The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message

The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message is a book by J. Smith that provides a historical account of the Southern Baptist Confession of Faith in 1963. The author's thesis in this book is that Herschel Hobbs had a desire to avert an immediate split in the denomination by reformulating essential historic Baptist doctrines. Hobbs achieved this by consistently applying the accepted views of soul competency and the role of Baptist confessions. This critique will consider the strengths and weaknesses of the book to determine whether the author adequately supports and defends his thesis. The author also provides a summary of the book while evaluating the effectiveness of Smith in his endeavor in the book

In this book, the author described how Herschel H. Hobbs is considered an important figure in Southern Baptist history. Hobbs saw the problem as lying in steering a middle course between fundamentalism and liberalism and altered the Baptist Faith and Message in a way to appease both factions in the denomination. 1 The author explored the background of this controversy and the factors involved in the debate before explaining the revisions that were made. The shift began under the leadership of E.Y. Mullins based on the emphasis on soul competency, forcing a committee to be formed chaired by Hobbs. The committee revised the BFM 1925 to make it palatable to both liberals and conservatives. Several changes were made in regard to scriptures that could accommodate both factions. The revisions denounced Landmarkism, while made other changes such as replacing the wine with the fruit of the vine in the Lord's Supper. 2

In the first chapter, the author in this book described how Hobbs helped in avoiding divisions that would have torn apart the denomination by transforming the message and faith of Baptist Denomination. The author followed this by addressing the committee and specific concerns found in these committees in the second and third chapters. Furthermore, the sections sent the social and political context that influenced the thinking of scholars. In the fourth chapter, the author discussed the theology and philosophy behind soul liberty and how the committee struggled to protect the right of private interpretation. The 1925 confession is presented in the fifth chapter, providing background information on E.Y Mullins and soul competency. 3 The author then outlined doctrinal shifts in the fifth chapter while demonstrating how the perception of Baptist on scripture inspiration was essential to the faith. In chapter seven, the author examined the revisions and doctrinal shifts, including issues such as man's role in salvation, autonomy, and centrality of the local church as well as man's perseverance.

One of the strengths of this book is its clear organization from the introduction to the conclusion. Smith is straightforward in his description by making points clear to avoid any misunderstandings. The book is organized to make logical sense with a clear goal. The summaries and supporting materials in this book are provided with clarity and precision that makes it easy for the reader to follow through. J. Smith, in this book, was deliberate and precise when describing the feelings, thoughts, actions, and contests of the activities taking place in a way that painted a clear picture of the scenario. For example, the description of sausage making that was taking place intending to appeal to the different factions of the Southern Baptist Convention was delivered clearly and logically. 4

Another strength of this book is the massive amount of research done to back up the assertions with excellent use of primary and secondary sources. The author supported all points in the book by quoting outside sources as seen with the bibliography. This increases the credibility of information provided in the book and removes any doubt regarding the point. In this book, the author offered biographical accounts of the senior and essential persons involved in the denomination as well as the contemporaneous news accounts of the time. 5 For example, the bibliography contains various state-based denomination papers giving an account of what happened with the Southern Baptist Confession of faith in 1963. In essence, the author used up to 54 books that acted as primary sources for the book, which increases its credibility.

One of the weaknesses in this book by J. Smith was the history behind the critical historical Baptist beliefs. For example, the author did not give an account of people leaning towards a more reformed tradition and those leaning towards the Arminian thought. There is no explanation of whether some churches chose to disassociate or they all accepted the changes. Therefore, the author's knowledge of history can raise some concerns for the reader wanting to know more about these divisions.

Furthermore, the author failed to consider how liberal theology could have affected the church in the book. For example, there is no discussion of how these new doctrines affected the average believer during this time. Despite not being the main focus of the book, there was a need to mention how church members were affected by the doctrine. It is difficult to understand whether individual members were aware of the controversies in the church or whether it was limited to pastors.

At the same time, the author did not mention whether liberals and conservatives accepted the BFM 1963 in the denomination. The reader understands the reaction of some seminaries, though there is no explanation of how the conservative pastors reacted and whether the convention voted for the final acceptance. Therefore, the author did not report how well groups received the completed confession

In conclusion,  The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message  is a well-written and described book with clear organization. The author has successfully and adequately defended his thesis by contextualizing the contemporaneous historical accounts, theological considerations, and biographical reflections of the book. 6 This is a perfect book for students and historians to reference when researching the ramifications of church associations and conventional participation. At the same time, the author in this book underscores the essential historic Baptist beliefs associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, and which defines it as a distinct denomination. The author also managed to keep the memory of great faith fathers alive in this book. This is shown by his description of Herschel Hobbs and E.Y Mullins that shaped the denomination with their critical leadership.

Reference

Smith, Almer Jesse.  The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message . Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.