How Important is it To Know Non baptist theologies/beliefs?

I certainly do, and a good handbook on denominations is a decent place to start. If you don't understand the theology of the denominations then you run a risk of misrepresenting their theology in discussion, you also need to be able to provide a defense. You can stick to the 'top tier' denominations though, you'll never cover them all and most seem to share doctrine.

 

We should be aware of the doctrine of other groups, particularly those whose doctrine is unscriptural or heretical. Most important we should be well versed in our own doctrine. I am afraid there are many Baptists who are not only ignorant of the Bible but ignorant of Baptist doctrine. Much of the problem is that preachers do everything but preach expository sermons. Dr. Albert Mohler has a book out on this, He is not Silent.

Of course Baptist doctrine has changed markedly since the mid 19th century. Thomas Nettles has written an excellent book [recently updated] in which he discuses Baptist history, the decline in doctrinal integrity, and the doctrines of Grace: By His grace and for His Glory.

 

There's been a good book out there for several years that's worth getting.

It's called Handbook of Denominations by Frank Mead.

 

We ought to be careful in describing other denominations as part of the Body of Christ. Just how much heresy can we tolerate and still call them part of the Body?

Of course, my perspective is from a local church view, since that's the only Body of Christ there is.

This is not to say there are not true believers in other denominations. It's just that those denominations do not qualify as New Testament churches. And if there are true believers, it is despite the teachings of those groups.

 

It is a good idea to know what other groups teach. How can you defend the faith if you don't know what you're defending against?

 

We should learn theology and theological beliefs of others. This is a part of being a theologian.

 

Yes because wolves in sheep clothing have crepted in
We do need to know what and who we are up against when trying to fellowship with someone from a different doctrine. Yet we have to be very careful in coming to know their beliefs. This is something only those with a strong conviction of the truth should pursue.

I myself almost became a Calvinist. What saved me from it was there trust in what men have said is true, rather than God.
MB

 

Okay, what denominations do you believe do NOT adhere to your criteria, thus are not true New Testament churches?

Let's involve other BB members here.
What are your criteria for being a New Testament Church?
Which faith groups fail your test?

 

You must understand I do not claim to be a Bible interpreter. I don't read it and then tell myself what it means. I always ask for guidance first and as I read allow God to tell my heart what it means. There is a huge difference..
Calvinism; at least the most of it I've read from Calvinst on this board. Is not from scripture and therefore cannot be any model from scripture at all.

There is simply none of the tulip taken from scripture. When scripture is used to try to support the tulip it is always taken out of context and emblished upon by the thoughts of men. Calvinism in my opinion is what men make of it. It is the product of interpretation with out real consideration of what God has said. In short, Calvinism is the sum of the thoughts of men.
MB

 

Well said.

I would add that the Church should be full of theologians. Unfortunately, most Christians aren't since we don't sing good hymns and we teach superficially.

Seriously. It's been estimated that an overwhelming amount of the theology a Christian knows comes from what we sing. If that's the case, no wonder why we're as theologically deep as a thimble in a lot of cases.

 

Let me muddy the water.

What is Baptist "theology"?

We have no official over arching position on Soteriology or Eschatology. So to fully understand "baptist" theology is to understand both the Doctrines of Grace and John Wesley, Dispensationalism and Covenant theology, and even Amillenialism. Can somebody give me a crisp definition of Amillenial Eschatology? Just kidding.

We can be General and Particular and still be Baptist.

Our best attribute is a reliance on the authority of Scripture. Our worst is our insistence on theological exclusivity on positions that are just not the big thing.

We argue over we should raise hands or not, whether the wine at the Last Supper was alcoholic, and whether or not the best English Bible translation was done in 1611 or 2011.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, but we are scared to death that He might show up in a way that we don't consider appropriate.

We are argumentative and disliked, kind of like John Adams. It is both wonderful and maddening at the same time.

Oh by the way, Merry Christmas!

 

There is so much misrepresentation within Baptist churches of what other denominations believe. There is a tendency to take what a small group believes and then broadbrush it to assume that all others which the Baptist happen to put in that group, believe the same.

For instance, many in the Oneness Pentecostal denomination believe a person must speak in tongues to be saved. They are very vocal about it. This is not the belief of most Pentecostal chutches, who believe speaking in tongues has nothing to do with salvation. The Oneness Pentecostal denomination is considered a cult by other Pentecostal churches as well as by most churches. Yet many baptists are not aware of this and assume they represent all Pentecostal believers because they are so vocal.

Just because you see something in writing about the beliefs of others does not mean it is true. For instance, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Moody Press) indicates that "Arminian doctrines reject security, employing experience as proof" of salvation. That is simply not true. At the end of that section of the book, two other books that promote eternal security, are referenced. I wonder where those two books got their false information. There are a few fringe holiness churches that emphasize experience as it relates to salvation security. Many times these few fringe churches are wrongly referenced to represent all others denominations.

Just because a book claims to represent what others believe, the information may not be true. A few years ago, our Pastor used a belief comparison book to teach on what various Christians believe; The book made wrong statements about what whole groups believe, based on some small fringe elements.

The Internet makes it relatively easy for each of us to determine what a denomination believes. Go to the denominational website and find out for yourself. The website will represent what the whole denomination believes, not what just some within it might believe.

THe other day, I saw in the local newspaper that the SBC is a Calvinist denomination as though all in the SBC are Classic Calvinists.
a little information about something can be dangeous when wrongly applied.

 

A Reverse Example of Misrepresentations

Since writing the above, I thought of a reverse example of how groups beliefs are misrepresented. On another thread, it was pointed out that Charles Stanley's belief in eternal security is different that what most Baptists believe and that he believes in a version of millinial exclusion. In short, Stanley believes the same as Zane Hodges believed. This is contained in Stanley's book on eternal security.

Also listed in Stanley's book is the fact that he was president of the Southern Baptist Convention for two years. Therefore, an uninformed Arminian could conclude that all SBC Christains (and probably all other Baptists) believe as Zane Hodges did on these two issues. In fact, before attending an SBC church, I believed that all Baptists believed the same as Charley Stanley on the eternal security part. Of course, most Baptist do not agree with Stanley and Hodges on these two issues.

However, Baptists have been making the same types of misguided assumptions about Arminians for years; resulting in both sermons being preached, and books being published, giving wrong information about what most Arminians believe. So it is best to question what other Baptists say about what others believe. Again, it is best to go to the denomination webpage to determine what a denomination actually believes.