Ten 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.
For those interested, 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.24% say that one must adhere at a minimum to a Calvinistic soteriology and to Covenant Theology in order to be regarded a Reformed Baptist.42% 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.20% 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.
I find the reference to "Covenant Theology" to be too ambiguous. Since Baptists do not comprehend the covenants the same way as do our paedo-baptist brothers, it's unsatisfactory to simply refer to CT as they pretty much own that phrase and pour their scheme into it. If I could put a Baptist definition on that phrase, I would vote for option 2.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point, brother. I was assuming that, since I was asking the questions of professing Reformed Baptists, they would all be operating with a Baptist understanding of the covenants, either of the views held by, for example, Greg Nichols, or those held by, for example, Jeff Johnson.
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