Freedom of academic inquiry drives authentic theological education.

The concept of freedom is the bedrock from which Baptists have been hewn. The cry for religious liberty has been the most characteristic trait of Baptist theology through the years; yet there is an amazing paradox apparent in any discussion of Baptists and freedom.

While conceptions of religious liberty demonstrate the beauty and vitality of Baptist life and thought, the most despicable moments in Baptist life have occurred when the freedom of others has been denied and systematically abused. The saddest chapter in Baptist history has been the conscious violation of the freedom of our African-American sisters and brothers. Baptists have been quick to espouse ideals of freedom but often just as quick to forsake that heritage for small-minded causes. It is right that Baptists have begged for forgiveness for their racist past. However, racism is not the only example of this paradox within Baptist life. It is also true that our denominational history has been filled with examples of the denial of academic freedom as we have acted in ways oblivious to the key Baptist virtue of freedom of conscience. How is this possible, that a people so centered on freedom have so often ignored the call to liberty?

Academic freedom has always been a suspect commodity in Baptist life, particularly in regions of the American South. That is a sad fact, for rightly interpreted the foundations of Baptist thought provide a marvelous support for the freedom of human inquiry. There are identifiable Baptist concepts which foster open academic inquiry--concepts such as the priesthood of all believers, rejection of creedalism, and a realistic view of the nature of human sin. Baptist principles and academic freedom go hand in hand; the erosion of one threatens the other. In addition to its clear foundation in our Baptist heritage, academic freedom is also supported by the pragmatic principles underlying any viable scholarly inquiry. The excellence of scholarship depends in part on the freedom of the scholar.

This essay will attempt to address both these issues: (1) the relation of academic freedom to Baptist ideals, and (2) the necessity of freedom for the full operation of the human intellect. Baptist life best demonstrates the integrity of belief when our Baptist theology is wedded to the practice of free and open inquiry. Baptist thought becomes infused with vitality when expressed in an atmosphere of liberty. For the sake of integrity and vitality, we are called to live in freedom. We can be at our best as Baptists and as scholars when we give heed to the role of freedom in the life of the intellect.

Integrity of Thought: Baptist Ideals and Academic Freedom

In the history of Baptists in the South and on the American frontier, it is tragic to recognize how often attacks have been mounted upon the operation of respectable scholarship and to note how often these debates have been the center of denominational controversy. The litany of academic martyrs in Baptist life is a sad list of shame: Crawford Toy, William Whitsitt, Ralph Elliott; and in the last decade, the number has grown dramatically with seminary faculty members resigning in large numbers.

The roots of this suspicion of scholarship can be traced to the environment in which Baptists flourished in the nineteenth century: the generally low level of education in the rural South and the rugged frontier, the high proportion of uneducated clergy, the parochial and insulated nature of life in much of the American South, and the intensely practical nature of life on the frontier, which left little room for academic reflection. For whatever reasons, anti-intellectualism remains a part of the Baptist story in this nation.

Regardless of our history, what needs to be proclaimed with confidence is the truth that Baptist principles lead us to an appreciation of academic liberty. Respect for scholarly freedom is a natural outgrowth of key Baptist doctrines. First, the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is a clear affirmation of the freedom implicit in faithful inquiry. This concept is grounded in the belief that one is personally responsible for deciding the issues of faith. That is, there is no higher human authority that can intercede and take one's place in relating to God. Also, the priesthood of all believers recognizes the communal responsibility of each Christian to serve as a priest for others. The Baptist interpretation of this doctrine implies that priesthood is more than a privilege; it is a duty of faith. This means that the scholar has the divine reasonability to express freely his or her God-given skills. TO place undue restriction upon the freedom of Christian scholarship is to deny the priesthood of the scholar. Scripture affirms "the truth shall set you free." If it is true that salvation is a call to freedom, how dare we place shackles on the life of the redeemed. The Old Testament account tells how the nation of Israel was formed in an act of liberation as the children of Abraham were led out of bondage in Egypt. Paul exhorts the Galatians to live not as children of Hagar, a slave, but as children of Sarah, one who is free.

