A durable Baptist public theology for confusing times
Today American Christians are vigorously debating the best ways to live out their faith in the rapidly changing, often hostile context in which Christian values are often on the defensive. This is not at all new. Believers from the beginning of the Republic, and long before, have wrestled with their stewardship of their citizenship.
It was our Baptist forefathers, after all, who dissented against the Anglican state Church of England. It was Baptist pastors, such as Roger Williams who opposed the established state churches in the colonies. It was Baptist leaders like Isaac Backus and John Leland who worked with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to create the Bill of Rights and establish religious liberty in America's fledgling democracy.
In the decade prior to the American Revolution, over 500 Baptist preachers were imprisoned for "disturbing the peace," which is not the worst definition for Gospel preaching. What the colonial authorities meant, of course, was they were preaching without a license or permit from the state.
Thomas Jefferson is reported to have said that when he died, he would be content to have three things on his memorial: 1. his role in bringing religious liberty to Virginia; 2. his authorship of the Declaration of Independence; and 3. his founding of the University of Virginia.
Isaac Backus' famous words in 1773 have helpfully guided Baptist beliefs and convictions in the 250 years since:
"Religious matters are to be separated from the jurisdiction of the state, not because they are beneath the interests of the state but, quite to the contrary, because they are too high and holy and thus are beyond the competence of the state."
Baptists, having been persecuted both in England and in Colonial America, encouraged active Christian engagement in the public square, while at the same time resisting an official state-supported church.
Komentar
Posting Komentar