Baptist Freedom

Brief Description

What makes a Baptist a Baptist? Of course, the ultimate answer is simple: membership in a local Baptist church. But there are all kinds of Baptist churches! What are the spiritual and theological marks of a Baptist? What is the shape and the feel of Baptist Christianity?

Martin E. Marty coined the term “baptistification” to describe what he calls “the most dramatic shift in power style on the Christian scene in our time.” He does not mean that people of other Christian denominations are running to join Baptist churches. Rather, he means that a new religious mood is afoot in America that emphasizes freedom, choice, and voluntarism in matters of faith. For Marty, “baptistification” isn’t about a particular Baptist doctrine or practice. It describes the Baptist style of faith. Baptistification is a spirit that pervades all Baptist principles. It is the spirit of freedom.

A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, Baptist Freedom contains five lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint.