1.18.2007

Christianity in Reverse

I am a big fan of Scot McKnight's blog. While reading this past week he cited an article about Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary reviving their "Baptist-only" heritage. This is a very disturbing thing to me. Growing up fundamentalist Baptist, I have attempted to expand my Christian faith as I have matured and aged. I love the fellowship and friendship I share with people of various denominations and backgrounds. I love my current denomination (PCUSA). However, I would never want to declare a "Presbyterian-only" message, indeed I know its shortcomings far too well to express such an idea. And yet, even in the PCUSA, there are some who want to "purge" us so that we get back to a more "Presbyterians-only" message or a "fundamentalist-only" message (remember that the Presbyterians helped to start that whole fundamentalism thing!) or an "evangelicals-only" message.
Over the years, my parents generation has often declared that my generation will overcome the problems of the church from the last generation. My fear is that we will not only repeat these mistakes but dig the hole even deeper.

2 comments:

  1. Justin,
    It's good to see you and hear from you; even though it's via the blogosphere. I thought you had a blog, and after a quick Google search I was led right to "Fresh Dirt". I've bookmarked your site and will be a regular.

    This post was interesting to me, given the fact that we come from the same "fundamentalist Baptist church". I read McKnight's article, and Yarnell's. As you might expect, I did not disagree with much, if anything, that Yarnell wrote in his article.

    The piece was not, in my opinion, a "Trumanistic" work. But I don't often agree with McKnight's assessment of Baptist authored articles. His criticism of Mark Dever's May '06 CT article "Nothing but the Blood" is one example,

    Obviously, it's dangerous and unbiblical to have a "we're the last one's standing" posture, or to claim that your church, and subsequently churches just like yours, or the only Christian communities that stand for truth. But Yarnell's article was not communicating that tommy-rot.

    Just thought I'd put in my two-cents.

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  2. While I am not a fundamentalist, I am a Southern Baptist and I am with you. The isolation of some Baptists from other Christians through the years is archaic and unbiblical.

    Tom Sims (also of Fresno)
    http://pastortomsims.com

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