The Baptist Pietist Clarion, March 2002

7/28/2019 The Baptist Pietist Clarion, March 2002

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,The Baptist Pietist CLARIONVol. 1, NO.1 ~ In essentials U N I T Y · in non-'essentials DIvlmsITY· in everything CHARITY ~ March ,2oo2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -~Published by the COMMITTED PASTORS' ANDLAYL ~ D E R SDEDICATED TO PRESERVINGPIETISM, E V A N ~ E L I S M ,ANDCIVILITYIN THE BGG.Edited by G. WILLIAMCARLSON,Professor of History and Political Sfienceat Bethel College; RON'SAARI,Senior a s t ~ rat Centrpl Baptist Church

Contents

1 What is, he Baptist Pietist Clarion?1G. William CarlsonSIDEBAR: BGC commitments

2 Analysis of he 2001 BGCAnnual Meeting 1Ron Saari

2 What is P i e t i ~ m ?I, G. William Carlson .

3 Fragile But Free 1 Truett Lawson ,SIDEBAR: B ~ Cheritage bibliography

3 Origins of he 1951 Affirmatioh ,ofFaith1 G. William Carlson

4 John Alexis Edgren, A Baptist, PietistT h ~ o l o g i a nIG. William Carlson,SIDEBAR: Edgren supporte d dissentingtheological opinions

5 BGC Archives IG. William CarlsonSIDEBAR: Bethel's 125th anniversary

5 Dean Gordon Johnson affirms BGC asnon-creedal

6 Reeent Monographs and Attic1es Written by Bethel College and -SeminaryAuthors IG. William Carlson....

6 Christian Poetry of Signe PetersonIG. William. C a r l s ~ n

7 Thoughts on Bruce Ware's God'; LesserGlory ITruett Lawson ' I

SIDEBAR: You Are the Go d of Celebra :/, tion IG. William Carlson

8 ETS Becomi[lg o m p a~y ofTheologically Correct? IWeb 'Muck

8 ETS Members Vote on God's Fore, k n ? w l ~ d g'e I h e l ~ e aDeArmond

. ,

9 ' Celebrating th e Civil Rights Move-" ment IG· William Carlson

SIDEBAR: Inclusive Gosp .el

12 . Evangelical Civil Rights movementbibliographySIDEBAR: God's standards for America

What is,the a p t i ~ tPietist CLARION?

G. WILLIAM CARLSON : P;ofessor of History an,d Political Science, Bethel College IThe "Committed Pastors and Lay Leaders" was f ormed ov«:;r three years ago . The primary mission wasto defend the Baptist, Pietist heritage as it was reflected in the writings of 0 h ~Alexis Edgrenan d f u ~ t h e rdeveloped by leaders throughout the history of the Baptist General Confer-

, ence. We believe that the f f i r m a t i ~ nof Faith is a sufficienCstatement of ou r core beliefsan d are opposed to the emergence of a more creedal understanding of our mission. Th ehermeneutic of Sola Script1:lra is extremely important as a basis for an understanding ofth e m i ~ s i o nof the Baptist General Conference and its edu"cational instit'iltions. Ii s essen-

tial that we understand anewh ~

heritage of ou r denomination and its relevance to Christian spiritual growth, evangelism and h e o l o-g i ~ a lconvictions (Seebelow). -Although th e origins of this effort emerged with th e effort by the "Conce rned Pastors"

, ' (now ~ d g r e nFellowship) to amend the Affirmatioh ,of Faith on the issue of God's foreknowledge, ou r primary mission is to lift up th e evangelistic', holiness, ard Biblical founda-tions of the denomination. -We have found this to be reflected in Bethel College andSeminary's effort to h,aridle the "open theism" dialogue an d maintain th e mission of providing a quality, academic program with a commitment to the historic Christian truthsframed in the Baptist General C onference Affirmation of Faith. This journ al is an independent effort and riot afflliated with either th e BGC or e t h ~ lCollege an d 'Seminary,

We r e c ~ g n i z ethat the Bapti st General Conference has a traditi on which is committed toa classical ,-:iew of how Go d e?Cercises His, foreknowledge an d that most of ou r suppor:tersare in agreement with this , radition . However, we also believe that certain minority views,

like a biblically defined ope n thei sm or limited t o n e m e n t ~ a r edoctrines ab out which giftedleaders can disagree and sho uld no t be th e basis for exclusion. Above all we are committedto the doctrine of Sola c r i p i : u r ~ .Like Edgren we believe that it is th e only legitimate test oftruth, not tradition or creed . . '

The term "Clarion" refers to an effort to clearly commu nica te a message t ~ a tis important and vital to the co ,mmunity. Since 1921, it has been the name of the student newspap ,erat ,Bethel n dexpresses the be ,lief that aU tbat we do in life communic ates that Ch 'rist is Ou rLord .and Savior and that we do all for the glory of Jesus Christ. '

This 'newsletter is an 'effort by the Committed Pastors an d Lay Leaders to reaffirm t het r . e j l s u ~ eof ou r Baptist pieti st heritilge; we s ~ e kto spread th e gospel ~ fJes 'us in the w e n

first century.

~T h ~Baptist General Coilferenc 'e emerged from th e Swedish Bapti ,stPietist Tradition an d is committed 'to the o l l o ~ g :' .

Sola Scriptura - the Bible 'is the sole basisfor theological truth.

Affirmation of Faith (1951) - the consensus,non-creedal, statement of {aith thatunites m ~ m b e r sof the BGC.

Necessityof personal conversion - the primar y. focus of the church is to bOing people to a '

, ' . saving knmyledge ofJesus Christ.Great Commission '- commitmen,t to mis

sions and evapgelism.

Holy living - intentional Christian discipleshipthr ough Bible reading, prayer, and culti'. :atio,n of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Irenic spirit...:. speak truth in Jove, avoid harshpolemics, and reject r r ~ s p o n s i b l eher ,esy

. hunting.Religious liberty - each person is responsible• .to God 'alone in all m a t t e r ~of faith and

conduct and the church and state must be" '

'kept separate.



Analysis o f the 2001 BGC Annual Meeting in ,Arlington e i g h t s ,I ~ l .

Why a renewed, interest in John Alexis Edgren an d the BGC f f i r m ~ t i o nof Faith?

RON SAARI, S ~n i o rPastor Central BaptistChurch, St. Paul, Minn. I h e passage of time-allows ,us to reflect on t he activities of the2:001 BGC Annual Meeting in ArlingtonHeights, Illinois and develop some prelimi-

- nary thoughts about the future. It was a wonderful conference . There was little evidenceof theolpgi ,cal politics. Rev. Erwin M cManuspresented a wonderful outreach challenge onThursday. The 1?rayer an d Worship session

'with u i ~Palau was meaningful.Thi s 'is Bob Ricker's last few months in

office as President of he Baptist General Con- 'ference .-I believe that he has represented theConference well and trust that his last yearwill be a rewarding and productive one. Thispast fall I had the opportunity to see Dr .Rickerrepresent the Baptist World Alliance with Dr. ,

, Billy Kim of Korea, President of the BaptistWorld Alliance and the Taejon Children's_Choir. The BWA meeting was herd at BethelCollege. Dr. Ricker is a vice-president of theB a p ~ i s tWorld Alliance. He gave an impassioned endorsement of Baptist W6rld Aidprogram. Many of ou r friends and suppo rters were in Jeadership positions at th at event.

This year the Baptist General Conferen ce, Annu al Meeting will be in Michigan. It will

be a significant Annual Meeting since the selection of the new BGC president, the bi-annual meeting for Bethel College an d S(!mi

nary, an d the appointment/reappointment

SCANDIA C H U R C H ' This SwedishBaptist churchwas established in 1854 and is currently locqted onBethel College and Seminary campus .

,of the President for Bethel College and Semi 'nary will be ol i the age n da .

The debate over Bethel's.position on opentheism is still being waged by the Edgren Fellowship .They spon 'sored a pre-Annual Meeting theological conference which includedpresentations by Dr. Bruce Ware, Dr. MillardErickson, and Dr . Robert Peterson. After consulting with several friends who attended thepre-conference it seems that its primary Rurpose was to establish the Edgren Fellowship~ s the watchdog for theological belief in theBaptist General Conference . They continuedtheir negative evaluation of Bethel's positionon open theism. ' ,

1. This pre-Annual Me .eting theology .conference was no t approved by the Baptist

.General C o n f e r e ~ c e. Their use of the title '

"Edgren Fellowship of thE; Baptist GeneralConference" to e g i t i n i i z ~their activity qoesno t authenticate , their organization ,a s.. an

official agency of the Conference.2. Although the Edgreri Fellowship has

often contr ibuted constructively to thetheological de1:;ate' on open theism, the n}lrrow _Calvinistic perspective or most of their supporters must not be understood as representing th e 'mainstream theological traditionwithin , he Baptist General COnference. TheBaptist pietist tradition of ou r denomination Ifecessitates a.. more p l u r ~ l i s t i cunder- .standing of ou r (evangelical community.

3. The theological pre-Annual 'Meetingseemed to reject the o vertures of the C o m~

mitted Pastors and Lay Leaders!' to bring thediverse evangelical posit ions to the table andhave them discusse .d in an open, moderateand civil framework. Instead the o ~ e - s i d

nature of th e presentations sugg,ested that

some i n the Edgren Fellowship believe thatthey"are the defenders of truth. It would havebeen helpful if the the,ological discourse ha d----------------------- continued p. 12

What is Pietism?: "IIi Essentials Unity,InN n - e s s e ~ t i a l s D i v e r s i t y , I n E v e r y t~

, ' .

, G. WILLIAM CARLSON lOne of .,he missing pieces of the current h e o l o g i c ~debate on opentheism is the failure of many to appreciate and value th e pietistic heritage which has playeda 'major role iIi the ~ 'e r i t a g eof the Baptist General Conference. There are four major char

'acteristics of th e Baptist General Conference: 1) it has its origins as a dissenting church

fellowship; 2) it is .a Sola-Scri,Ptura commup.ity; 3) it is an informed Baptist community;and 4) it is a pietist community.

Pietism w a ~a r e s p o n ~ eto two major problerns of 17th c ,entury Christianity : It chal- 'lenged the dead formalism of the existing ~ a t echurches throughout u r o p ~and providedan alternative to the bitter polemical stances of Re(ormed, Lutheran, an d Roman Catholicteachers and preachers. The pietists exemplified an alternative to the hatred and religious '

. ' ,

bigotry that emerge ,d from the death and devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-48).The piefst principle for theologiCal inquiry was "i n essentials unity, in non-essentials

liberty, in all things .charity." The pietists , rejected state 'Coercion of religious belief and an -overemphasis on details of doctrine by theologians an d church leaders. They believed that"a true personal experience of Jesus Christ and the illumi n qtion of the Holy Spirit thataccompanies it inevitabl-y enlightens people concerning true doctrine, s6 it is better to figh theresy with the renewal of heart religion rather than polemics and threats of excommuni- ,cation" (Roger Olson, p.488). ' ,

This insight was helpful in understanding the pietist influence on the Swedish Baptisttradition. In ' his book Pia Desideria, Philip , Spener, a major piet is t writer, outlined the fivepoints of pietism that influenced the Swedish Baptists: - -

1. C o ~ p l e t e c o n v e r s i o nand living faith arenecessary. "

2 . The Bible must be read by the general:public through group study and privatedevotiops.

