Why Baptist history is so vital for modern-day violations of freedom of conscience

One of our precious freedoms, won in part by Baptists, is freedom of conscience. Recently, the Hamilton Wentworth School Board here in southern Ontario has ruled that alternative lifestyles are to be taught in public schools and that parents will not be allowed to withdraw their children from classes when this issue is taught. The argument that I saw promoting this likened the issue to racism. Children are not exempt from classes dealing with the latter and therefore ipso facto should not be exempt from the former. This is all very interesting and confirms my own conviction formed over the past few years that one of the greatest challenges to the Church in the West is going to be obedience to state matters that violate our conscience as Christians. 

In brief: this is not like racism at all. That is like comparing apples and oranges. I have known racism firsthand becuase of my Kurdish background in the UK--was regularly called Arab in High School and even called by the N-word. I loathe racism. But I do not believe sexual preference is in the same category. Nor do I believe the state has the right to dictate ethical values to myself or my children. Everyone has an ethical position and the state is hardly neutral.

Being a Baptist and having a rich heritage to draw upon I now see as so vital for the modern-day. We need to revisit the lives and thinking of Baptists from the 17 and 18th centuries.

Baptist catholicity

Why do I love Andrew Fuller and his circle of friends? There are many reasons. One of them is this: their profound sense of belonging to a catholic body. Lest some of you think I think they were Roman Catholics, that is definitely not what I am saying. What I am saying is this: through friendships with men like John Newton, John Berridge, Thomas Scott--all of them Anglicans--Thomas Chalmers and John Erskine--Scottish Presbyterians--the New divinity heirs of Edwards in New England--all of them Congregationalists--and even Hyper-Calvinists, like William Button and Arminian Baptists like Dan Taylor--these men had a balance in their Christian lives that is enviable. They knew they were Baptists and gloried in that heritage. They were Calvinistic and would not surrender these truths for the world. But their goal in life was not to make men and women Baptists or even Calvinists--it was to make them first of all Christians.

Honestly, it scares me today to see men building little fiefdoms based on secondary issues or even tertiary issues. And whose basic raison d'etre is not the great orthodox, catholic Faith. Oh that the biblical catholocity of Fuller and his friends might be more in evidence!

Addendum (written four hours later): I am a Baptist through and through (even closed communion). I am an unashamed Calvinist (certainly not hyper, nor committed to double predestination--here I follow the 1689). But I am first and foremost a follower of the Lamb. I want him, and his Father and Spirit, to be my all in all.

Addendum 2 (written a day or so later): That is why I am a Baptist, though. I am seeking to follow Jesus in all that he commanded (Matt 28:19-20). But I recognize and love brothers dearly who see things differently. For my position see John Sutcliff's preface to his 1789 edition of Jonathan Edwards; Humble Attempt. It cannot be said better than he says it there.

Praying with Jown Owen for Ireland

I love this quote from John Owen--may God make me faithful in prayer for that land:

"How is it that Jesus Christ is in Ireland only as a lion staining all his garments with the blood of his enemies; and none to hold him out as a lamb sprinkled with his own blood to his friends? Is it the sovereignty and interest of England that is alone to be there transacted? For my part, I see no farther into the mystery of these things but that I could heartily rejoice, that...the Irish might enjoy Ireland so long as the moon endureth, so that Jesus Christ might possess the Irish. …If they were in the dark, and loved to have it so, it might something close a door upon the bowels of our compassion; but they cry out of their darkness, and are ready to follow every one whosoever, to have a candle. If their being gospelless move not our hearts, it is hoped their importunate cries will disquiet our rest, and wrest help as a beggar doth an alms."

The Steadfastness of the Promises, and the Sinfulness of Staggering (Works, 8:235-236).

We believe in the Holy Spirit

The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed is the capstone of the doctrinal development of the Ancient Church as it relates to the Trinity. From a creedal standpoint what is unique about this text is the elaboration of the article about the Holy Spirit, which confesses the full deity of the Spirit by focusing on who he is—he is “Lord” and the One who proceeds from the Father—and what he does—he is “the Giver of life,” physical and especially spiritual, and the inspirer of those who wrote the Holy Scriptures. He is thus worthy of our heart’s adoration and worship along with the Father and the Son. And as such he must be fully God. The roots that gave rise to this confession are fully biblical ones, found first in passages that implicitly affirm him as God for he does what only God can do (e.g. Luke 1:35; Acts 10:38; Matthew 12:28; Hebrews 9:14; Romans 8:10–11; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2:10­–12; 2 Corinthians 3:6, 17–18) and then in Scripture texts that rank him alongside the Father and the Son, so again implying his deity (Titus 3:4–7; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4–5; Matthew 28:19). The later expansion of this article of the Creed in the early Middle Ages by Latin-speaking theologians and churchmen, namely the assertion that proceeds “from the Father and the Son”—what is called the “Filioque”—is a biblically motivated assertion for it seeks to affirm the central truth of the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is always the Spirit of Christ (see Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

John Gill and Basil of Caesarea

Ove the past few weeks I have been sourcing patristic citations from Basil of Caesarea mostly (but today also Gregory of Nazianzus) in John Gill's The Cause of God and Truth, and I cannot find any of them! It has been an extremely frustrating experience. Gill is citing these Fathers to defend the perspective that the so-called five points of Calvinism have a much earlier heritage than the Reformation and post-Refomation theologians. Methdological concerns aside, it appears that Gill at times made paraphrases from the writings of Basil. I have been combing through the Greek and am so frustrated with coming up with not one quote that I can confirm in Basil's corpus.

