The Baptist Faith and Message 2000

Critical Issues in America's Largest Protestant Denomination

Foreword by Susie Hawkins Contributions by Daniel L. Akin, Chad Owen Brand, E David Cook, Barry K. Creamer, Keith E. Eitel, John S. Hammett, Jerry A. Johnson, Steve W. Lemke, C Ben Mitchell, R Albert Mohler, Russell D. Moore, Thomas J. Nettles, Paige Patterson, Dorothy Kelley Patterson, Robert B. Stewart, Malcolm B. Yarnell Edited by Douglas K. Blount, Joseph D. Wooddell

Publication date:

07 June 2007

Length of book:

260 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742551022

Southern Baptists are the nation's largest protestant denomination, with over 43,000 churches and millions of members. Since its inception, controversy has surrounded the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Southern Baptists' most recent confession of faith. The present volume consists of essays by Baptist scholars explaining and defending that document. Each of the 18 articles of the BF&M 2000 is addressed, with special attention to the most critical issues and changes from the denomination's 1963 confession. Also included is an appendix comprising the full text of all three Baptist Faith and Message statements from the 20th century (1925, 1963, and 2000), in side-by-side columns for easy reference and comparison. Contributors include Al Mohler, Paige Patterson, Tom Nettles, Dorothy Patterson, E. David Cook, and C. Ben Mitchell, with a foreword by Susie Hawkins. Brief yet comprehensive, detailed yet accessible to the non-specialist, this volume is a must read for Southern Baptist professors and students, staff and church members, and anyone interested in one of the most powerful religious forces in America.

Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Introduction
Chapter 4 Article I: The Scriptures
Chapter 5 Article II: God
Chapter 6 Article III: Man
Chapter 7 Article IV: Salvation
Chapter 8 Article V: God's Purpose of Grace
Chapter 9 Article VI: The Church
Chapter 10 Article VII: Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Chapter 11 Article VIII: The Lord's Day
Chapter 12 Article IX: The Kingdom
Chapter 13 Article X: Last Things
Chapter 14 Article XI: Evangelism and Missions
Chapter 15 Article XII: Education
Chapter 16 Article XIII: Stewardship
Chapter 17 Article XIV: Cooperation
Chapter 18 Article XV: The Christian and Social Order
Chapter 19 Article XVI: Peace and War
Chapter 20 Article XVII: Religious Liberty
Chapter 21 Article XVIII: The Family
Chapter 22 Appendix: The 1925, 1963, and 2000 Editions of the Baptist Faith andMessage
Chapter 23 About the Contributors

Southern Baptists have no creed, but we have the Baptist Faith and Message, a confession, a definitive statement of our core beliefs and practices. One needs only to listen to the voices of the present generation to understand how critical it is that God's people know what they believe, and why they believe it. It is incomprehensible that a growing number of professing Christians are joining the chorus of skeptics and unbelievers in questioning the exclusivity of Christ, and Christ alone, for salvation. Philosopher Theologians Blount and Wooddell have given us a concise and easily understood guide through the basic biblical tenets of our faith. Read it now. Keep it handy. "Be ready with an answer of the hope that is in you!" [The Apostle Peter].