3. Controversies should be e ~ o l v e dthrough

civil d iscourse and "heartfelt love," no tpersecution.

4'. Education should be as concerned withcultivating the soul as with impartingknowledge.

5. Holy living and personal edification ,ought,to be a ,prime result of preaching :

continued p. 15



, ,

Fragile · u t FreeTRUETT M. LAWSON,ExecutiveMinister of he . trust ou r leaders and have been blessed-withMinnesota Baptist Conference I flew to the trustwor thy leaders. Our doors are open toWest Coast ; in he air for the first time since the world and we feel safe to travel beyond .September 11th . Th e re- the security of our homes.peated comments o'f DIVINE Suspiclon,and the anxiety itAmerican people finally c r e a t ~ s ,has no t been a com-settled down on me. "Ev- FOREKNOWLEDGE mon part of our lives be-

erything , has changed." I 1.' 0 11 1' 111 <' 11 '. < cause -yvehave found a bal-steod in line to check in ~~1~ ~~ ~~ ; ; -; -"; 1~ ;: ~ - - " - " - ance e ~ e e nlaw an d order 'and thought through the . Gregory 1 , lloy d , I), lv id HlIlll , and the boundless energycontent of my bags. Could WUli\11l1!:<'IlC' Craig, I'm i l ( le lrn - an d achievement of our ,

_ anything be mistaken for 'people.w e a p o n~y or explosives? I appreciate the same dis-Would they be opened? ' tinctive in ou r fellowship.Would the break abl!! items EDmon BY The Conference, for m e, is a

J AMeS K,lItll.11 Ybe shifted around in the 8< PAl ll, R,Ellm little finger on the body ofinspection and..end up bro- Christ that God has givenken? The s.ecurity inspec- me since my youth. There ~

tion line was long. Two , an openness within ou r fel- .Army Reservists with M-16 Lawson advocates DIVINE FORE- lowship, II soul liberty thatrifles ' watched the inspec- , . KNOWLEDGE: FOUR VIEWS, edited by, marks ou r educational insti-

. tions. I t reminded 'me of Bethel professors, as a healthy x p l o~ tutions and, i ~ spite of ou rUkraine in the early nine- ration of he foreknow,ledge issue. diverse ministry expres

ties-everyone a criminal until prove!! in- sions, brings a freedom in the Spirit that exnocent. And a bi t like Manila in 1 9 8 6 ~ ists because of ou r ultimate trust in Christ.

. :;trmed guards standing outside Dunkin' This freedom has marked the Conference inDonut shops. , ' . debate, disagreement, celebration, oniervice.

Perhaps I am overreacting . But I am be- Ou r institutions allow freedom for stu-ginning to see just ho w rare and precious is . dents to weigh and consider while guidingthe personal freedom and security we have an d teaching them with Biblical authority,enjoyed . n America. For the most part, we an 4 godly care. We have our problems bu t

L / " " l ,continued p. 13

BGC pietist heritage bibliography

Brown, Dale. Understanding Pietism.- Grand Rapids Mich.: Eerdmans, 1978.

Carlson, G. William. "The Recovery of heBaptist Pietist Tradition: An Investigation of Its Meaning for Education atBethel in the 21st Century." BethelFac-ulty Journal 1994-95, pp. 26-37.

Carlson, G. William, an d Diana L.Magnuson. Perse vere, Liisare, andClarIon. St. Paui, Minnesota: 125thAn- 'n i v ~ r s a r yExhibition Committee,Rethel College and Seminary, 1997.

Magnuson, Norris .Missionskolan: TheHis-tory of an Immigrant TJleological School;Bethel Theological Seminary 1871-1981 .

. St. Pan!, ',Minnesota: Bethel Theological Serriinary, 1982, i3-1S, 59-60. '

Olson, Roger. "Pietists Seek to Renew, Lutheran Theology ." Pp. 473-492, in

The Story of Christian Theology.D o ~ e r sGrove, Ill.:InterVarsity PressPietism . Christian History 5, 2 (1986). "Olson, VirgiL "Maint ain the Bethel Tra

ditions." Beth ,el College AlumniChapel (Oct. 16, 1993): pp . 1-5 .

-'- - . T h ~Baptist General Conferencean d its Pietist Heritage:' Bethel Semi-nary Quarterly (May 1956): pp. 54-66.

- - - . The Influence of History Upon theBaptiStGeneral Conference:' BaptistSemi-nary Quarterly 12, 2 (Feb. 1964):pp. 34-41.

What are the Oiigins of the 1951 A f f i ~ n i a t i o nof Faith?G. WILLIAM CARLSON lOne of the majorresults of the debate over "open theism" isthe necessity of thinking through the Baptist General Conference's Affir ma ,tion ,ofFaith. What are its origins? Why is it calledan "Affirmation of Faith" rather than a"Creed" or "!=onfession."

The Affirmatiqn .of Faith was passed at 'the 1951 meeting of the-Baptist General Conference and reaffirmed in 1990.' It was no t

. made a formal part of the Constitution ofthe Baptist General Conference until 1961.Dean Edwin Omark chaired the Committee'drafting the Affirmation of Faith . It was inpart a response to th e expansion of the Baptist General Conference in the post-WorldWar II years, especially to th-e west coast, andto some of the core theological questionsemerging in the ,post-World War II evangelical community. Bill Turnwall, the HomeMissions Secretary, wanted a general statement of faith to help explain to new churchesthe core consensus beliefs o f the Conference.

The term "Affirmation" was deliberatelychosen to ensure t h a tit would no t be un

derstood as a formal creed . It was to be a .witness 'of what the Conference was an d no ta document "to hang people on." The dQcument passed after significant discussion .There were two efforts at modification. Thefirst, a move to tighten t,he language on "thel a ~ tthings" an d assert a premillenialisteschatology, was rejected. The second was

developed by Harold Lindsell, a member ofa Baptist General Conference chur _ch in California and professor at Fuller TheologicalSeminary. He wanted to s t r ~ l } g t h e nthe language on the authority of the Scriptures andsuggested that it read" .. . we believe that theBible is the Word of God, fully inspired andwithout error in the original manuscripts."This amendment passed (Phone C o n v ~ r s a -'

tions with Virgil Olson and Go(don JohnsonM a r~h 17, 1999)·

The Affirmation of Faith was a broadlyworded document that attempted to bring

together the diverse theological traditionsthat were reEresented in th e Baptist GeneralConference. 'It was no t to be-interpreted as acreed and therefore on e ' must be carefulwhen on e uses it to evaluate theologicalthemes no t explicitly articulated or assert thelegitimacy of one evangelical tradition ov _eranother . Arguments from silence, fiistoricalanalogy, and the dangers of he slippery slopeshould be evaluated very carefully before

they are used in~ f f o r t s

tot ) . m ~ n d

th eAffirmation. It ought to be amended or'changed with g 'reat care, especially when itinvolves significant modification of the existing consensus language.

. Several articles in The S.tandard.and Ad-vance in the years surrounding the passageof the Affirmation of Fai th can help to clarifyits meaning an d significance. Edwin Omark,the chair of the A f f i r m ~ t i o nof Faitn committee, wrote , an article in which he arguedti l t IBaptists generally affirm that they haveno creed bu t the Bible. There is no surrimafY

~ ----------.------------------------------- continuedp.14



John Alexis Edgren, A Baptist, Pietist Theologian: He Belongs to All of Us!!!I .

study of Bible Doctrine ~ nnever replaee The ,author honored t h ~testimony oftr e Bible i t s ~ l f ,ap.d the study of it can Jacob Spener and traced the iinpact of pietismneve! become as ,important or ai rich iq in Swedish religious history in 'the. early 18thc o n t ~ n tas a complete study of the entire . centUry . He emphasized the value of pietistBible. But it can contribute to the knowl- hymnology, especially "The Lamb's Songs."edge of the Bible an d make for- sound - The hymns include such phrases as "d, let me

hess and unity of belief in 'its .principle with John lay down, My Jesus by your breastdoctrines . This is a gain which we have oflove,""renew mind and ·soul,""O God givereason especially to expect from such 'a us your Spirit's-grace:? and "it is God's pre-study. ( F ~ n d a m e n t a l sofF.aifh, pp. 10-11) cious gift, which is offered to all." The songs

expressed the people's deepest religious ex-Edgren concluded, " B ~ b ~ c a ltheology, as periences .They opposea the o r~I ? a l n e s sof he

presented in this volume is identical with sys- State Ghurch and its loss of a Holy Spirit-in-tematic theology, ~ h i c h ,however, is some- spired and experiential Christianity .thing moi-e'-speculaiive than we would rec- T-he fiymns also expressed a desire for

G, WILLIAM CARLSON L t seems that some . ommend. Speculative theology pertains as Christians to live like Jesus. "0 , th'at i couldmembers of the Edgren Fellowship do no t much tci philosophyas to Biblical research . . ." ~ e emy Jesus" was a -Common theme through~ p p r e c i a t ethe n a t ~ r eand virtues .ofthe pi- (Fundamentals ofFaith, p. 12).Whatreally 'was out toe pietist section of the early issues ofetist tradition and its impact on the Baptist " important to Edgren was that Biblical doc- Evangelisk ' Tidskrift. In a sermon Edgren

General C 'onference in ' general and on the trine be Biblically based. In fact, Edgren l;>e- stated that "the true Christian faith goeswritinKs an d theological her ,meneutics of lieved the "Bible ought to be his , prinCipal deeper than to the mind or the will, it reachesJohn Alexis Edgren, the founder of Bethel s t u d y ~ d s h o u l dalways engage his attenfion. the heart's deepest inclinations and puts upSeminary. This results in misapplication of For his work, if it is to be of he greatest value, its throne there. It is a loving trus t in Jesus,Dr. Edgren's theological wiitings an d their should consist in the presentations of the ou r once dead, bu t now living Lord and a ~ -

practical implications fo{ some ,of today's teachings of the Bible as he has discovered , iour" ( E v a n g e l i s ~Tidskrift, Sept. ~8 7 9 ) .Onetheological discussions. As Dr. John Sanders them in a careful and complete stu9-Y of the could best see this Jesus.. tbe piet ist -argued,stated at the 2000 BGC Annual Meeting at Holy Scriptures" (Fundamentals of Faith, p. lO). . thro ugh small group Bible stu'dy, prayer, andBethel College and Seminary, "Edgren be- In an essay included in the early d i t i o ~ ~, commitment to holy living. The Holy Scrip-10!1gs to all of us." 1 of the Evangelisk Tidskrift, Edgren suggested ture was the prim ary base for Cnristian the-

, ' It s interesting to analyze the life and theo- ' that happy are we as ChriStians if we build - ology an d cultivation ' of the soul.logical beliefs of John Alexis Edgren, as ex- . the :'whole of our conviction on the Bible 3. Edgren often a f f i r ~ e dthe dissenting 'pressed in his sermons; his monograph, Fun- alone!' Every hUl1!an confession needs to be I nature of the Swedish Baptist pietist fellowdamentaZSofFaith; and h enewspaper he ed- tested in light of God's Word. We nee9- to con- ship. Articles in the newspaper suggested thatited m the 1870S, Evangelisk Tidskrift . An En : stantly, in humility and prayer .and in true de- creeds were often unnecessarily oivisive.glish translation ,of sections of the newspa- v6tion, 'study God's "precious Word." Then There was a ne _ed to be careful tnat one lim-

