Central to the principle of religious freedom is the understanding that responsibility rests upon freedom of choice.
This is the fourth entry from On These Truths We Stand. You can find the other three in the archives or here: 1, 2, 3. This entry is particularly difficult because the form of the pamphlet is limiting. What we have are sweeping statements. One of my favourites is this one:
Religious freedom is not confined to belief in sound doctrine or the practice of "true faith." Religious freedom protects the thought and actions of those whose beliefs and practices do not conform to some prescribed standard of orthodoxy or practice - so long as such external acts do not violate the rights or safety of other people. Religious freedom is also the freedom to choose not to believe and not to practice religion.The article will go on to say that all "baptist distinctives" rest upon this notion. Believer's Baptist, priesthood of the believer, free church in a free state, local church autonomy are the four they name in the article that depend on the notion.
Read on for more from the article in the pamphlet.
Baptists find religious freedom written into the witness of scripture: Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's." (Mt. 22:21)My, that is a lot to just say, but there it is. And, I have to say that this is consistant with how I have heard of this concept being spoken of in churches over the years. I will see what I can find that goes into greater depth, but this is certainly a place to start. Posted by tripp at February 21, 2004 08:57 AMFirst century Christians were ordered by religious authorities to refrain from teaching about Jesus. They replied that they must obey God and not men in these matters. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1), says Apostle Paul. And John wrote, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).
The centrailty of religious freedom derives, for baptists, not only from their reading of scripture, but also from the hard lessons of their own history.
The first Baptists emerged in lands with established churches and began as dissenters from the standing orders. Fined, jailed and whipped for non-conformity to religious practices in which they would not consent, and taxed to support churches they did not frequent, they learned a valuable lesson. That lesson was that conscience and compulsion do not mix.
As Roger Williams was to explain, the two things that external force could produce in matters of conscience or religion were martyrs and hypocrites, but not saving faith or sincere Christian conviction.
Central to the principle of religious freedom is the understanding that the responsibility rests upon the freedom of choice. Where a person is not given freedom to choose diliberately and freely without compulsion one cannot rightly be held to be morally responsible for the choices made under duress.
Thus, for Baptists, religious freedom, however precious, is not so much an end in itself, but the necessary condition inreligious matters for valid commitments and decisions.