Thankfully, one of my PhD students, Steven Godet, is working on this very matter, and will provide answers!

Addendum (added Feb 26/2010): Have actually found three or four citations in the past three hours. Generally ok, but some of the quotes are paraphrases.

Papers from True Church Conference

Last week Dr. Haykin had the opportunity to speak at the True Church Conference hosted by Grace Life Church of Muscle Shoals, AL.  You can read about his own reflections on his experience at the conference here.  Dr. Haykin presented two papers at the conference.  The first on Hyper-Calvinism, and the second on Andrew Fuller.  Both papers are now posted in PDF format below:

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Reflections on the True Church conference 2010 and on Alexander McLaren

This past weekend (February 19–21) I had the distinct privilege of being a speaker at the 2010 True Church Conference held at Grace Life Church, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. What a privilege to meet and hear Jeff Noblit, pastor of the host church, Conrad Mbewe—“the Spurgeon of Africa”—and his wife, Barry King, a church planter in London, Jonathan Sims and David Miller—a really deep privilege. I spoke twice: once on “Defining hyper-Calvinism” and on “Missionary Pioneer Andrew Fuller & hyper-Calvinism.” The first talk was particularly difficult to prepare, since I decided to focus on the soteriology of John Gill (1697–1771) and his teaching on the pactum salutis, eternal justification, and the free offer of the gospel. I do think Gill to be on the hyper-Calvinist side of the equation and thus to have been an innovator, following lesser lights like Joseph Hussey and John Skepp rather than the broad stream of Reformed orthodoxy of the seventeenth century. Although Gill quoted Thomas Goodwin, for instance, in supporting his view of eternal justification, he misunderstood Goodwin. But to present such in a popular format, I felt peculiarly difficult. Then to speak on Fuller and do him justice was a challenge. But I am so thankful for the opportunity to be with those brethren.

Flying back this a.m., I missed worship at the house of God. I therefore “listened”—that is, within my mind as I read it—to a sermon preached over a hundred years ago: “Feeding on ashes” by Alexander McLaren (1826–1910) [in A Rosary of Christian Graces (London: Horace Marshal & Son, 1899)]. What a gem—in many ways he was good as a preacher as his contemporary, C.H. Spurgeon (1834–92). A reminder of what life and true life is all about. I was struck by the way he read that clause, “Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you” (p.213), which he took spiritually and an offer of Christ of himself. Spurgeon had a richer view of the table of the Lord.

Dr. Haykin interviewed on Christ the Center

Dr. Michael Haykin was recently interviewed on the Reformed Forum's Christ the Center podcast.  The focus of the interview was Dr. Haykin's book, The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers.  You can access the episode in which Dr. Haykin was interviewed here.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

John Sutcliff and Walter Wilson

Walter Wilson’s The History and Antiquities of Dissenting Churches and Meeting Houses (London, 1808–14, 4 vols.) is one of the gems that anyone researching seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dissent needs to know. Going through vol. 1 just now, I noticed that among those whom Wilson consulted for help in his researches was “J. Sutcliff, of Olney.” Sutcliff, the Baptist pastor of Olney, was an ardent bibliophile and helping Wilson would have been right up his alley!

Dr. Haykin on Family Life Today on 02/10 and 02/11

Dr. Michael Haykin has been interviewed for the nationwide radio program Family Life Today to discuss love and romance among Christians throughout history.  The two-part interview is scheduled to air on Wednesday (02/10/10) and Thursday (02/11/10).  To find a time and station in your area click here. The topic of this conversation flows from Dr. Haykin's recent book The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers which provides an interesting glimpse at the love letters of believers through the centuries.

If you don't have the opportunity to listen when the programs air, you will be able to access the programs online here on or after their airdates.

Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.

Thomas Helwys and his congregation disavow being Anabaptists

In the midst of the discussion about Anabaptist origins of modern-day Baptists, it is very interesting that a document associated with Thomas Helwys (c.1575–c.1616), who is one of the key founders of Baptist witness in the first decade of the seventeenth century, can state quite plainly that it has been written—and I retain the spelling of the original—by “Christs unworthy witnesses,…comonly but most falsly called Annabaptists”—Obiections (1615), [p.vii].

The Feast of King Charles

Today is a fateful day in British history: the day on which King Charles I was executed in 1649. To some he became a martyr figure. To others, it was a fitting end to the "man of blood." Most of my Baptist forebears alive at the time would have supported the decision to execute their monarch. For me, it is vital to understand why men and women in that day felt the need to kill their king and how they read Scripture so as to justify their decision.

Celebrating Baptist roots like a rock concert!

Am working right now on a talk for tomorrow at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto on “Celebrating our roots; Anticipating the harvest”—a 400th anniversary celebration of Baptist origins with John Smyth and Thomas Helwys and the like. It is historic in some ways since it will bring together Baptists from the FEBC and BCOQ to celebrate together our forebears and God’s goodness over the years.

 

 

In some ways gathering to recall the beginnings of those Christians called Baptists is a little like one of those rock concerts for boomers, who come together to hear a sixties band belt out some of their favourite rock n’ roll hits from that era. It would be easy to think that those aging rockers are merely indulging in nostalgia. Sure, there is some of that. But to a real extent their roots lie back in the sixties. That was the era that defined their social, sexual, and spiritual views and reliving the vibrant music of that era that stirred their souls so deeply then helps them reaffirm their identity now. In a somewhat similar way, what we are doing when we celebrate our roots is not mere antiquarianism: oh, wouldn’t it have been lovely to live in that era! No, we gather together to re-affirm who we are by recalling where we have come from.