- per is available in t h ~J?aptist General Con- "we shali possess the purest faith, the truest ited the statements of faith to a core of es,-ference History Center. Richard Turnwall is wisdom and happiness possible" for us here L , . / l continuedp.16helping to prepare an index . In 1880 Edgren in this life (Evangelisk Tidskrift,Jan. 1880).turned the newspaper 'over to E. Wingren, al- In reading Edgren in his n t i r ~ t yand par- .though he continued to give hi m advice and ticularly in these quotes, the Edgrencounsel. The following are some of the major Fellowship's appeal to historic orthodoxy,findings of my preliminary .research . rather t han Biblical d.ebate, as their author-

~ .Althsmgh Edgren articulated a general ity for testing the viewS' of p e ~theists doescommitment to reformed theology in his not e e m. ~ o n s i s t e n twith Edgren's own Bib

Fundame1)tals of Faith, his commitment to lical priorities.theological beli'efs is always guided by the 2. Dr. Edgren was a very committed Bap-principle of "sola Scriptura." In the mtrQduc- ' tist pietist , who was opposed to c r e e d a l i s ~ .

tion to Fundamentals of Faith ' he wrote: He 'saw what had happene9 in the religiouswars of both the Reformation and the sev-

Bible Doctrine is thus, essentially, an interpretation of the Bible, thro ugh whichthe system of Christian belief is pre,sented . I t can qever exhaust the entirecontent of the Bible, partly because itdoes , no t propose to deal with its entire

' .content, and partIY ,because no man orgroup of men could ever fa,thom thedepths o God's revelation . Hence, a

enteenth century over what seemed to benonessential the 'ological ideas . Edgren ex'-'pre.ssed his pietist commitrrieryts in the early -

:editions of the Evangelisk Tidskrift. The articles, although, unsigned, were most likelywritten by Edgren , Even if iheywere not, theycertainly expressed the message that hewanted to communic ate to the Swedjsh Baptists in the Un ited States.



Recent p 'qblicati9ns by Bethel College ~ d~ e m i n a r y.A u t h o r s

G. WILLIAM CARLSON IRecently a letter was _sent to th e Baptist General Conference

Headquarters expressing some concern

about thehck of showcasing books th at werewrit ten by Bethel Seminary and College Faculty at the Annual Meeting Harvest Showroom. This is no t to say that the books ex

hibitedwere inappropriate' ,However, to thebest of my b ~ l i t yI was no t able to find any

, Bethel authored books in the display an donly on e in the catalog. This is inconsistentwith the history of the Baptist General Conference which has hono red those who are onthe ficulty of ou r d u c a t i o n a l'i n s t i t u t i o n ~ .I _sent along with the letter to Baptist GeneralConference leadership, a list of books writ-

, ten by both -Seminary and College faculty.The following are some that I have had th -e-opportunity to read over th e past year an dwould 'like to r ecommend to you:

Clark, David an d Peter m m e t t~ When

SOr1}eone You Love is Dying: Making WiseDecisions at the End of Life. M i n n e a p ~ l i s ,

Min.p..: Bethany Pres .s, 199,8. Taylor, Dan iel ,an d Ronald Hoekstra. Before Their Time:

Lessons In L iving from Those Bar,, " TooSoon. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity .Press, :woo. T h e ~ eare tWo reflective essayson the tragic nature of human life and God'sgrace and s u p p ~ r t .David Clark, professor oftheology at Bethel Seminary, discusses two;!!lajor issues in unders tanding the crises of se_

rious illnesses at the erid of ife. They especiallyfocus on the crises of sufferipg an d learmnghow to die well. They conclude that "we rec

'ognize our Joyful duty to live for God throughout our lives and then accept, from a st an ,ce of

hope, a desire to honor God in our dying. Thesedecisions are difficult to make and even more- ,troublesome to live out. Yet the Lord's prom-ises that p.ewill guide and sustain us are as truetoday as in the days of Jesus" (p. 150).

,Da n Taylor, is professor of English at

Bethel College. Before Their Time is a valuable discussion of Christian responses to issues related to premature births . I read thisbook largely to · hink about my parent's responses to me, one of those "b -or!). too soon."I was ableto understand many of the comments my par ent s eXRressed. The>:: were es-

- - - - ~ ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -~Recovering h ~Poetry of Signe PetersonG. W I L L I ~ MCARLSONI n researching in the Baptist General Conference An ;:hives on Bethel's125thanniversary, I discovered the wonderful poetr y of my grand'mother"Signe." Signe OlsonPeterson published over two hundred and thirty o ~m smost of which were in the 5venskaStandaret, Midvinter, 50ndagsskolanoch Hemmet and Sann jngsens Viin. Many _of her laterEnglish poems were found in The Standard and the Kerkhoven Banner . She also wrote overone hundred unpubliShed poems , u ~ e . r o u spublished articles an d s ~ a y s ,and co-authoredseveral hymns with her husbariCi Rev. E. B. Peterson.

Increase My Faith

SvenskaStandaret / Vol. XX, No. 44,- November 4, 1930, p. 3.

Dear Lord, increase m y faith enough,To fully trust in Thee,

whene' er the path seems steep and rough/ Which Thou has given me.

And when I seek a place to fUl,Endeavor for t he good,That is according to Thy will,

As I have u ~ d e r s t o o d .

Increase my faith then, Ldrd, I pra y,That doubts an d fear may cease, .

. And cannot steal my strengt h away,N o n o b me of my peace. _

Teach me to go with trusting heartAnd always do my best.

Remembering-when I've done my part !Thou Lord will do the rest. '

- 6 -

p ~ c i a l l ythankful for God's role in guidingthe medical staff o allow me to have a chanceat a full life. They also shared their anxietiesan d prayers conc:erning those 'times when

much w ~ sin doubt. Before Their Tim_ is a'Very good read and should be meaningfulto others who have struggled with the many

tragic issues in premature births.Cragg, Kevin, et al. God's Peoples: A So-

cial History of Christians. Grand Rapids,Mich.: Baker Books, 1994. A social historyof the Christian church p ~ ttogether by

, Eethel College historians .and members ofthe Biblical an d Theological Studies department. It has recently come ou t in paperback.

- A very readable account of the majo ; developments of tile Christian church. It e,specially explores the role of lay church developments Cind the impact of church reform?0/-1 th e liVes of peoples in the pew. There is

also a s i g n i f i ~ a n tfocus on the spread of theChristian faith to th ,e global village.. Hohnes, Michael. I and II Thessalonians:

N N Application Commentary. Grand :Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1998. Ron.Saari and Ihad the opportunity to listen 'to Dr. Holmesprovide a four session Sunday evening Biblestudy on I and I l Thessalonians at CentralBaptist Church. It inspired many of us to readhis commentary. It is a v alu'lble commentaryfor the average church layperson and providesimportant insights into the life and i ~ i s t

of the Apostle Paul. Holmes reminds us thatthe church, whether in Thessalonica or else,where, is "in God the Father arid the Lord JesusChrist. " It s the p ~ o p l e ~ fGod ;called togetherby hi m "for his worship and 'glory and com- 'missioned to spread the gospel, that is, the goodnews abou t God." The church exists primarilyfor the "praise and glory of God" (p. 45).

H ~ h n e s ,Michael. "To Be Continued: Th eMany Endings of he Gospel Of Mark." BibleReview (Aug. 2001): pp.12-23, 48-49. An irl

sightful essay with colorful illustrations andunderstandable charts .At least "nine versions

of the -ending of Mark can be fou dd among. the 1,700 surviving ancient Greek manuscriptsand early translations of the -gospe! " (p . 13).A

, readable textual anal ysis of an interesting Biblical question. Dr. Holmes concludes his essat in the following m a n ~ e r: "And so -ill theend, the endings of Ma t'k)eave us as readerswith 'a question: Ho w will we choose to eridthe matter? Will we t o l e r a t ~the ambiguity, or:seek to resolve it? Will we force an endingupon the gospel that accords with ou,r expectations, or will we see the ending no t as an~

I - - ~ - - ~ - - - - -continued

p.JS



T h o ~ g h t s~ nBruce Ware's Book, God's e s ~ e rGlory ,TRUETT M. LAwsoN IDr. Bruce Ware, the ~ e -

nio r Associate Dean of he School ofTheologyat the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,was introduced with high credent .ials by theEdgren Fellowship which invited him t6 theirtheological discussion held before the BaptistGeneral Conference Annual Meeting in June,2001. I received Ware's book wi th some antici-

, p ~ t i o nas 1 welcomed a well-Written t h e o l o g i~

cal counterpoint t ~ Dr . Greg Boyd's case forOpen Theism in The God of he Possible. '

J3utI cannot recommend this book. I ·foundparts of the book's framing deeply t r o ~ b l i n g .

wh y would a well-credentialed theologian, ade im of a sister B a p ~ i s tseminary, frame histheological work in such a way as to exploitou r denominational problems in 'the BGC,

. eve!1 ipaccurately represen .t them, an d in theend sound like a "my denomination is better

than your de nomination" partisan? 'I' m talking about th e book's openingchapter, "Why you should be concerned."Ware gets specific, u ~ i n gthe BGC as an example of a denomination that has been "divided over the question .. . of open theism."He attributes 'this division to Greg Boyd's"advocacy of ope'n thei sm" when, actually, ithas been his critics who have forced this is-

- sue o n a a ~ g e l yunwilling Conference. He inaccurately represents the 1999 debate as adebate over a foreknowledge resoiution whenindeed the Conference "fas being asked. to

amend its Affirmation of Faith. 'Ware applauds the BGC's 2 0 0 0 resolution

which affirms that exhaustive foreknowledgeis ou r fellowship'S historic understanding ofGod :s omniscience, bu t Md s inconsis!ent thesecond resolution of he day wnich affirms theBethel Trustee's posi tion paper. He completelyignores the Bethel statement's strong a nd clearaffirmations. of the college's accountability tothe concerns raised regarding open t h ~ i s m

(the statement even establishes classroomteaching protocol) bu t instead hones in on a .-

"whereas" which affirms a previous Bethelcommittee's work which felt - that, though

open theism was no t Bethel's institutionalview, it was "within the accepted bounds ofthe evan&elical spectrum." This is an unfairlyunbalanced, critical approach :Ware ends with'a dark prophesy: "I dare say that the last wordon this matter has no t been said in this denomination."

Whatever is the source of-his ' future prognostications, Ware talks in "notable contrast"about the ~ o u t h e r nBaptists who h a~ enoth a n d~.e d this matter with the "ambiguity

~

reflected in th e BGC." No mention. of r a g~

mentation of the SBC--maj oriti es voting minorities out, funding cut-offs, regions de

' nouncing regions/national denouncing regions, pastors h .r e ~ t e n e dwith creeds to sign,etc, etc. Ware sees only that the SBC, in a 'resolution proposed on exhaustive foreknowl-

. edge, "unanimously endorsed" the concept,, revising its statement of fait;h with "key,chailges"which, according to Ware, are "forthright declaration th at defines the boundaries 'of this major denomination's core beliefs."

