Three months ago we began a
poll on the blog. If you identify yourself as a Reformed Baptist and you haven't already taken part in the poll, please check out the "What is a Reformed Baptist?" Poll on the right
sidebar on this page (the red box with white type). The intention is to run
the poll for one year with an interest in how the Reformed Baptist
community might answer this question. I have given four options for
answers that I think basically sum up the various groups or individuals
that I have found to be using the term. Here are the four possible answers:
To regard oneself as a Reformed Baptist, one must ...
1) adhere at a minimum to a Calvinistic soteriology.
2) adhere at a minimum to a Calvinistic soteriology and to Covenant Theology.
3) adhere substantially to the Baptist Confession of 1689 (e.g. modify regarding Impassibility).
4) adhere strictly to the Baptist Confession of 1689.
Thus far surprisingly few of the blog's readers have taken part in the poll. I am not sure why there have not yet been more who have answered, but I have communicated with some who have held off due to a desire to think about it more carefully before answering. I think this is a good thing. Here are the results thus far:
14% say that one must adhere at a minimum to a Calvinistic soteriology in order to be regarded a Reformed Baptist.
30% say that one must adhere at a minimum to a Calvinistic soteriology and to Covenant Theology in order to be regarded a Reformed Baptist.
41% say that one must adhere substantially to the Baptist Confession of 1689 (e.g. modify regarding Impassibility) in order to be regarded a Reformed Baptist.
15% say that one must adhere strictly to the Baptist Confession of 1689 in order to be regarded a Reformed Baptist.
Again, if you haven't yet taken part in the poll, please do so. You may read more about the poll
here in order to understand better why it is phrased as it is.
Given some recent posts elsewhere, perhaps this could be amended to include a question about whether or not baptism is a requirement for church membership. Presbyterians have been dinged for not knowing that at least some RBs practice open membership. I could be wrong, but I think that many RBs will say that you cannot practice open membership and be a Baptist, much less a RB. Will the real RB stand up?
ReplyDeleteI guess I wasn't aware that there were Reformed Baptists who practice such open membership, although I suppose it doesn't surprise me. We certainly require people to be baptized as believers in order to be members at our church. Perhaps this should be part of the next poll (if there is another any time soon).
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