Southern Baptist traditionalism

Last updated

Southern Baptist traditionalism, also called Traditional Southern Baptist soteriology [1] [2] [3] , Traditionalism [4] [5] [6] or Provisionism [5] [7] [8] [9] are terms used to refer to the view of salvation commonly held within the Southern Baptist Convention. This view aligns neither with Classical Arminianism or Calvinism as it is distinguished from Arminianism by denying the Arminian doctrine of prevenient grace and the plausibility of losing one's salvation by teaching eternal security, while it differs from Calvinism by affirming libertarian free will and due to a denial of unconditional election. [10] [11] The view thus teaches that every man is able to respond positively to God's provision for mankind without a necessary internal change of man's nature happening prior to conversion, viewing the work of the Spirit through the preaching of the gospel as sufficient to enable a person to respond to positively to God. [12] [13] [5] [14]

The terminology of it being "Traditional" Southern Baptist soteriology has been criticized due to there already being Calvinist influences within the Southern Baptist Convention early on within its development. [15] [16] However, advocates of the view such as David L. Allen have argued that even though there has always been a Calvinist presence within the SBC, the majority have historically rejected it. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arminianism</span> Protestant theological movement

Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.

Baptists are a denomination of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists recognize generally two ordinances: baptism and communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Christianity</span> Protestant denominational family

Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of the Anglican and Baptist traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Predestination</span> Doctrine in Christian theology

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perseverance of the saints</span> Calvinist doctrine

Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century, based on the idea of predestination by predeterminism. In the 16th century, John Calvin and other reformers integrated this idea into their theological framework. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints is rooted in this understanding of predestination and continues to be a central tenet of Reformed theology today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Baptists</span> Baptists who hold to a Calvinist soteriology

Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synergism</span> Christian theology concerning the will in salvation

In Christian theology, synergism refers to the cooperative effort between God and humanity in the process of salvation. Before Augustine of Hippo (354–430), synergism was almost universally endorsed. It characterized the so-called Semi-Pelagian position. It also characterized the position of the Second Council of Orange (529), often referred to as Semi-Augustinian. Synergism is affirmed by both the Catholic Church, and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is also present in various Protestant denominations, such as Anabaptist Churches, and is particularly prominent in those influenced by Arminian theology, such as the Methodist Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covenant theology</span> Protestant biblical interpretive framework

Covenant theology is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dispensational theology, a competing form of biblical theology. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology. The standard form of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants: those of redemption, of works, and of grace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unconditional election</span> Calvinist doctrine

Unconditional election is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limited atonement</span> Calvinist theological doctrine

Limited atonement is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism. The doctrine states that though the death of Jesus Christ is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, it was the intention of God the Father that the atonement of Christ's death would work itself out in only the elect, thereby leading them without fail to salvation. According to Limited Atonement, Christ died for the sins of the elect alone, and no atonement was provided for the reprobate. This is in contrast to a belief that God's prevenient grace enables all to respond to the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ Acts 2:21 so that it is each person's decision and response to God's grace that determines whether Christ's atonement will be effective to that individual. A modified form of the doctrine also exists in Molinism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irresistible grace</span> Calvinist theological doctrine

Irresistible grace is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to faith in Christ. It is to be distinguished from prevenient grace, particularly associated with Arminianism, which teaches that the offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method, but rather in an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied.

Hyper-Calvinism is a branch of Protestant theology that places strong emphasis on supralapsarianism, or salvation from eternity, where the atonement of Christ was and is difficult for the non-elect to understand, where man has little to do with his salvation, there being nothing man can do to resist being saved, wherein evangelism was given lower emphasis as compared to traditional Calvinism, and where assurance of salvation was felt within a person, identified by introspection.

Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Wesleyan-Arminian theology according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.

Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christian believers with absolute assurance of their final salvation. Its development, particularly within Protestantism, has given rise to diverse interpretations, especially in relation with the defining aspects of theological determinism, libertarian free will and the significance of personal perseverance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unlimited atonement</span> Non-Calvinist Protestant doctrine

Unlimited atonement is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that states Jesus died as a propitiation for the benefit of all humans without exception. It is normally associated with Amyraldism, as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition. It is a doctrine distinct from other elements of the Calvinist acronym TULIP and is contrary to the Calvinist doctrine of limited atonement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Calvinist–Arminian debate</span> Christian theological debate

The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in the early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Witherington III</span> American religion academic

Ben Witherington III is an American Wesleyan-Arminian New Testament scholar. Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, a Wesleyan-Holiness seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church.

Baptist beliefs are not completely consistent from one church to another, as Baptists do not have a central governing authority. However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches.

New Calvinism, also known as the Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement, is a movement within conservative Evangelicalism that reinterprets 16th century Calvinism under contemporary US values and ideologies.

Sola gratia, meaning by grace alone, is one of the five solae and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theological doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, propounded to summarise the Protestant Reformers' basic soteriology during the Reformation. In addition, salvation by grace is taught by the Catholic Church: "By the grace of God, we are saved through our faith; this faith entails by its very nature, good works, always enabled by prior grace, without which this faith is dead."

References

  1. ↑ Allen, David L.; Hankins, Eric; Harwood, Adam (2016-09-15). Anyone Can Be Saved: A Defense of "Traditional" Southern Baptist Soteriology. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN   978-1-4982-8515-5.
  2. ↑ Hankins, Eric (2012). "A Statement Of The Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding Of God's Plan Of Salvation". Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry. 9 (2). Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  3. ↑ "Statement on Calvinism draws approval, criticism • Biblical Recorder". Biblical Recorder. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  4. ↑ "I Am A Traditionalist". SBC Voices. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  5. 1 2 3 Flowers, Leighton (2017-01-20). The Potter's Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology. Trinity Academic Press. ISBN   978-0-692-56184-3.
  6. ↑ Humphreys, Fisher; Robertson, Paul E. (2000). God So Loved the World: Traditional Baptists and Calvinism. Insight Press. ISBN   978-0-914520-42-9.
  7. ↑ "In upcoming debate, former Calvinist brings 'provisionism' to clash with skillful White". American Family News. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  8. ↑ "Do People Have Free Will? Why Calvinism Falls Short, Provisionism With Dr. Leighton Flowers And Slaveck Moraru | Christianity Culture". 2022-03-04. Archived from the original on 2023-07-16. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  9. ↑ Holmes, Brian S. (2020-08-31). The Empowered Christian Road Map: A Guide for Evangelicals: 8 Key Principles for Unswerving Faith, Laser-Focused Direction, and a Life Driven by Purpose and Action. MPowered Christian Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7352423-3-0.
  10. ↑ Flowers, Leighton (2019-03-05). God's Provision for All: A Defense of God's Goodness. Trinity Academic Press. ISBN   978-1-7328963-0-7.
  11. 1 2 Allen, David L.; Hankins, Eric; Harwood, Adam (2016-09-15). Anyone Can Be Saved: A Defense of "Traditional" Southern Baptist Soteriology. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN   978-1-4982-8516-2.
  12. ↑ Humphreys, Fisher; Robertson, Paul E. (2000). God So Loved the World: Traditional Baptists and Calvinism. Insight Press. ISBN   978-0-914520-42-9.
  13. ↑ admin. "Southern Baptists and God's Plan of Salvation - Credo Magazine". credomag.com/. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  14. ↑ Wilkin, Bob (2024-03-06). "Is Provisionism the Same as Focused Free Grace? – Grace Evangelical Society" . Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  15. ↑ "Exclusive Claims on Traditional Southern Baptist Soteriology?". SBC Voices. 2012-06-01. Archived from the original on 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  16. ↑ jamzth (2012-06-01). "Response to "A Statement of Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation." Part 3". Founders Ministries. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.