I simply have to say that I do notremember, in receIit years, reading a , heologicalwork from a ma n of this stature wh i'ch isframed in such a sectarian caric;t ure o( twodenominations. For me, it was a serious disappointment in what was otherwise aneeded perspective in the d e b a ~ eon Open

Theism. Which leads me to my second quarrel wi th Ware. Allow me ~ explain my ~ n -

sitivities. At a BGC Prayer .Summit, a brotherpastor led in prayer wIth an opening qualifier,"I pray to you, my sovereign God, worthy ofall ' olir glory an d honor, no t the other Godljmited in glory .. espoused by some." It wasa cpilling moment; I began to cry. _

There 'is a brazenness in some to use the I

~ o c a b u l a r yof idolatry When debating freewill t h . e i s ~ .I hear this from Ware and,though I am sure it comes out of strong feelings, it hurts the body of Christ : :'This, god

(small case)'is ma n writ large .. . touted to beGo d l a r g ecase)" (p. 225).

I cannot tell you how much my ~ p i r i t

grieves when this theological debate comes tothis. I will stand toe-to-toe illthis debate. I amno t afraid of confrontation, But to ascribe tofree will theists vocabulary tha t ren'der.s themidoiaters? This doses debate for me. Where isthe evil :that would warrant such treatment?

In distinct contrast is th e recently released volume edited by Bethel's own JamesK. Beilby an'd Paul Eddy, Divine Foreknowiedge, Four Views. Four views (Open Theism,Simple-Foreknowledge, Middle-Knowledge,an d Augustinian-Calvinist views) ' are statedby their a ,dvocates-Boyd, Hunt, Cr:aig, and ,Helm-and then critiqued bythe .other 60ntributors. A glossary of foreknowledge termsis included in the end.

I •

, A wonderful resource for this debate-afresh wind! A esource framed in fairnessan d mutual respect. What a joy an d what acontrast! We must honor those who speakhonorab ly in such a tense time of theological discourse.

YOlJ are the God,

o f Celebration

G: WILLIAM CARLsoN,for BethelCollege Gradua ,tion, May 19, 2001

You are tht; God of Celebration: Wethank you for the gifts you have givenus a ~ ddi e opportu nities we have hadto identify, develop an d cultiya'te the m ,over past four years. . '

You are the God of nclusion: We thank .you h a ~your gospel transcends ethn.\c,gender and national boundaries .and thatin heaven (::).nd on earth) your peoplewill honor an d value this beau!ifullydiverse world tha t you have created.

You are the God of Reconciliation: Wethank you ' that you have called us to beintentional peacemakers in the

-communities 'in which we"iive.

You are th-e God of a l v a t i ~ n :We thankyou tha t you have caned each of us to

. be Christian evangelists so that all maycome to a saving knowle 'dge of thegospel ,of !esus Christ.

You are the God of Compassion: We areall needy people . Some of us are

dealing, wi th serious -illness, crises inthe family, ethnic oppression, economic injustice or alienation. We thankyou that we can be your agents ofcompassion an d healing.

We come to you .th is day in e ~ o g n i t i o

-of the accomplishments of these fine 'young men and women.

We come to you' this day asking that youwill continl;le to guide them as theyseek ways to intentionally serve you inall that they do. '

. .We come to you this day to encourageeach person to grow in the ir love foryou, cultivate their Christia n spiritualjourney, 'an d be committed to a life of~ o n t i ~ u o u slearning . '

,", We come to you this day to invite you to

, be with us in this celebration for youtruly are th e God of this celebration.



Is the v a ~ g e l ~ c a lTheological Society Becoming ."TheologicallyCorrect"?Dr. WEB MUCK, Bethel College Psychology knows all events, past, present ; and future. c r e ~ dis a set of words. Words are not'adequatePrgfessor Eme;[tus I For close to -iftYyears, Only 360 ballots were cast of the 2000 people , for personal fellowship. One may use words toone of the m e ~ t i n g sI have tried to include in attendanc ,e. Although niost of the people refuse fellow.ship without everi being acin my calendar has 'oeen the annual meeting who voted endorsed the resolution as some- quairited with ' the iI!dividual in question. -of the Evangelical TheologicaJ Society. I'm . thing that they believed, there was no attempt An effort to exclude evangelical open the-no t sure that I am a charter member, bu t I to eJ):clude.Open Theists from the Society. ists would be a great d i s a p p o i n t

was active in the ETS in its formative years , I f such an action were taken, ETS would . would los -e an occasion to meet with ~

in the early 195bs.At that time I was profes- exclude pe 'ople like me who set high store on ' brothers an d sisters in ' Christ. Those who'sor ' of psychology a! Hun tington College. God's gift of r e ~will to his people. Thatw9uld favor the ex4usion of open theism seem to

_ When I came to Bethel in the fall of 1959; be unwise and tragic. It is necessary to n s u r ~ believe that they are defending the truth; itIconti nued to faithfully attend ETS sessions. that the "Society of the Redeemed:' meeting is part of an effort to establish security for .Admission to the Society was by writ ten as- , forfellowshipandsharing, Will not become the church in troubled times. But the trut h iss'ent to' a statement thaJ affirmed that the "Company of the Creedally Correct:' meeting person, Jesus Chri st, who can never be cap-Bible is the Word of God. I retired from my to inspect each other's creedal ~ n f o r r n i t y .A tured in the words of a creed.professorship at Bethel in 1985. - ~

This year's ~ ~.S ~ e ~ t i n gwas the, week ETS Votes ' o n God's o r e k D o w l e d g ~before ThanksglVlng In Colorado Spnngs. I - ,was JOIned by several members of I,Ily family Chelsea DeArm ond IThe topic of this year's tion" to leave, it was a way of perforrning' ,sursome Qfwhom attended the sessio!1in which -- annual meeting of tne EyangelicalTheologi- gery" on the "cancer" of open theism, it seI read my paper entitled "Some Thin gs God cal Society was, "Defining Evangelicalism's the stage for beginning the political process'Cannot Do., .Nor shouid We." This ~ st h ~ Houndarie;." Members were informed that , of excluding qpen theists from membershipthird paper th,at I have read at ETS on themes ;, whel). they met in Colorado Springs, Nov 'The 'Executive C;onirnittee denied there waderived from .the writings of a Biblically 14-16, one of the primary J opics of discus- any political agen .dabehiIid the resolution, andbased Open Theism, My 11rst paper was pre- sion would be open theism : Bruce Ware stated emphatica1lytha; the votesen ed in the late 1980s. . I was purely theological, no t political. Many

My interest in ' Open Theism ,emerges The Executive o m i n i t t ~ e ,in ~ s p o n s eto members expresseq confusion and frustration" from my relationship with Dr. John Sand- requests from a group of chartet mem- at these rnixed messages. If the issue was purely

ers, whom I knew both as a student and . bers an d others, to address the compat- theological, why were members c a 1 l e ~to voteteacher at O ~Hills Bible College. r was a j b ~ i t yof the view commonlyi :eferred t9 on it at all? One member moved .to delay theteacher an d a ,meJ;Ilber of the Board of Di- as 'Open Theism' with biblical inerrancy, vQte.until next e a ~to allow more time to exrectors at 'Oak Hills for over thirty years. ' - _ wishes to state the following: We believe plore the theological issues and sort throughSanders effectively challenged me to read, .the Bible clearly teaches that God has the p o l i t j c a l, c o ~ f u s i o n .The motion failed to

opce again, the Scripture an d explo(e how it complete, accurate and infallible o w l - pass by a thin margin, and the vote on the reso-deals 'with the contraries of God's omni- _edge of all -events past, present and fu- lution r o c e e d ~ das scheduled. 's c i e n ~ eand God's gift of free Will. I still cal)- ture including all future decisions an d ' Rather than s .ending a strong message thatno t wholly reconcile them. • actions offree motal agentS'.However, in , . open th.eistsare not welcome in the ETS, John

In my niost recent essay I celebrate a God order to insure fairness to members of Sanders, <::lark Pinnock, and Greg Bqyd werewho although He takes pride in His power, the society who differ i t ~this view, we surprised and enc9uraged ~ learn that 18%wants als.o to bring us int o His Fe1l9wship. propose the issue of such incompatibil- ofETS members voted against the resolutionHe is a God who wants us as "His friends, ity be taken .up as part of u r ~d i s c u s s i o non God's foreknowledge and 12% -abstained.His good friends." I especially ce,lebrate this in next year's conference 'Defining Clark Pinnock told Christianity Today, "I

~ Go<;i when 1 sing the eyangelical hymn "I Evangelicalism's Boundaries.' thought it would be just the three o f s" (Neff,Come to the Garden -Alone" by C. Austin . "Foreknowledge Debate -Cloudeq."), but in-Miles. I t reads :- The ETS Executive Committee p r o p o s ~ da stead i t seems that almost one third of ETS

, resolution along these lines that. members members are open to the open view! GregAnd He walks with me, ( voted on at the closing business session. Boyd noted that ~F r o mp r i y a ~ econversations- and He talks with me, However, in the course of discussing the throug hou t the week, it became very clear to

and He t ~ l l sme I am His own.. resolution, the Executive Committee seem _ed me that there are manywh<? in prixate e !therAnd tbe joy we share to dIsagree about its purpose. Their ratio- espouse something like the open view or who

as we tarry there, n'ale included: the vote was merely intended are at least very sYmpathetic.to i t: But the l i

none other has ever known. . to be a "snapshot of the conference," it was ' mate is too ho t for them to speak ou t ., ,: l n ~ e n d e dto appease the cqarteF members' InterVarsity P r ~ s s ' snew release on Divine

That's what happens when we open the o r concern, it was meant to seI1d a strong rnes- Foreknowledge: Four Views, edited by Betheland let Christ ,come in. But only if we open sage -to Christian magazines abou t where the professors Paul Eddy and Jim Beilby, sold outthe door. ' ETS stood on this tssue, open thdsts should ' immediately. There is definitely a lot of n t ~

One of the business matters at the mos t consider it, a "gentle nudge" ou t ' of the con- est in ~ i sdiscussion, in spite of he fact thatrecen(ETS meeting was a vqte on ~ resolu- ference, it extended open theists an "invita- theETS Executive Comrp.ittee would like to

tion which stipulated .that God infallibly~

. con.tinued p. 14" ' :8 -



Baptist Pietists S h o ~ dC e l e b r a t ~the Civil Rights Movement 'G. WILLIAM- CARLSONlOne Of the great chal

.lenges for the 21St c e n t u r y ~ v a n g e 1 i c a lchurch, is to appreciate an d {alue its multi-ethnic ex

pressions. It is ex;citingto see the inclusion ofethnic c)"lUJches in the Baptist General Con- .ference. This brings a newdynamic to our denomina-

'tional ministry. 'Over thirty years ago

David q . Moberg, formerprofessor of sodology atB e ~ h e lCollege, challengedtlie evangelical communityto include civil rights)ssuesan their social concernagendas. Moberg's deep

who really want to get ahe\ld can do so . 'do right, bu t it 'does no t in itself define forBy thus s p o ~ s m gthe simplistic individu- any person precisely what is right." Tha

