Twitter thread this morning from Nathan Finn, Baptist historian and Dean at North Greenville University in South Carolina. I thought this was worth compiling here for future reference and ease of access:
My dissertation was titled “The Development of Baptist Fundamentalism in the South, 1940-1980.” As a church historian and committed Southern Baptist, I thought I’d share some thoughts on our history and the current tensions within the SBC. 1/
— Nathan A. Finn (@nathanafinn) June 23, 2021
My dissertation was titled “The Development of Baptist Fundamentalism in the South, 1940-1980.” As a church historian and committed Southern Baptist, I thought I’d share some thoughts on our history and the current tensions within the SBC. 1/
I define fundamentalism as militant conservative dissent against progressive trends in the church and the culture. Fundamentalism is a reactionary posture born out of concerns about real or perceived drift away from orthodox theology and faithful piety. 2/
One strand of Baptist fundamentalism was “denominational fundamentalism” within the SBC. Like the vast majority of Southern Baptists, denominational fundamentalists were theologically conservative and committed to evangelism and missions. That wasn’t unusual. 3/
What made the denominational fundamentalists unique were two key factors. First, they were a populist movement that deeply distrusted institutions and leaders, nearly all of whom they perceived to be unfaithful compromisers at best or disconnected elites at worst. 4/
Because of this dynamic, earlier historians used the phrases “anti-conventionism” and “fundamentalism” as synonyms. Fundamentalists within the SBC perceived themselves as righteous outsiders within the Convention who were called to hold the suspect insiders accountable. 5/
Another key factor for SBC fundamentalists was the influence of far-right views of culture. I don’t mean the postwar conservative intellectual tradition or the conservative wings of the GOP or Democratic parties of that era, though fundamentalists were political conservatives 6/
Rather, by far-right views of culture I’m talking about fears of communist infiltration of the US government, the defense of Jim Crow style racism in the South, and anti-Catholic bigotry. Often, these three themes were intertwined in elaborate right-wing conspiracy theories. 7/
Denominational fundamentalists in the SBC were more like Independent Baptists in many respects, with the exception that they continued to (begrudgingly) support the Cooperative Program and remain within the Convention. Those that left normally became Independent Baptists. 8/
By the 1970s, the fundamentalists who remained in the SBC were shedding most of their earlier prejudices and penchant for conspiracy theories. They were also distanced themselves from weird doctrines such as KJV-onlyism, which was becoming rampant among Independent Baptists. 9/
They also rejected the fundamentalist label as no longer accurate, calling themselves conservatives instead. During this same era, SBC moderates–an informal coalition of theological progressives and denominational insiders–consolidated control of most SBC institutions. 10/
The result was the Inerrancy Controversy, more popularly known as the Conservative Resurgence. The former fundamentalists were a key part of the activist conservative coalition that wrested control of SBC leadership from the moderates beginning in 1979. 11/
Moderates claimed all conservatives were fundamentalists. But that was too simplistic. Certainly, they were all committed to orthodoxy, rallying around inerrancy. But many conservatives had never been fundamentalists and none were anti-conventionists. They wanted renewal. 12/
I believe this is helpful historical context for understanding the current tensions within the SBC. While some in the SBC are concerned about progressive drift, they seem more like the denominational fundamentalists of the 1960s than the resurgent conservatives of the 1980s. 13/
Institutional mistrust, populist concerns about leaders, the attraction to conspiracy theories, and the influence of far-right views of culture echo mid-20th century denominational fundamentalism in the SBC. More important, they reflect current trends in the wider culture. 14/
To be sure, there are real progressive threats out there. But the SBC doesn’t need a new Conservative Resurgence. At the risk of stating the obvious, we are already thoroughly conservative. However, we do desperately need a Great Commandment Resurgence within the SBC. 15/
This isn’t the time for SBC fundamentalism to make a comeback. Instead, we need a renewed commitment to our confessional consensus and our historic principle of cooperative missions: the “eliciting, combining, and directing” of our energies to Great Commission faithfulness. 16/
Thank God the SBC remains faithful to conservative Baptist orthodoxy. Join me in praying that God will pour out His blessings on the SBC as we cooperate together for the sake of missions, theological education, and Christ-centered cultural engagement—all for His glory. 17/