The freedom of academic inquiry is an expression of the faithful search for meaning which refuses to accept truth without exposing it to the rigors of personal struggle and assent. The motto of the ancient Athenian academy is a valid precept of Baptist faith: "The unexamined life is not worth living." The priesthood of all believers will not permit one to accept truth secondhand or to escape the responsibility to pass it on to others without expecting free and open inquiry.

The rejection of creedalism, which also marks a Baptist distinctive, makes clear that the Baptist scholar is not expected simply to affirm another's interpretation of faith. Even in crafting statements of faith, Baptists have been meticulous in denying any attempt to produce creeds. From the beginning to end, the Baptist Faith and Message statement of Southern Baptists embraces the Baptist refusal to adopt any creedal formulation of faith. The preface of the Baptist Faith and Message statement clearly repudiates attempts to impose creedalism on Baptist life by insisting that "confessions are only guides to interpretation, having no authority over the conscience." The document concludes with a final statement on religious liberty, proclaiming "God alone is the Lord of the conscience." Sadly, that same document has now come to be used as a creedal statement demanding adherence by Baptist scholars and denying academic freedom.

Akin to an affirmation of the priesthood of all believers, the rejection of creedalism repudiates any attempt to impose a secondhand faith. It is always appropriate for the Baptist scholar to proclaim his or her own beliefs, but it seems less than Baptist to rely upon another's formulation of belief as a substitute for personal profession. This personal understanding of faith which rejects creedal formulations means that the scholar's work cannot be held to the strictures of a hardened creed. Rather, the scholar's work is expected to be a personal statement of belief and thought.

A third key influence of Baptist theology upon the concept of academic freedom is the thoroughgoing understanding of the pervasive presence of human sin. In the reformed theological tradition, there is an emphasis upon the fallen nature of humanity and the need for redemption. Simply stated, salvation is something done for us, not by us. All of our human efforts will always fall short; we stand in constant need. This means that all human efforts are tainted with sin, and no human achievement is free from the effects of sin. In all our current denominational squabbling of who is right and who is wrong, one fact remains undeniable: before God we are all in the wrong.

Elton Trueblood referred to the Protestant version of original sin as the "doctrine of necessary fallibility." That is, human effort can only hope to point to the truth; it can never completely capture the truth. Our interpretations and insights can always be improved, honed, and brought closer to the truth. To claim otherwise is to be guilty of the obvious sin of idolatry, or worse yet, self-deification. It is not possible to hold to an idea of the pervasive nature of sin and, at the same time, to insist that ultimate truth can be located in human words. As Baptists we can affirm the truth of Scripture, but we cannot in the same breath affirm the ultimate truth of human interpretations of that Scripture. Our understanding of sin will not ever permit us to claim to have achieved full knowledge of any subject. There is always more we can learn, always a better understanding to be gained.

This should lead us then to a theology of humility in which final authority is never claimed for our human work. The task of the scholar is one of honesty, never claiming more than our humanity will allow and always being open to correction and growth. The case for academic freedom in Baptist life is not based upon the idea of the vast superiority of the scholarly intellect. Just the opposite, it is based on the clear recognition that none of us has attained the final measure of truth. A stance of humility leaves the scholar in a posture of freedom, expecting never to be handed or to produce any human words that fully capture ultimate truth. As a result, the approach of the academy is continued openness to searching, leaving the scholar the freedom to investigate for a fuller understanding of truth.

The historian of science, Jacob Bronowski, visited the ponds outside the death camp of Auschwitz, into which the ashes of millions of persons had been flushed from the Nazi crematorium. Wading into the water, Bronowski dipped his hands into the grey, muddy bottom. Lifting his arms to let the watery remains seep through his fingers, he quoted Oliver Cromwell, saying, "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you might be mistaken." (1) In humility, not erudition, one finds the reason for upholding the liberty of the Christian scholar.