, alistic position that,the race problem is . training is a "major task of the church-;ndsimply one of the free will 6f its victims, ' it is no secret that most chu rches, w h e t

they deny the racial disadvantages on the theologically liberal, neo-orthodox, evanminority group. They hav gelical, or Iundamentalistic, have nO.t per

.no t experienced ; as blacks . . formed tha t task very well. T!lis failure is es

have, the heavy oppresslon pecially apparent in the area of race relationsof public .a'fid private insti- in which a racist attitude 'of'enlightened apatutions, values, and actions thy' prevails among most whites .... The comwhich ~ i m i topp ortun it ies passion fatigue and conscience siclsness oand prevent them from re - the American nation deeply afflict Chrisceiving equal rewards fOJ tians" (pp. 1 5 4 ~ 1 5 5 ): Moberg concluded thattheir effo}"ts. (The Gre(;!t Re- the 3;.voidance of sodal involvement is. thversal, P.90) "equivalent to blessing the gro>yth of evil in

society" (p . 178).commitment to civil rights Moberg ' deve lope d two Last year, Michael Emerson, a recen.t

former Bethel College sociology professor,co-wrote an analysis of current relation .shipof evangelical religion and' the problem o

race in America. In their book DIvided BFaith, Emerson and Christian Smith x p r

the following conclusion:

is partly derived from his essential pietis t" prin-Baptist, p i e t i~t heritage. He ciples-following in .1hewas concerned that the !'in- , footsteps of Christ and

dividual -piety" emphasis of obeying th e discipleship' the, pietist would be used as principles of Christ's teach-an escape from tpe "pres- Former Bethel p r o f e s s ~ r ,~ i ~ ~ e lings-in o r d e ~to reVive asure!> of existence in this . Emerson explores raCla! dtvlSton social concern mandate, es-l ·ti "T h C • Id 1 d within Evangelicalism. . 11 ' · h . f -1 e. erelore, It cou ea - . pecla y l l t e area Q oppo-

. to a "waiting for His coming" rather than a sition to ,racism and support for the civilworking until His coming (Inasmuch, p. 19). r i ~ h t $movement . fie argued thllt"Jesus min:

Moberg argued. that the Baptist, p i e t i s ~istered t6 the whole 'man; His compassionheritage has a history that should put it on moved ' Him to both physical 'and spiritualthe ' forefront of the evangelical, civil r ~ g h t smi n istries; those who tnake Him Lord will

, movement. In his second book, The Great act similarly" (p. 54).Reversal,he asks why an evangelical church Con version to Jesus Christ, statedthat was active in the social reform m o v ~ -, Moberg, creates the "motivation ' or will to

[D1 spite devoting considerable time andenergy to solving the problem of racia

, division, white evangelicalism llkely doesmore to perpetuate the racialized societythan to reduce it : This, we have seen, ibecause of its history, its thOFoughacceptance of h d J ' e l i a n~e on free market prin-

, ciples, its subcultural tQol kit, and, morebroadly, the nature of the organization o

ments in the last half of the nineteenth cen-tury. over SUCh issues as slavery, womep. 'srights, child labor, and temperance, has lostits reformist commitment an d yitality.

~ ------------------------ continued p.lO

.Recovering the Inclusive Gospel.'

The pietist tradition was therefore roc;>ted Carlson developed the following principles for the "recovery ":of an n ~ l u s t v egospel of Jes.uin a commitment to evangelism and socialcon- Chr .ist frc;>m the suggestions found in Philip Yancey 's SoulSurvivor: How My Faith Survivedcern : The Salvation Army's urban tninis,tries, ' . the Church,and Charles Marsh's 'T hE! Last Days: A $on's Story of Sin and SegregationCIt thWesley's opposition to slavery and concern ' Dawn of a New'South. 'for the conditions of the worKing class in the , .0- Acknowledge and intentionally recognize the racism of the past and ,present l under-industrialization of England, and Klingberg's stand its origins and expression s in our lives, and seek ways for forgiveness both indf-Children's Home iri the Baptist S}eneralCon - vidually imd as religiQus denominations. ' ' .

ference are gcmd 'illustrations of the social .0- . Intentio ,nally seek ways to understand and appreciate people of faith who have led the

concern witness of pietism. This holistic vi- civil rigl:].ts movement in the past an d p ~ e s e n t :For yancey these included Dr . Martinsion of Christian ministry needs to be recov- Luther King , ~n n i eLou Hamer, Medger Evers,.and John Perkins. 'ered and valued in the development of a civil -.0- Develop relationships across racial and ethnic lines in ways that are Lntenclonal andrights agenda for the twenty-first century. supportive. Appreciate the manner in wh 'ich ethnically diverse Christian leaders define

Moberg was also disappointed with the their commitments and include them regularly and consistently in the life of the churchlack -of Euro-An:erican Christian commit - .0- Seek to eliminate the v'estiges of racis,m that r eqlain in the Christian c o m m ~ n

ment to -civil rights throughout most of the larger democratic society. ,twentieth century. He wrote : ' .0- Celebrate the diversity of the Christian witness and seek ways for i ! to be a normal

'Most white Americans simult aneouslyreject racist beliefs and accept the racistperspective tha t those black individuals

expression of our lives together in the church, its educational institutrons and evangelistic and outreach programs. Create a welcome worshp and learning environment forall members of the body of Christ. -

.0- D e v ~ l o pstrategies in which people offa ith can use their time, talent and resources to build-m ~ t i c u l t u r a lChristian communities which support civil rights and social justice agendas.



\ .~- ' Civil Rights celebration, from p. 9 - - - - - - - - - - . , : - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

American religion. Ou r ;xamina t io n of avariety of data and consideration of a variety oflevels of societal influepce su 'ggestthat many race issues that whiteevangelicals a ~ tto see solved are generated 1n part by the way they themselvesdo religion, interpret thejrworld, an d livetheir own 'lives. These factors range from .the ways evangelicals an d others organized into internally similar congregations, and h e's e g r ~ g a t i o nand inequalitY ~

such congregations help produce; to theologically rooted evangelical cul tural tools,which tend to (1) minimize and individucUize the race problem, (2) assign blame ,to blacks themselves for racial inequality,(3) obscure inequality as part of racial di- .vis,ion, and (4) suggest J.lI1idimensionalso

who ~ a t ' W e l land are generally well sheltered against the elements. Most people ';vote ou t of self-interest. It is no t relevantto mo'Stvoters that innocent children and-their'families are trying ,t-o eke ou t a liv =

, ing against tough odds in the city. 'Theywould rather see to it that their own children have good jobs and credit cards and

. that their drivewaY-runneth. over with allsorts of wheels.

inclusive gospel an d oftel1 defended ithe segr e g a t i o n i ~ tmodel of church life. _ ,- , ' -

Fannie Lou Hame r; as -a-Civil rights act i v i ~ t ,comb ined praise and prophetic provocation in he r efforts to articulate an anti-racism _agenda. T he black struggle for justicereceived its "inner sense from the languageof the Gospel. Acts 17 was extremely impor- ,tant to her because it reads that "God bath

. made of on e blood all nations of men on allthe face of the earth"-and ~ e r e f o r e ,all races

lutions to racial division. (p. 17,0)

Pannell was extremely saddened when he are as one ,in God's sight. Marsh writes t h ~

realized that mainstream evangelidll orga- for Hamer only in church could-local peoplenizations such as those located in Wheaton, comprehend with such intensity "both aIllinois, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, theological account of societY's wrongs andseem to offer little to those serving the needs the hope for deCisive chaqge; only there 'wereof the city. For a long time they have no t in- the memories of the p a~t 'a n d, th epromises .cluded the leaders of the Afric lm-American of the future secured by trust in God"church in their gcttherings . Most of the fo- (Marsh, The BelovedCommunity, p. 18),

" ,cus on church growth was towards a subur- D ~ .Marsh followed R this 'analysis with a

Many of ou r mainstream, evangeFcal de- ban ministry that often questions the value personal autobiography entitled The LastDays:nominations refused to participate in the of an multi -ethnic church. The "city was no t ' A Son'sStory of Sin' and Segregation at the Dawncivil rights ' movement. S unday ~ r n i n g' in on the agenda of those who convened the of a New South, Growing up In a white, e g r e

, the Late 20th century was a very segregated cO!1ferences,perhaps beca4,se thei r churches gated, fundamentalist, Baptist community- intime in , the life of the - h u r d ~ .This reaiity are no t in the cities." He kep t looking to "see Mississippi, Marsh coinments on sex educa·was well expressed in th e sermons , an d if evangelical youth 'ministries will come up tion (emphasizing the need to "keep clean formonograpqs written by such African- ~ , With something radical enough to srratch the Jesus"), responds to the altar call expectations

, American evangelicals as Bill Pannell, My".,' souls of urban youth from t he vice-grip of of evangelistfc services, relates to the JesusFriend, the Enemy (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1968); Minis ter Farrakhan and his minions , Of, freaks in chllilenging the Christian status quoJohn Perkins, Let Justice Rolf Down (Glen- course, it will be e a s i e ~to raise inoney 'for , in California, and <;elebrates the joys of livingdale, Calif.: Regal, 1976); arid the writings of youth ministries aimed at Rus sia or Hu n " , in a southern Christian culture.the late Tom Skinner, Black and Free (Grand gary these days, bu t I keep lopking' ; (Pannell, , However, the primary focus o f the book isRapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1970). They ar- The Coming Race W ~ r s ?pp. 37-38). a iscussion ofh owhis father, .a Baptist minis-

ticulated a strong appeal to the ~ v a n g ~ l i c a l, Recently Charles Marsh, Professor of Re- - ter in Mississippi ; attempted to wrestle withwhite o m ~ u n i t ytoaovocate a theology of ligious Studies at the University of Virginia , the issues of civil rights is they emerged in suchreconciliation 'and j u ~ t i . c e ,However, their has written two works which are helpful in , movements as the desegregation of schools andpleas often went unanswere ,d. - u n d e r s t a ~ d i n gthe civil 'rights movement ,in achievement of voting rights. He celebrated the

, Bill Pannell, a professor of Christ ian Eth- the '1950Sand 1960s and allow readers to reflect example of fellow Southerner Billy,Graham...ics at Fuller Seminary, mused on this lack of on their oWn personal experiences du'ring that who refused to speak to segregated audiences

, response as he reflected on the riots in Los - time period. The first work, God's LongSum- and who rejoiced when he saw whites standAngeles -in 1992. Pannell called on all C h r i s~ mer, eXplores the civil rights debate in Mis- 'lihoulder to shoulder with blacks at the foot of r

