Are Baptists Creedal?

What is creedal?

 

Writing only from my belief, no. The creeds
are catholic and unnecessary.

 

I think creeds are fine...they are just simply doctrinal statements that profess what a group believes about scripture. Just make sure the creeds are scriptural,and I have no problem with it. Some bap churches have creeds,or doctrinal statements. The apostles creed is an excellent study.

 

The main differnce between a creed and a confession is that creeds PREscribe while confessions DEscribe.

A Creed by nature draws boundaries that are normative. "Believe this or you're out".

A Confession draws boundaries that are normal. "This is what we belive."

Historically Baptists have been people who have confessions not creeds. The whole "no creed but the Bible" is a nice slogan but has no basis. Ater all the staement itself is de facto creedal! And I would argue that we affirm the ancient creeds, even if we do treat them like confessions in some ways.

In recent years liberals have resisted efforts at drawing up new confessions, so as to be able to avoid being left outside the range of "normal" (not normative) baptist beliefs.

 

Technically speaking I would say yes, many Baptist are creedal.

Personally I believe its a game of semantics and I don't see a lot of difference between a Creed, a Statement of Faith, a Confession, etc...

"A rose by any other name..."

Having said that, I will say (FWIW) that they are a necessary evil for the local churches.

HankD

 

confession and creed are the same, your playing a word game.

 

To call a creed the same as a confession is to so you don't understand either.

 

is to show

 

Allow me to elaborate.

Each is a response within a historical and cultural environment to "bad doctrine" and/or "bad practice" as defined by the author(s).

Each is a method to filter out the "tares" from the wheat.

Each is a "shibboleth" - "I'm OK , you're OK".

Judges 12
5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

1 Corinthians 1
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Personally and IMO, they shouldn't be in a perfect world. But...

HankD

[ September 24, 2002, 08:33 AM: Message edited by: HankD ]

 

I voted we are "confessional", but to a degree that is just wishful thinking. The SBC is creedal. To serve an SBC institution you must be creedal. Oh well. That's why I'm a Baptist instead of a Southern Baptist.

 

In Southern Baptist circles, it is helpful to read what E.Y. Mullins wrote concerning creeds/confessions (he used the terms interchangeably). He stated that each group of Baptists (or whatever) bear the responsibility to establish doctrinal parameters for those who would serve in positions of leadership/professorship.