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Article Excerpt
I was not surprised to see an affirmation of inerrancy, but I did not expect to see an affirmation of the 1689 Second London Confession. This thirty-something minister was, at minimum, a five-point Calvinist. I told him that I doubted many congregations would know anything about the Second London Confession. Of course, I was shortsighted. The increasing number of college students in my classes who embrace Calvinist theology points to a different conclusion. Reformed (2) Baptists today are growing at a rate faster than I ever thought possible. (3)
Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Heritage
In his widely-used 1987 text, The Baptist Heritage, Leon McBeth noted the development of a "new Calvinism" among Southern Baptists. (4) Calvinist Southern Baptists, however, argued that their Reformed theology was simply a renewal and recovery of the original theological perspective that dominated the formative years of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in the mid-nineteenth century. They noted that the key leaders and theologians, such as James Boyce, John Broadus, John L. Dagg, and Jesse Mercer were Calvinists. Modern Calvinists also argued that the The Abstract of Principles, the confessional statement of Southern Baptist's first seminary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, affirmed key Reformed concepts such as total depravity, perseverance of the saints, and unconditional election for a limited number of persons chosen by God. (5) Many local churches and associations in the nineteenth century also adopted Calvinist confessions of faith. (6) According to Calvinist interpreters, however, a defection from Reformed roots occurred in the twentieth century, most likely as a result of the experiential theology of E. Y. Mullins, professor of theology and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1899-1928). (7)
While Baptist historians of all persuasions acknowledged the strength of Calvinism during the early decades of Southern Baptist life, some observers, especially non-Calvinists, painted a more theologically complex picture of Southern Baptist origins. They noted that other theological voices always existed--"the Convention was a hybrid from its inception"--which eventually softened and modified Calvinist emphases. (8) Consequently, non-Calvinists found the roots for a weakening of Calvinism in nineteenth-century practices. In particular, the individualism of the American frontier and the Separate Baptist revivalistic legacy characterized the methods, and eventually the theology, of Southern Baptist missions and evangelism.(9) The milder Calvinism of the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833 also influenced later Baptist thought, particularly the theological orientation of the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message. (10) Mullins and W. T. Conner, professor of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, continued the trend toward a modified Calvinism. Traditional (five-point) Calvinism no longer dominated twentieth-century Southern Baptist life, and for many, became merely an embarrassment of a distant past. (11)
In the last twenty years, Calvinism has revived and "gone public" in the SBC. While many Baptists reject three (actually four) (12) of Calvinism's classic five points--unconditional election/predestination, limited atonement, and irresistible grace--Reformed theology is increasingly influential in numerous areas of Southern Baptist life. In the current landscape, critics sometimes refer to all Calvinists as "hyper-Calvinists," suggesting that the belief in double predestination is inherently "hyper" (deterministic) theology. (13) Other observers distinguish between "hyper" (antimissionary) and "evangelical" Calvinists. Adherents prefer to say that authentic Calvinism is by nature evangelical. (14) They claim the tradition of the Calvinist missionary pioneer, William Carey, because they believe evangelism/preaching are God's divinely appointed methods for the elect to accept the gospel and be saved. (15)
Sources for the Growth of Contemporary Baptist Calvinism
Sources for a resurgent Calvinism dot the contemporary Southern Baptist landscape. Two of the SBC's six seminaries have presidents who are selfidentified Calvinists: R. Albert Mohler Jr. of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and R. Philip Roberts of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Roberts's predecessor at Midwestern, Mark Coppenger, also advocated Calvinist theology. (16) At present, at least five of the six Southern Baptist seminaries have some Calvinists on their faculties, (17) but Southern Seminary is most clearly identified as a Calvinist institution by observers because of the national prominence of Mohler. When asked by a Texas Baptist pastor if he was a "five-point" Calvinist, Mohler acknowledged that he was, but emphasized his commonality with the theology of the earliest Southern Baptist leaders of the mid-nineteenth century. (18) While Mohler preferred to use nomenclature other than Calvinism, his flagship seminary has become fertile ground for young Calvinists.
Openness to Calvinism exists in some recent Southern Baptist publications, particularly in the work of Timothy George, dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. In 2000, Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the SBC, introduced George's doctrinal study, Amazing Grace: God's Initiative, Our Response, as part of its Christian Growth Study Plan for use in Discipleship Training and other small groups. The book approached the issue of salvation, God's grace, and human free will from a Calvinist perspective. George has further contributed to the growth of Calvinism by editing the Library of Baptist Classics, which has reprinted works by notable nineteenth-century Calvinist Baptists, James R Boyce, Basil Manly Jr., and B. H. Carroll. (19) While not dominated by Calvinism, Southern Baptist literature that receives the stamp of convention approval increasingly has included the works of Calvinist authors like George. (20)
The growing influence of Calvinism is found not only in the seminary classroom and convention literature but also in the pulpit. Numerous congregations and individuals are affiliated with Founders Ministries, an organization committed to propagating the "Doctrines of Grace" among SBC churches. Founders Ministries, which originated in 1982, publishes The Founders Journal quarterly, hosts an annual conference on the campus of Samford...
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