!ians to be concerned b o u tevangelism an d :sissippi through the eyes of five palticipants, the cross (The Last Days, p ~ 255)·social' and economic issue 's. He s t a t ~ dthat a white Baptist pastoJ who supported segre- - , In ,spite of scholarship opportunities tono t even Jesus s3;id that He was all that 'gation"amemberoftheKuKluxKlan,aBlack go to a private Laurel Ch r istian Academy,people needed. He fed the "hungry, ~o v i d e dPower activist, a white youth pastor who Charles Marsh in consultation with his parmedical care 'for the lame, the halt, and the worked against segregation, and a black Civil ents chose to atten d the integrated school. Itblind, an d chided the ultra -conservatives in rights leader .All of hem ried to support their is an inter-esting collection of personalstothe religious establishment for their s ravish - positions throl:lgh the use of Scripture. . ries of ethniCally diverse young people atdevotion to tradition even 'as ·they ign ,ored It IS clear that t h ~hero of the work is tending classes, playing sports together andthe claims of mercy an d justice upo.n thei r Fann ie Lou Hamer who was engaged in ' learning ho w to get along with each other.resources ." :pannell added: major voter registration ' efforts and tried to Marsh e c o ~ n i z e sthat t}le civil riShts move-

People desire more h a nsalvation. That 'is why most h i t ~Chri stians have ;votl:dwith -their pock ,etboQks throughout thelast decade .Whether or ,no t the politicalagenda has represented the best int'e .rests

_ of the poor and the marginal in 'the so

,ciety is a n;inor considerat ion for those

open up the southern Demoqatic delega- ment was late in American history and the .tions at the political convention '. Marsh ex- commitment to an integrated society is stillpresses well two conclusions : 1) A part of the ' in the development process . He writes:Christian community ~ s s i g n i f i c~n t l yinvoly-ed in the development Of the rationaleand initiative for the civil rights movemeI1t;and 2) much of the white evangelical church

t(;o-(requently fought against the value of an--: 1 0 -

. I sadly think how much better the process. could have gone. The brethren and I down

at First Baptist could h ~ v eshown the~ , continued p. 11



.Civil Rights celebration,frorp p.lO - - - - : - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - : - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~ .. < " ,

world something great, been a church for

, .

the ages. We could have fallen to our kneesand cried, "Oh Lord, nave meq:y on oursouls;' ~ i s k e deverything for the beloved ,

_c o m m u n ~ t y .But it also could have been awhole lot worse. (The Last Days, 'p. 270)

the stranglehold of blatant racism inm e - I wonder if any of us gets free of itsmor.e subtle forms-and I see now thatsir1 as one of the most poisonous, with

. p ~ r h a p sthe most toxi c societal effec'ts.When experts discuss the underclass in urban America, they blame in turn drugs,changing values, systemic poverty and thebreakdown of the n u c l e ~ rfamily. Sometimes I wonder if all those problems areconsequences of a deeper, Underlying cause:our e n t u r i ~ s - o l dsin of racism. (p. 16)

Marsh was one of the young -people of

the south who leq the effort for an integratedsociety that valued diversity as an expressionof the Christian gospel. He concluded:

- We didn't a v ~to take the baton : bu t wetook it. We didn 't have to stick it out forthe long haul, bu t we did. We never sat

.- down at the Kress coffee counter indefiance of public accommodation laws,ceremoniously order a burger and friesas if we were asking for the Kingdom oButwe .showered together in locker rooms,

tackled each other on playing fields, and'slept on each otl}.er's,shoulders duringnight rides home on the team bus. TimHarvey's clean ' lateral to Joe Porter in the

. warm su n of an October aftenioonseemed to me to me as full of,grace as anyfreedom rally or demonstration. We didn't 'need, and didn't have, television to document ' th e moment, newsbreakingcertification of-our accomplishments. Weneeded only each other, boys on the out-

o skirts of manhood, linked together by timeand good luck and an aching desire to go

t h ~distance. ( M a r s ~ ,The Last pays, p. 271)

. In Philip Yancey's latest book, Soul Sur-vivor: How My Faith Survived the Church, he:!

explores the origins of his-Christian com,

mitment to civil rights, a stance he eventually adopted in spite of the churches he attended as a youth. His book tells his story of

_ ~ o w i n gup in Georgia in the 1950S and 19605in two f u n d a m e n t a l i s ~churches, one ofwhose pastors taught a blatant r a ~ i s m ' "

starting with the premise h ~ t"dark races arecursed by God" (p. 1). Further, one of thechurches developed anti-civil rights cards to 'pass ou t to persons who wished to attendthe church and n t e g r a t e·t h ~services. Yancqalso saw church leaders support GovernorMaddox's vicious, anti-civil rights statements, bless the funerals of Ku Klux Klan

I members, and challenge the legitimacy of Dr., Martin Lut-her .King, Jr. Yancq writes:

, 0

I don't want to leave t,his essay :vvithout asense of hope and challenge. The question

-for Yancey and Marsh was how 'doesone recover a comn:itment to the gospel of JesusChrist when for most of one's life the churchwas on the wrong side of the civil rightsmovement? Or as Yancey writes, "how didmy faith survive the church?" Emerson suggests that the evangelical theological cOplmit - ,ments to confession and forgiverless may provide a starting basis.for dialogue and recon :ciliation. However this interaction must alsoinclude a commitment to explore the existence of the structural issues o f egregation,inequalitY and group competi tion (p. 172).

, On Saturday, September 29, 2001, I wit'n e s s ~ dthe unveiling 'of four urban life mu - 'rals in St. Paul's Frogtown community. Theywere created by Dale and Simeon Johnson.Dale is a professor of art at Bethel College. It

was a part of his commitment to St. Paul andemphasized the jbys of children in an urban ,'setting that celebrates ethnic diversIty an d

the Duilding?f o m m u n i t y .The murals are

"

a wonderful effort at taking the love of JesuChrist to the city an d identifJing the kingdo m of God with inclusiveness and supportfor different cultures learning how to valueeach other an d live in pe3:ce. .

These themes are frequently echoed inth e books on reconciliation by CurtissDeYoung, leader of a Christian urban ministry and adjunct professor at Bethel Collegeand the seII?-inarson a ~ i a lunity led by RalphHammond, professor at Bethel Seminary.DeYoung, in his book Coming o g e ~ h e r ,callChristians t6. be artisans of reconciliation,"individuals whose visions of e c o n c i l

and social justice m e r g efrom their faith experience." We need ~ olive' o'ut a gospel thatpoints to resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ lives, hope $tilllives. Thisis the "Good News that mus t be announcedto' the. world," (pp. 186-187). Our challenge,states DeYoung, is to "extricate racism fromthe entanglement of culture's web and reintroduce into society the truth that God's loy-

- ing regard is applied to all women, men, andchildren in the human family" (p. 131) .

As we celebrate the activities of thosewithiI). ·ou r Christian community, such aCla 'rence Jordan, Will Campbell, JohnPerkins, Tom Skinner, Spencer Perkins andBill Pannell, who played a role in the successof the civil rights movement, we all need toclaim the vision of he !beloved o m l 1 ! u l

'proclaimed by Dr. Martin Luther King. Le

the evangelical church, especially those whohave their roots , in the Baptist pietist heritage, be on the forefront of the civil rightsmC ;lVement in ~ h etwenty-first century.

Today I ~ e lshame, remorse, and also re-. .pentance. It took years for God to break" .. .

Bethel professor Dale Johnson ana his son Simeon created this mural on the Lifetrack ResourcesBlfilding ,' located.on Uni:'ersity ·Avenlfe just west of Dale Street .

- 1 1 -

.'



J

E v a n g e l ~ c a l i ~ Q 1and e Civil i g h t s,M o v e ~ e n tSelective BibliographyDeYoung, Curtiss . Coming Together: The

Bible's Message in an Ageof Diversity . Valley Forge, Pa .: Judspn Press, 1995.

. Emersop, Michael , an d C h r i s t ~ p h e rSmith .Divided byFaith: EvangelicalReligion and

, iheProblemofRace inAmerica. New York:Oxford University Press , 2000.

Gilbreath, 'Edward . " ~ v a n g e l i c a l san d Race30Years After th e Death of Martin LutherKing: ' Christianity Today (March 2, 1998).

Hulteen, B ob, a ~ dJrn; Wallis, eds. "America 'sOriginal Sill:AStudy Guide on White Racism:' Washington, D.C.: Sojourners, 1992 .

Marsh, Charles . "The Beloved Community :An Anl'erican Search." Pp.-49-66,in ' Reli-

- gion, R flce and Just ice in a Chang ingAmerica : Ed. Gary Orfield an d Holly J .Lebowitz. New ~ r k :ACentury Founda -tion Book, 1999. . .

- - - . God's LongSumm er: Stories of Faith

a'nd Civil ,Rights '. P r i n c e t o n~ N.J. :Princeton University I?ress, 1997.

- - ~- . "Jesus in Mississipp i: Th e Civil RightsMovement as Theological Drama ." Booksand C u l~w e(March/April1998) . .

- - - . The Last Days: A Son's Story of Sin

and Segregation at the D a~ n of a New ~

South , New York: Perseus Books , 200LM iranda, Jesse, and William PCinrieli. "Break- '

, ing th e BlacklWhite Stalemate ." C fr r i s ~ .

tianity Tpday (March 2, 1998) .'Moberg, David :O The Great Reversal: Evan-

, gelism versus SoCiqlConcer tl. New York:

J. B. Lippincott, 1972.- .- ,- - . Inasmuch. Grand Rapids, Mich .:William B . Eerdmans, 1965.

Pannell, William E. The Coming Race Wars?Grand ,Rapids, Mich.: Zonderva)1, 1992.

- - - . Evangelism From the Bott()m Up.erand Rapids , Mich. : Zondervan, 1992.--

- . My Friend, the Enemy. Waco, Tex.:'Word, 19'68.

Perkins, John . Beyond Charity: The Call to ,Christ ian Co m munity Development.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1994.

- - - . Let Justice Roll Do wn: ,Glendale,

Calif. : Regal, 1976.- - '- ; Q uiet Revolut ion. Waco, Tex .:

Word, 1976.'- - - . ~s to r i n gAt-Risk C o m m u n i t i e~ :

Doing It Together and Doing It Right.Grand Rapids, Mich. : Bak : r, 1996:

BGC Annual Meeting, from p. 2 ' - - - : - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - -~included h ~ s ewithin th e e ~ a n g e l i c a ltradi

tion wh o disagree wi th them on 'such issuesas a biblically defined open ' theism rather

tha n to presen t a single perspective.4. Although there were no significant

effort s by th e EQ.gren Fellowship to continue

had with my friends in th'e Edgren Fellowship concerning th e use of he p re-theological conference , this annual meeting at _Arlington Heights wa s th e Baptist General

Conference at i t s best . It celebra ted the co m

missioning of Dew mi Ssionaries, declC!red acommitment to grow ats theolog tc ally defined

political agenda i n th e Bapt ist General Conference In -ess entials

commupity of faith whichincludes th e ne w vibrant -

an d its educational institu- . UN lTV ethn jc churches, wrestledtions, it is clear that th e - In non-essentials with what are th e charac -theological conference teristics ' o f a dynami 'cmeeting was essenti ally de- DIVE RS lTV ~ Christian fellowship an d

signed to win the hearts ' In everything emphasized th e value of

and minds of people within CHARITY , pra yer an d evangelism ..t he Baptist General Co n - ' p r : Ricker e xp ressed it wellfereI!ce for possibfe future in th e 2001Annual Meeting

political consideration . Memb ers of the Committed Pastors booklet when he suggested- 5· A biblically based an d Lay Leaders and other BGC that one of the characterisopen theism debate ca n be me ,!,berswor e, this button at the 2001 tics of the BGC is · hat "wedeveloped within the ' v a n~ BGCAnnualMeeting to expresscom- give you an opportunity togelical theological orbit an d ~ i t m e n tt ~ our conference's pietist help 'mo -de l unity in the

should not be a base for ex _ origins an 'd ideals . body of Christ :" This u n ity,clusion. Bethel 's Board of Trustees statement , for Dr . Ricker, was based on the principle that

editorials an d articles in Chr istianity Today, , people of th e church need to work t?getheran d publications advanced by evangelical to do the work of Christ. It was a delight to

publishers such as Baker an d InterVarsity , b e p a r t o f a n a n n u a l m e e t i n g t h a te~ p h a s i z e d

have done a good job in defining ho w th e ' ou r unity , in Christ I trust we will continued ebate should be conducted. _ this .unity in 2.902 at th e BGC meeting in

. - In spite of the d i s a g r e e m e n~s I ma y have Ypsilanti, M ichigan. , I

-1 2 -

Perkins, Johri, with Jo Kadlecek. Resurrect-ing Hope. Regal Books, 1996.

