Baptists and religious intolerance have been associated almost since the first Baptists came on the scene about 400 years ago. The first Baptists were called intolerant because they insisted that only believers in Jesus Christ were appropriate candidates for baptism. This position flew in the face of the then universal Christian practice of infant baptism and made Baptists a despised band of believers.
More recently, the intolerance tag has been hung on Baptists for their insistence that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation and eternal life. Generally speaking, Baptists accept the words of Jesus at face value: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
The apostle Paul reflected this position when he wrote in Romans 3:21–22a, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Baptist preaching and teaching usually reflect the words of the Book of Hebrews: “[Christ] did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. … For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant … now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Heb. 9:12ff.).
Some label this position intolerant because they believe any claim to ultimate truth must be resisted in a pluralistic society. Such individuals want to put the Muslim, the Jew, the Buddhist, the Shintoist, the Unitarian, the agnostic, the atheist and others on the same plane with the Christian. Relative truth is what such people want to talk about.
Overlooked in the rush to brand Baptists as intolerant is their strong commitment to religious liberty. Early Baptists were martyred for their insistence that only Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, could stand in the sacred space between God and humankind. Thomas Helwys, an early Baptist, died in prison for publishing a tract contending that the king of England had no business interfering with one’s right to worship.
In this country, many Baptists supported the American Revolution because they thought it would free them from the tyranny of the state-sponsored church and allow them to worship as they desired.
James Madison, the framer of the Bill of Rights, was elected to Congress with the support of Baptists in Virginia after promising to sponsor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing religious freedom.
For more than 200 years, Baptists have been involved in major court cases challenging attempts to provide government assistance to religious groups (a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment) and efforts to ensure the free exercise of religion for themselves and others.
From a historical point of view, no religious group in this nation has been more involved in the struggle for religious liberty for all than Baptists.
Now it seems the twin pillars of a faith commitment to the uniqueness of Christ and religious liberty for all are giving way to acceptance of other religious faiths.
A survey released Dec. 18 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life makes it clear that most American Christians and nearly half of evangelicals believe other religions provide a way of salvation and eternal life.
Among evangelicals, those who believe in an individual born-again experience, 47 percent said many religions can lead to eternal life, while 49 percent said Christianity is the one true faith and the only way to eternal life.
The survey asked those Christians who said many faiths can lead to eternal life about specific faith groups.
Sixty-nine percent said Judaism can lead to eternal life, 52 percent said Islam, 53 percent said Hinduism and 42 percent said atheism. And 56 percent said people with no religious faith could achieve eternal life.
White evangelicals were more committed to the exclusiveness of Christ than American Christians as a whole but still named several roads to heaven. Sixty-four percent named Judaism, 35 percent named Islam, 33 percent named Hinduism and 26 percent named atheism. And 35 percent said people with no religious faith could go to heaven.
Surprisingly nearly four out of 10 white evangelicals who attend church at least once a week said they believe in multiple ways to eternal life.
The survey was not broken down by denomination, so there is no way of knowing how Baptists responded to these questions, but the outlook is not promising. There is no escaping the conclusion that even among Baptists, the commitment to the uniqueness of Christ is breaking down.
The finger of guilt is already being pointed toward a variety of sources. One seminary president has blamed “superficial preaching in church pulpits.” Some have pointed the accusing finger back toward the seminaries and questioned what is being taught that would result in “superficial preaching.” Some have blamed the pressures of pluralism. Some have blamed fear of being viewed as intolerant. Ultimately there will be enough blame to go around.
But rather than spending energy throwing stones at one another, Baptists would do well to take seriously the findings of the survey and renew commitments to both the uniqueness of Christ and religious liberty.
Preaching faith in Christ as God’s remedy for the sin problem of humanity is not intolerant. Intolerance is denying dissenting voices opportunity to be heard. That is something that is foreign to Baptists’ DNA. Our commitment to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ goes hand in hand with our commitment to religious liberty for all. We understand that faith in Christ is a voluntary response, not a forced or coerced response.
Baptists do not have to water down their theology in order to live in a pluralistic society. Baptists do not have to accept as truth every voice raised in the public square in order to be tolerant of others. Baptists can passionately preach Christ alone as the way of salvation and hold to religious freedom for all at the same time.
When Baptists do both, there is nothing intolerant about them.
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