- The Bible as the sole authority of faith and practice
- Independent and autonomous locally governed congregations
- Church membership only of the regenerated and immersed
- Priesthood of believers
- Soul liberty, with one mediator between God and man
- Pictorial memorial ordinances
- Separation from government allegiance and ecclesiastical alliances
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Baptist distinctives
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2 comments:
Brother Vaughn,
I came over here from your other post about the discriptor "Baptist" (https://baptistsearch.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-baptist-name.html), and I wanted to ask for clarification about the "separation from allegiance" point. I don't recall reading it worded that way. I'm sure you did it for a reason, but I wasn't sure what you meant by it (or what you were trying not to say or imply). If you could clarify, I'd be grateful.
E. T. Chapman
Brother Chapman,
You asked for clarification about the "separation from allegiance" point. This was an attempt to come up with something other than the "separation of church and state" point. I was drop up with that terminology, and I have no objection to it. However, in modern times it has been a club used by secularists to beat Christians over the head. To them it means that Christians and the principles of Christianity do not deserve a seat at the table and should be excluded from the public square.
So with the separation from government allegiance point, I was hoping to capture the idea that church and government should not enter any allegiances together, that government should not seek to or be allowed to control religion, but that people with and institutions based on religious ideas have just as much right to the table as anyone else. I guess I thought it sounded good 5 years ago, but looking back at it, I am not sure it is helpful.
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