It is possible to develop from the threads of Baptist theology the fabric of academic freedom. Freedom, both in the field of faith and scholarship, is grounded in an understanding of the priesthood of all believers, a rejection of creedalism, and a firm grasp of a doctrine of sin that recognizes the constancy of human frailty.

Vitality of Thought: Pragmatic Grounds for Academic Freedom

In addition to a theological approach, there are obvious pragmatic arguments in support of academic freedom. The secular case for the freedom of scholarship was stated most succinctly by John Stuart Mill. In his classic work, On Liberty, Mill argued for the right of dissent by setting forth four arguments. First, the unpopular views being suppressed could be true, thus robbing us of insight. Second, and more likely, the suppressed opinion may be partially true, helping to refine our own understanding. Third, even if the dissenting ideas are neither true nor partially true, the commonly accepted interpretation will not be understood unless challenged and debated. That is, without the conflict of ideas in the marketplace of the academy, the understanding of any concept will be dismissed. Mill argued, "He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." (2) Fourth, the favored opinion will not be held with passion unless debated in the forum of conflicting ideas. (3) What Mill affirmed is that truth is better understood and more fervently believed when it is held in an atmosphere of freedom. If we did not have opposition to accepted opinion, we should invent it so that the truth may be more fully understood and passionately believed.

As Baptists, our beginnings are traced to dissenting sects of English and European Protestants. Mill's arguments would have been in vogue among our forebears who fought for their own religious freedom. Interestingly, Baptists deal differently with issues of religious dissent now that we have become an accepted and popular faith.

From the vantage point of both Baptist beliefs and pragmatic policy, there are good reasons for assuring academic freedom. Fostering the liberty of inquiry promotes the integrity of Baptist ideals. It is simply not consistent to impose a creed upon Baptist folk who insist on being a non-creedal people. To foster liberty also leads to a vitality of belief that can be easily threatened if freedom is left out of the academic equation.

The Current Climate and Our Future

The current turmoil within Baptist life is occurring at a time of great social stress in the country at large. There is a degree of social upheaval that challenges the stability of American institutions as never before. What is occurring in Baptist life is a part of the larger disestablishment of American institutions in general.

The philosopher of history, Arnold Toynbee, in analyzing the demise of a civilization, spoke of the different ways a culture responds to challenge. A society can react to a threat by taking the pathway of nostalgia and dinging to old patterns of organization and understanding. Or a culture may react to a challenge by developing creative responses that remold the essence of the civilization in renewed and innovative ways. In suggesting these two possible responses, nostalgia and creativity, Toynbee went on to argue that the decline of a culture is marked by those choosing the path of nostalgia. Creativity, he insisted, is the avenue to renewal and survival during a time of threat.

These cultural dynamics are being played out in American life and in our denomination. Some insist that the survival of our seminaries depends upon returning to the nineteenth-century formulations of a hardened Calvinistic theology. Aside from the folly of demanding that Baptists assent to creedal statements as a prerequisite for academic employment, the real cost to Baptist life is that this is a clear case of opting for nostalgia instead of creativity. This is the sign of the death knell of a culture, not a sign of its promised survival. The well-being of Baptist academic life has a great deal at stake in speaking up for creative renewal instead of nostalgic retrenchment. Creativity, which welcomes free investigation and exploration, is not just an issue of style; it is an issue of survival. Baptist life is most authentic when it lives in an atmosphere of academic freedom. Our Baptist heritage is best assured when the creativity and freedom of academic life are honored.

Editorial Note: Reprinted with permission from Defining Baptist Convictions: Guidelines for the Twenty-First Century, ed. Charles W. Deweese (Franklin, TN: Providence House Publishers, 1996).

(1.) J. Bronowski, The Ascent of Man (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1973), 374-75.

(2.) John Smart Mill, On Liberty (New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1956), 45.

(3.) Ibid., 64.

Thomas H. Graves is president, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.