Here Come the Baptists

I am convinced that there are inherent suppositions and presumptions that all of us make about religious groups.  No doubt you think of various ideas and images when I use the words Christian, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Sikh, Muslim, and Buddhist to name a few.  I have a background that is rooted in two streams of Christian groups and thought:  Catholicism and Baptist.   Those two groups share a common love and appreciation for loving God and neighbor, Scripture as having authority, Trinitarian theology (God as distinctly one yet expressed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and commitment to live a life of faith and good works.

In seminary I read and immensely enjoyed Dr. Leon McBeth’s book titled, “The Baptist Heritage:  Four Centuries of the Baptist Witness.”  It was a wonderful book for this 29 year old upstart, Baptist minister in training.   I do realize that the word “Baptist” carries a lot baggage with it just like other religious traditions.  It goes with the turf. 

Here are a few of the more interesting Baptist heritage historical notes and a few of my Top 5 favorites

The Middle Colonies of PA, MD, NJ, and DE were full of Baptist churches and ministers.  Many of them migrated down from New England where they first arrived to America.  They were great proponents of religious liberty and believers in the First Amendment. 

The First Baptist Church in Charleston, SC was founded and started by Baptists from Kittery, Maine.

The American Baptist Churches of the USA is headquartered in my hometown King of Prussia, PA, which is just 15 miles west of Philadelphia. 

The oldest Baptist Association in the USA was started in 1707 in Philadelphia.

Baptists have been champions of the first amendment and proponents of the no establishment of religion clause by the Government, otherwise known as “separation of church and state.”  That is the history and something that needs constant attention and discussion so that clear boundary lines are kept.  I still think that faith can and should influence culture and the public square where values and ideals are hashed out in everyday life.

So, what does it mean to be Baptist?  I can only answer that for me.  When I arrive at home, at work, at church, at the grocery store my goal and hope is to be a caring Christian who is thoughtful, tolerant, and faithful to God.  I want to be someone who can appreciate and understand the Holy Scriptures and also be someone who can dialogue with other people from all faiths.  I value the priesthood of all believers, the authority of the local church, and the separation of church and state.   To be Baptist means someone who is freely in contact with God in Christ needing no other intermediary.  There is soul freedom but it is always couched in an ethic that calls me and other Baptists to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind and to love my neighbor as myself.  Of course the old joke says, “Put 5 Baptists in a room and you will get 6 opinions.”  That is probably true.  So I present to you what I consider the strengths of the Baptist faith and how it is so diverse.  Surely it is more complicated and more diverse than maybe first assumed and I know that is a humbling thought as I think about some other belief systems and faiths such as Sikh, Muslim, and Buddhist. There is much yet to learn for sure.