Perkins, John, an d Thomas A : Tarrants, III,with David Wimbish. He's My Brother.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Chosen Books, 1994.

Perkins, Spenc er, an d Chris Rice. More ThanEquals. Downers Grove, Ill. : IriterVarsity

Press, ,1993. 'Rice, Chris. ~ Unrealized Dream: Billy Gra

. ham and Martin King: the Roa d Not Traveled:' Sojourners (Jan .-Feb. 1998): pp.l3-14-

, Skillen, James K. "Evangeli cal Cooperationin th e Cause of Racial J u s t is e .~' Pp. 115::'

- 136, in Religion, Ra.ce; and Justice in aChanging Am erica. Ed. Gary Orfield an d

Holly J . e b o w i ~ z .New York: A Century

Foundation Book, 1999.Skinner, Tom . Black and Free. Grand ~ a p

ids, Mich.: Z o n ~ e r v a n, 1970. ,- - ,- . Words of Revolution. Grand Rapids,

Mich .: Zondervan, 1970. . _Williams-Skinner, Barbara. c~T h eState of a

Nation." Prism (Feb.1994): pp . 18-19.Yancey , Philip . Sol,tl Survivor: How M y

. Faith Survived the Church . New York:D ou b ~ e d a y ,2001.

H ~ wd(>es Anlerica rtlCitchUp. against God's standatds?

BARBARA-WILUAMS-SKINNER,"The Sta te

~ fa Nation," Pr ism (Feb. ; 994): pp . 18-19-, I believe we are r ~ t u r n i n gto the pre-1960s in terms of race "relations. Threemiles from ou r house in Maryland , 30'miles from Washington , D.C. there was aKlan rally tWo weekends ago .. . there n ~

things we read about th a t-many.o f us experiencedin th e pre-1960s, pr e -c ivil

, rights er a . They are coming back when- \most of Go d 's white p'eople- .are sayingthere is no racism, that African-Americans are exaggerafing . .. So never mind 'how many d iversity statements and

affirmative ~t i o nptograms an d no mat "~ e r how many times we would say withou r hands over ou r heart, we are one nation under Go d ; we do n 't really practicethat, .we are a divided na t i on. We liveseparately an d we play separately . So in

America in 1994, alt hough you have th e

external symbols in progress .. . he relationship of African Americans to whitesin many causes is almost nil an d th e he stility is th e re at the saine level that it wasbefore th e civil rights mo vement.



Fragile bll;t free,from p. 3 - - - : - - - - - - : - - - - - ' - - - ' - - - - - - - " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " ' - - - - - ~we 'have always rejected the cycles of ~ s p i 7 fears tha tg6wit h It? Perhaps we have gail}ed the issues that concern us, For those who seecionl-denunciation, and discord within the some small Pleasure of security bu t in the a threat in Open Theism, this debate mustbody that has marked many othei c o ~ s e r -process we have lost our soul, our ' national. be in earnest. Burlet 's ; embrace together , he

-vative a s s o c i ~ t i o n s ,This §pirit (did we coin consciousness, our personal r ~ e d o m s . unique ,character of freedom in the Sp'iritthe t e ~ m"irenic"?), though snickered at oc-' ~ h eConference faces a,similar challenge. , and openness that, itself, has guarded thecasiqnally within th e f ~ m i l y ,- , is a I do not feel Open Theism is a threat to our soul of the Conference 'for over 1so,years :Christlikeness that makes 'the Conference at- Cqnference. Though I am not an Open The- Bethel has embraced this spirit. Bethel'stractive and so-well , yes, free and open . ·ist, I am e s ~ l u t e l yagainst the recent strate- ' leadership ,has born 'the brunt of the dis-

. But if September nth is an ~ l t i m a t ech3.1- gies of the Edgren Fellowship in the Confer- t o r t e ~accusations .that it isteachil].g Openlenge to the freedom that a ~uniquely sym- ence becau'se I believe they have made po - Theism by virtue of allowing Dr. Greg Boydbolized America, I've often wondered these litical change .their goal instead ,of biblical ' to remain on th e faculty. Ibelieye thatrecent years if the debate v e r'O l ? ~ nTheism trutfi and theological debate. I fear tha t 1f .. Bethel's leaders have, through this controdoesn't provide -a similar threat for the they reach their g o a l ~ ,they will fundamen- versy, guarded our h i s t o r,~ cpietistic valuesConference's historic bu t fragile freedom. tally change the Conference, our lives in the of tr\olth with openness, expressing extraor-

, The parallels are quite striking. Conference, a .nd ou r historic and fragile dinary grace. They have established i r c ~

The resolutions brought forward by the character ~ a Conference. spect guidelines in the x ~ m i n a t i o nof ORenConcerned P a s t ' o ~ s- (Edgren Fellowship) in Recently, ' I spent some time with two Theism-a freshly reconsidered theologicalthe foreknowledge debate have consistently _ gifted leaders who have a lifetime of serving construct in evangelicalism .adopted l.anguage that represents Open The- Christ in the Southern Baptist .Convention.

, i s ~ as a threat to historic the.ological They told me that in the last decade, after a

affirmations of the Conference. The stress of conservative takeover,t h i ~

fellowship hasthe debate has been heightened by broad and given away one Baptist 'principle after anserious disagreements over just how threat- . other . If a majority resolution can ~ passed,e n ~ n gOpen Theism is to ou r view of God or the minority . ~ hunted down. ,whetnet it is a hreat at all. pearly, the . They said that first people were ,warnedEdgren Fellowship was organ ized to per- . that they are threatened by liberals:-thatpetuate thei r conviction that Dr. Boyd's they must "take a stand." The architect 9ftheviews are contra ry to and a threa t to the Southern Baptist takeover found a sefuinaryfoundational doctrines of the CQnference. professor fie thought was liberal and-built a

I beliFe a majority qf the 'Conference has " conservative campaign around the threat hel.?een troubled '1ith this debate because they posed. Then, 'You use resolutions in the gen- .

. sen'se that in the process of "fixing this theo- eral assembly and amendments arouno the, Iqgical problem" we may lose something very , statement of faith, together with shrewd be

precious in ou r spirit and our i ~ t i s t i cheri- h i n d ~ t h e - s c e n e selectioneering, an d you 'tage-our unique history that has brought - have the hammers to get the wrong people

, together the p.riesthood of believers, open out and your people in.cqngregationalism, and an irenic ' spirit. We " "A third of our c h ~ r c h ~ smay be kicked .. .

We stress the importance of continu

ing the process ofllsterling to the doctri =nal co_nvictions of the members o { c ~

stituent ,churches of the BGC ancten --\

courage th e pursuit of , rigorousbibliocentric st:holarship in t h ~Open

. h e i ~ mdebate as well as other subse-quenf controversia1 issues that may arise.

, We insist that any faculty memberwho may hold the Open View of ,Godmust in good faith refer to 'thIS yiew asmarginal to . he mainstrea _m thought ofthe BGC whenever this ,view is.presentedin formal or informal teaching contexts.

Further, when we examine .this ,viewIn the classrooms of our ~ h o o l ,it mustbe. done alongside presentation .of theclassical Calvinistic; Arminian, and otherevangelical viewpoints, inviting fairness _in teaching even if it requires guest presenters for credible representations of allviews. We affirm the continued use, as thetextbook, a volume that primarily represents the 'classical view {Bethel Board of

' Trustees Statement)

believe that the most powerful expression of out of the Convention in October, 2001,-at thethe reality of God is his abiding presence in Same time you are meeting in Duluth:' he said.the believer's life and in our (ellowship rela- "Why?" I ilSked. "We have women .deacons. -tionships in the church and that to attempt , We are such a conservative church but theyto create coerc;ve political resolutions to ' passed a resolution on women in leadership"settle" issues ' is take the church away frdm and I am betting they will kick us out. OurChrist and risk our free but obedient soul schools and institutions are running for legalon the bondage of political manellvedng. ~ o v e r... .It's the end of the Southern Bapt;st

As a nation, we face a unique challenge in Convention as we have known it:' Yet they have not 'locked us into some'th ' ' cloistere,d circle of f e ~ r f u lfinger pointl ng.these ·coming y e ~ r s .We have experienced a , I was numbed by is conversation. In-

, genumeJhreat to our ideals and to QUr way of - stead of the priesthood of the believer, they They ha\.':e a f f i r m ~ dour historic understandlife from a source that neither understands us can have the majority hunting dow!} .the i - ' ings of sovereignty and freewill and yet r ~

nor eventwants to. The easythiIig to do would nority. Instead of the autonomy of the local served Our Conference's h i s t o r i c . . ~ h

be to turn inward, to lock up our gates, cease church, they now have-the coercion of man- which approaches controversy biblically,our good works in th'e world, and place secu- made doctrinal statements and resolutions. - with a gentle ~ n dopen spirit. With therity guards 4t our lives at every point where ' Instead of unity of h ~· Spirit, they now have ' _ hado ,w of Southern Baptist fragmentationthreatening forces might meet us or hurt us. the politics of manip'ulatlori. They have given . r i g ~ tover ou r h o u l d e r ~ . '~ o w . i sthe time ~ r

But then, who have we imprisoned? Is it up their freedoms, their fragile freedoms, for leaders on all 'sIdes of hIS Issue to recommItno t us? And wl}at have we preserved against some kind of false security in a purer church. to discussion and disagreemen.t in love, ' re-this threat? Have we not doorn.ed our lives Brothers and Sisters, ~ e t ' snot go there! ' digging the wei -Is of ~ rpietistic fathers.to closed system and all the suspicions and L ~ tus car ryon rigorous but lofty debate on '

. r

, '



.What is pietism, from p. 2 - - - - " - - - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " ~ - - -L . . / l

