HisSheep
Member
I travel a lot for business, and I always try to find decent churches to attend when I’m in away from home. It’s a lot of fun, and I learn a lot. I’ve been the only white guy in a packed, “black†church. (Church of God in Christ) And I’ve been in stuffy Anglican Churches, the whole gamut… I am basically non-denominational, but I’m best described as Baptist. I like most of the churches I visit. I pick them carefully enough that I’ve never had to walk out!
I am a (recently admitted) member of an American Baptist Church. That’s a denomination, but the theology within the churches can vary dramatically; some are very conservative, and some pretty liberal. The memberships votes, and in that sense it is independent. (small “Iâ€) I would prefer to be a conservative voice in a more moderate church than surround myself with fellow conservatives, and I’m thankful to have a pretty conservative ABC church right down the street.
Some of the best preaching/teaching I’ve heard has been from “Independent Baptist†churches. This is practically a denomination. (Capital “Iâ€) I have since frequented their websites and downloaded scores (perhaps hundreds?) of sermons from them and listened while driving or flying. When I’m not traveling, I have a 1 hour commute (each way.) I agree with so much of the theology, but still, I have questions. I’m not looking for debate, just answers/opinions. Sorry in advance if I suppose anything untrue, it will only occur by ignorance.
1.) Why KJV only? Will an Independent Baptist reference other versions for reference? How about the RSV? ASV? Darby? I am primarily KJV, and regard it as the superior translation, but partly for esthetic reasons and portability. I mean to say, it is beautiful and it is recognized everywhere. It is the one to memorize verses from because it is “the coin of the land†so to speak. Plus I like the second person, personal pronouns for clarity (You, Ye, Thee, Thou, we never should have abandoned them!) Some Independent Baptist sources practically vilify the other translations. While there are certainly a lot of truly bad ones, they can’t ALL be bad, can they? We have made some enlightening archeological finds since 1611, after all. I’d be happy for something like the RSV with the old pronouns intact.
2.) To what extent do Independent Baptists allow for predestination? What do they “do†with this biblical precept? What do they make of verses like Rom 8:30 etc… Some Christians deny it altogether; some conclude that God predestined the salvation (process), but not the personal individuals, etc… I’ve heard teaching from two of these churches that Hell is filling up with souls because Christians don’t do enough soul winning. (That’s my paraphrase, and I know it’s clumsy, but you get the point.)
3.) Why the insistence on “traditional hymns� Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘em; got ‘em stuck in my head all day long! But many of them are only 100 years old. It’s not like they’re from 60AD. I could just as well decide that a hymn must be at least 500 years old before it can be properly used to Honor God… Imagine if our Granddads insisted on Issac Watts stuff and older, and wouldn’t sing a Fanny Crosby hymn because it was too modern and resembled the music of the world.… Now, I don’t like contemporary Christian music, (I don’t like contemporary secular music either!) but that’s basically because it’s pretty badly made, not because it’s necessarily unscriptural or new or has drums in it or anything like that. The kid’s choir (ages 6-10) at my church sang Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable†last Sunday, and it was awesome. I don’t prefer Tomlin’s sterile studio production, but sung by a worshipful believer around the house or at church, it’s just beautiful. Also, I’ll add that there were a lot of junky hymns around in centuries past. Just get an old hymnal from the 1700’s and thumb through it, you’ll see what I mean.
Anyway, I won’t be able to reply for a while because of travel plans, but I always ponder these questions and a few others when I’m taking in the sermons and writings from Independent Baptist sources.
-HisSheep
I am a (recently admitted) member of an American Baptist Church. That’s a denomination, but the theology within the churches can vary dramatically; some are very conservative, and some pretty liberal. The memberships votes, and in that sense it is independent. (small “Iâ€) I would prefer to be a conservative voice in a more moderate church than surround myself with fellow conservatives, and I’m thankful to have a pretty conservative ABC church right down the street.
Some of the best preaching/teaching I’ve heard has been from “Independent Baptist†churches. This is practically a denomination. (Capital “Iâ€) I have since frequented their websites and downloaded scores (perhaps hundreds?) of sermons from them and listened while driving or flying. When I’m not traveling, I have a 1 hour commute (each way.) I agree with so much of the theology, but still, I have questions. I’m not looking for debate, just answers/opinions. Sorry in advance if I suppose anything untrue, it will only occur by ignorance.
1.) Why KJV only? Will an Independent Baptist reference other versions for reference? How about the RSV? ASV? Darby? I am primarily KJV, and regard it as the superior translation, but partly for esthetic reasons and portability. I mean to say, it is beautiful and it is recognized everywhere. It is the one to memorize verses from because it is “the coin of the land†so to speak. Plus I like the second person, personal pronouns for clarity (You, Ye, Thee, Thou, we never should have abandoned them!) Some Independent Baptist sources practically vilify the other translations. While there are certainly a lot of truly bad ones, they can’t ALL be bad, can they? We have made some enlightening archeological finds since 1611, after all. I’d be happy for something like the RSV with the old pronouns intact.
2.) To what extent do Independent Baptists allow for predestination? What do they “do†with this biblical precept? What do they make of verses like Rom 8:30 etc… Some Christians deny it altogether; some conclude that God predestined the salvation (process), but not the personal individuals, etc… I’ve heard teaching from two of these churches that Hell is filling up with souls because Christians don’t do enough soul winning. (That’s my paraphrase, and I know it’s clumsy, but you get the point.)
3.) Why the insistence on “traditional hymns� Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘em; got ‘em stuck in my head all day long! But many of them are only 100 years old. It’s not like they’re from 60AD. I could just as well decide that a hymn must be at least 500 years old before it can be properly used to Honor God… Imagine if our Granddads insisted on Issac Watts stuff and older, and wouldn’t sing a Fanny Crosby hymn because it was too modern and resembled the music of the world.… Now, I don’t like contemporary Christian music, (I don’t like contemporary secular music either!) but that’s basically because it’s pretty badly made, not because it’s necessarily unscriptural or new or has drums in it or anything like that. The kid’s choir (ages 6-10) at my church sang Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable†last Sunday, and it was awesome. I don’t prefer Tomlin’s sterile studio production, but sung by a worshipful believer around the house or at church, it’s just beautiful. Also, I’ll add that there were a lot of junky hymns around in centuries past. Just get an old hymnal from the 1700’s and thumb through it, you’ll see what I mean.
Anyway, I won’t be able to reply for a while because of travel plans, but I always ponder these questions and a few others when I’m taking in the sermons and writings from Independent Baptist sources.
-HisSheep
