand with the commitment to biblical authority. And, as a Baptist, I embrace soul freedom, which allows me the option of my struggle with biblical interpretation in a context in which I want also to preserve the right of my other Baptist friends to engage in their struggles of interpretation.
I grew up in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. When I entered my adulthood and seminary, I realized that the commitment of the GARBC to biblical authority was actually an enforced commitment to a particular interpretation. I found my new haven of hope in the American Baptists in 1961. I embraced the ABC, knowing both its commitments to biblical authority and to soul freedom. I learned immediately that this meant there were persons within the ABC with whom I had substantial theological differences. But, I had the freedom to champion my understandings of the implications of biblical authority in our denomination, which I have done over the years (e.g., on the issue of the ordination of women and their full participation in the ministry of the church).
I have never regretted my 1961 decision. Further, I see nothing today that is substantially different than it was in 1961—there were and are some substantial differences in how various American Baptists understand biblical authority, but we have not abandoned that commitment. In fact, our various policy statements speak to many crucial issues in the mainstream of orthodox Christian teachings on sensitive issues. It is our commitment to soul freedom that gives us the opportunity to be genuinely committed to biblical authority. It is crucial that we do not think that our ABC family has failed us in these strong, basic commitments; we do not need to enter again into the disruptions of 1932 and 1947. As a strong evangelical committed to biblical authority, I understand that we weathered those storms and built a family that is a reflection of our basic commitments, which means, of course, a family in which there are some disagreements, but these pale in light of the commitment to love, integrity, soul freedom and biblical authority.
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