Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jackk@leland.stanford.edu (Jack Kouloheris) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: A pastoral letter to the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Message-ID: Date: 23 Jun 91 04:07:35 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: AIR, Stanford University Lines: 36 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article math1h3@ELROY.UH.EDU (David H. Wagner) writes: > >Is the 'priesthood of believers' still alive in 'liberal' churches? Does >anybody still believe that an ordinary person should be able to read the >Scriptures and understand them? > Actually, I believe the situation is quite the reverse....it seems to me that it is the ultra-conservative churches that are beginning to deny the 'priesthood of the believer' and 'the competency of the soul in spiritual matters'. These two principles were in important in the statement of the Baptist Faith and Message published by the Southern Baptist Convention. Recently, however, the trend has been to enforce one central interpretation of scripture. Those disagreeing with this interpretation are labeled with the epithet "liberal" (amusing because even "liberal" Southern Baptists would be considered "conservative" by many), and a purge is currently underway in the SBC seminaries of any who disagree with the interpretation of scripture determined by the "conservatives" currently in power. The whole notion of "someone in power" who enforces a certain scriptural interpretation seems counter to the whole history of the Southern Baptists who have traditionally had no notion of hierarchy in church polity. Another trend I dound disturbing was the slow abandonment of the traditional Baptist view on separation of church and state. Baptists have, in the past, been wary of mixing the two due to the historical persecution of, for instance, the anabaptists. Today, with their rise to political power, the Southern Baptists have been quite willing to encourage laws that favor the mixing of church and state. For these reasons, I decided to leave the Southern Baptist denomination after 26 years, and join a local Lutheran congregation (which most Baptists would consider a "liberal" denomination), as I found it more closely followed principles formerly held dear by the Baptists. I welcome any discussion the people may have on these trends in traditionally conservative protestant churches. Jack Kouloheris