Baptist Faith and Message 2000 - by Douglas K Blount & Joseph D Wooddell (Hardcover)

About the Book

Since its inception, controversy has surrounded the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Southern Baptists' most recent confession of faith. The present volume of essays by Baptist scholars explains that document and includes the full text of all three Baptist Faith and Message sta...

Book Synopsis

Since its inception, controversy has surrounded the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Southern Baptists' most recent confession of faith. The present volume of essays by Baptist scholars explains that document and includes the full text of all three Baptist Faith and Message statements from the twentieth century (1925, 1963, and 2000) in side-by-side columns for easy reference and comparison. This volume is a must-read for Southern Baptists and anyone interested in one of the most powerful religious denominations in America.

Review Quotes

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].

The scholarly interpretations of many of the articles have been theologically tightened from the 1963 version....This effort has led to well-written discussions.

These are days when we desperately need a clearly identifiable profile of what Baptists believe. Doug Blount and Joe Wooddell have done an excellent job and have served this denomination well by editing this collection of insights on the BF&M 2000. Every Baptist in every pew needs to read this doctrinal examination.

This much-welcomed volume is a uniquely helpful resource for churches across Southern Baptist life. A fine cast of contributors have penned insightful expositions for each article of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The book achieves the careful balance of displaying the importance of the themes being addressed while keeping the essays accessible to a wide variety of readers. I gladly recommend this volume and pray that it will help individual believers, as well as entire congregations, grow in their understanding of foundational Baptist beliefs.

Throughout their history, Baptists have published many confessional statements to show that the faith they profess, while always deeply personal, is never merely private. Forth-telling the Gospel message and how it relates to every area of life is intrinsic to the evangelical identity all Bible-believing Baptists are happy to claim. The essays in this volume constitute a commentary on the most recent Southern Baptist confession of faith. The chapter by Tom Nettles alone is worth the price of the book, but the entire volume is an important resource for understanding America's largest Protestant denomination.

Written with careful research and clear relevance by outstanding Baptist scholars and theologians, this volume will strengthen your personal faith and reinforce our Baptist convictions. You will be grateful, as I am, for this important work and significant witness of our historic and living faith.

About the Author

Douglas K. Blount, PhD, is associate professor of philosophy of religion and assistant dean for ethics and philosophical studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also managing editor of Southwestern Journal of Theology. Joseph D. Wooddell, PhD, is assistant professor of philosophy at Criswell College.