Dr. Virgil Olson, 'former professor of ciples that have historically .been 'central to - i n f l u e n c ~.n a t u r.a l l y w a sLutheranism, bu t. h u r c ~history at Bethel S e ~ { n a r y ,has sug- th e S ~ e d i s hBaptist faith can provide a . Calvinism also was embraced by the pi-gested that one of the major contribu tions framework for interpreting, analyiing an d . etists .who separated from th e Stateof the pietists to the Swedish Baptists ~ a s ' resolving the increasingly contentious an d ' , Church. Consequently no one rigid theo-the cultivation of the irenic spirit . Although divisive theological issues such as the cur- logical system shaped the thinking of thethe pietisttradition had a deep commitment . ren t debate on God's foreknowledge in the early Conference Baptists. A simple, directto a Biblically based theology,there was also - Bapt:ist General Conference. . .study of the Bible plus 'a vital experiencea t e n ! ; i ~ n c yto 'greatly respect those who ' Early leaders of the Baptist General Con- in Christ were the primary essentials.

diffe,red on areas of applied theology and a ference were adherents of both the Calvinist The .early churches had preachers andfear of he rise of "religious correctness" tests an d Arminian theological traditions. How- memqers who differed t h vigor on -such

. on nonessentials. Olson concludes: ever, all of them were "heaVily' influenced by doctrines as election, eternal security, views-, the pietist; BaptJst tradition . One of their of t h e, 'a t o n ~ m e n t ,pre-, a-, an d ' post 7

These irenic pie!ists hCl.da respect for the - major commitments was adistrust of doctri - . milleniilism. The touchstone of agreementspiritual integrity of others with whom ' nal st.atements and confessions . Dr. Virgil was always their acceptance of the Bible,asthey differed. And they were wise enough Olsqn stiggeste<;lthat "lasare"naptists were es- the Word gf God and their comIJlon expe-to understa nd that no one person has all sentially people of he Bible.Wheri they made , rience of forgiveness through Jesus Christthe truth right. We were taught in the col- their way to the United States they were "quite ~ d His shed bJoocl at Calvary. The Con-lege an d seminary that we need each independent and no one doctrinal statement ference, because of this influence, has al-other in exploring an d discovering ever became e r y p r o m i n ~ n t .Confessions of . ways had a latitude in alloWing differingtruths. It was engrained in us ·tha t the faith were , ormulated, but the emphasis was theological interpretations of sOme doc-journey of faith is a life long pursu it, and on the basic princ;iples of pietism, namely, the trines in which faithful Christians throughnot until th e ultimate day of revelati'on centrality and authority of the Bible, and the ' the ages have had difficulty in..fmding com-will we - really know as we are known. regenerate ~ e r i e n c eand holy living · of the plete agreement . (Virgil Olson, "TheIrenic pietism allowed this 'existential ten - believer" (Virgil Olson, "Pietist Heritage:' p. 61). . Influence of History:' pp. ~ 7)sion t9 exist between structur ed : propo- In another article Virgil Olson also dis-

j.

&itional dogmatism on the one hand and cussed the impact of pietism on systematic Therefore, pietism has been "more experi-the personal, sp iritual experiences .of the . theology in the Baptist General Conference: ence-centered than theology-centered." ,Theheart and mind oritne other . ("Maintain big question was not, ~W h a tdo you believethe Bethel Traditions," p. 2) Pietism did not present a distinct system- abo ,ut predestincition?" bu t "Have you b e ~

atized theology. The m ~ j o rt h ~ o l o g i c a lborn again?" (Olson, "The Influence:' p. 37.).The recovery of these five, pietist prin : .'

Recent u b l i c a . t i o n s , f r o ~p. 6 - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . : . . . . . - - L . . / l

'ending at all, bu t as a beginning that forces us Valley Forge, ~ . :Judson Press, 2.000. Jenell gelical Theological Society (June 2001):to rethink ou r expectations." . .Williams Paris is a Professor ofAnthropo l- ' pp. 2.71-84."Professor Scorgie suggests ,that

Hot:stman, Joey Earl. Ptaise, Anxiety, an d o g y a t B e t h e l C o l l e g e . S h e a n d M ~ r g o t E y r i n g"one of our goals ,ll the evangeli'cal churchOther Symptoms o f Grace. St. Louis, Miss.: wO'rked together at Esther H(;mse, which is a and 'its various institutions should be the fo's-

~ Chalice Press, 2 . ~ 0 0 .Professor Horstman is Christian women's community house de- , tering of an integration of academic study ofan English professor and author of n award- voted to supporting the health of an urban ' Scripture witb ' a vibrant spirituality. But wewinning "Colu 'mn Two'! in The Other Side neighborhood in a s h i n g t o n ~D.C. Both 'of are coming o ' r e a l ~ ethat it is much easier tomagazine. This is .a collection of humorous the authors are committed to urban disciple- . set sucll a goal than to 'achieve it." Tbereconessays on various aspects of modern living . ship and argue that the readers should em- tinues, he argues "to be a -perceived dissonanceMy favorite is "The Summer ' Command- brace a c r o s s~c u l t ~ r a lurban disciplesh ip in approaches to Scripture 'between formal

• , I

ments" in which he describes some of the through self-examination and prayer .Mariam evangelical hermeneutics and the 'active lis-guidelines for the management of family life ,Adeney wrote h ~ tthe book tackles the tough te l!ing l e.acouraged by the m e d i t ~ t i v etradi

,during the summer. Several commandmen ,ts problems building on the .pos itive-" God' s tion. As long as these two remain in conflIct,

include: "Bonk no t y01;lr brother ,with h ~ten - ~ o : v e ,God's vision for the city, an d the u s t i ~ e and .are no t taught together in a more healthynis racket, lest you be bonked," "keepest thou and hope alreaCiy present .there." , . reative tensi9n ; the best that churches andnot the ·refrigerator door open, for tbat is an- Both Ron Saari and l"are deeply o m m i t~ seminaries can do is offer an equitable n"4m-abomination unto me:' and "of the number ted to the deVelopment of an effective evan- ber of Biblical studies courses on the one sideof showers you must take in a week, the num- . gelical p'resence in the city. We heard that chal- - and spiritual formation on the other and hopeber shall be four, for I am a clean father." I lenge from Erwin McManus at the.Annual for positive ,o\ltcomes. Lay persons and stu :

, rust you ' enjoy 'the essays as much as I did. Meeting. This book is an effective tool in the dents are still left to do the best they can toDon't read it with other people aroUnd, for . Implementation of "holistic, reflective, and re· · . i n~e g r ~ t ethese d i s c o n n e ~ t e dpieces of theyou may end up annoying your ckquaintan- spectful" urban ministry . it is useful for both puzzle . .. My argument has been that we cances as you chuckle out lQud, ~ , short-term and long-term ministry programs . move toward a more satisfactory resolution

Paris, Jenell W m i ~ m s ,an d Ma r 'go t Scorgie,Glen A. "Hermeneutics and the of thisproolem through h ~affirmation n ~

Owen Eyring. Utb-an Bisciples: A Meditative Use of Scriptu 're: The Case for a cultivation of a ' ,'baptized imagination" (p.B,eginner's Guide to Serving God in}he City. Baptized lplaginati9n?' Journal o f he Evan- 284). This is very thoughtful essay. '

"",15 -



Edgren belongs to all of us, from p. 4 ---------------------------------- L ~.sential theological statements. In a rater se- gued that only believers should be baptized ture, spiritual edification must never be lostries of history articles the author stated: and that the Christian 'churches shall be pro- sight of" (qtd. in Carlson and Magnuson, Per

The Baptists did o thave identical views'in all things and they were afr-aid of anyu n i f o ~ mconfession of faith because theysaw such confessions of faith had brought

individuaf conscience into the fetters of I

suffering., .. What distinguished the Bap- ,tists most sharply was their civil disobedience and the defense of freedom of

conscience in all matters civil an d religious. ("History of Baptists," EvangeliskTidskrift , Vol. V, No. 19, Oct. 1882)

4.Edgren reminded his Swedish Baptistreaders that the mainstream Swiss Reform-ers were no t prime defenders of religious l iberty. The Baptist history essays often cham- •pioned the ideas of the Anabaptist commu-

nity. The Swedish B ~ p t i s t sendorsed a commitment to religious liberty and were p e~

secuted for their faithfulness to the Word of

God .The author u g g e ~ t s ," t h e ~ e f o r m e r sinSwitzerland had acquired freedom for themselves, bu t t h ~ yseemed at the sa'me time tohave firmly decided no t to let toleration an d

freedom in their land be .extended to 0th-" ers" (Evqngelisk Tidskrift, Sept. 15, 1883). '

A later essay suggests t h ~ tthe Baptist'scommitment to religious liberty was no t onlyneeded in Sweden bu t ~ l s oin England . The

author cites a time when Baptists were hauledbefore a St;tte church tribunal for teachingfrom the An abaptist tradition. They were arrested and "faced forty-six charges before theState Church tribunal. They were , chargedwith Pelagianism and other unorthodoxies ."

They were charged with two offenses.First, "they believed that God seriously offersHis grace to all people and will a v ~all people(who believe). and that Jesus was given to bea Saviour for the whole world-,-they thus rejected the unbiblical . teaching abo ,ut ab,solute election, whereby, so far as one draws

ot;ltt he o n s e q \ l e n c e s ,God is 'made the ~ u s eof man's sins and lostness." Second, they we'recharged with Anabaptist sympathies an d ar-

tected from unregenerate sinners, just as the · severe, Lasare, and Clarion, p. 16).New Testament teaches" (Evangelisk In a sermon Edgren preached at MorganTidskiift, June 15, i88]), , Park in 1879,he concluded by suggesting: that. As one reads Edgren's essays, sermons, people have choices: living a life of sin or

and articles in the newspaper ~ edited, it is accepting Christ as Lord an d Saviour. It is a

clear that Edgren was committ ed to a Bap- ' message that remains true today. He contist heritage h ~ tvalued ' he pietist tradition . cluded with a pietist challenge: "Ch 'ristian!This was well expressed in the advice an d Is your faith only a cold perception of, or iscounsel he 'gave to t h o ~ eengaged il l e m i - it a l?ving t rust in ~ s u s ?Truly, nothing denary ins.truction tha t "to cultivate the mind serves more , o be desired of us than such ais important for the preacher, bu t to cult i- real walk with God, with our Lord and Savvate the spiritual life is even more important . ' iour! An d He is worthy (of) our warmestThus, while storjng the mind with useful in- love an d trust. Yes, to Him be eternal glory"formation 'of a biblical as well as 'Secular na- (Evcmgelisk Tidskrift, Seet. 1879) .

This mural celebrating the Baptist, pietist heritage for Bethel's 125th anniversary was painted by DaleJohnson, Bethel College professor of art. It is located in Bethel's CIC building and appears on the cover ofP E R S E~E R E ,LXSARE, AND CLARlO!",by G, William ~ a r l s o nand Diana L. Magnuson.

For 'more in fdrmation abo).lt the C OM M ITTED 'PASTORS A N D L AY LEADERS

DEDICATED TO PRESERVING PIETISM, EVANGELISM, A N D C I V I L I T Y IN TH E B G C

. c o n t a ~ tRON SAARI,Senior a s t o ~at Centra l Baptist h~ r c h ,420 N Roy S t reet, St. Paul, MN 55104PHONE: 651-646 -3751 • A x :' 6 5 1 - 6 4 6~0 3 7 2• E-MAIL: central@centralbaptisi .con;

The Baptist Pietist Clarion, March 2002

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Transcript of The Baptist Pietist Clarion, March 2002