Book Review: More Than Just a Name

R. Stanton Norman, More Than Just a Name: Preserving Our Baptist Identity (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001).

Introduction

More than twenty years ago now, R. Stanton Norman provided readers with what he viewed as “the most comprehensive collection of sources on the subject of Baptist distinctives,” and that was just the selected bibliography of his book.^[1] The book itself is an analytical and descriptive summary of those doctrines and the theological method that are distinctly Baptist. Norman has asked and answered the question, “What makes a Baptist a Baptist?”. 

The subject of Baptist distinctives is especially difficult because there is such a wide variety of Baptists. This group of Christians has historically been quite unwilling to embrace the typical theological and practical boundaries of other Christian denominations. However, Norman has used and explained his method, even identifying two distinct “traditions” among Baptists, and it seems that this has served the subject and the reader very well. Furthermore, Norman has also argued for a distinctly Baptist theological method and four components within the literature on Baptist distinctives, each of these helping to form the structure of the book.

In sum, More Than Just a Name is an educational summary of Baptist distinctives, a scholarly argument for a method of identifying them and understanding them rightly, and even a personal plea for modern Baptists to embrace a particular tradition within Baptist history for the preservation and propagation of Baptist distinctives. This is a book for Baptists (and others who are interested to learn about them), about Baptists, and about how Baptists can best understand themselves and their distinct faith and practice. While it is sure to be a bit more theoretical and educational than some readers might like, it seems to me that this book is both a great contribution to the scholarly conversation about what it means to be Baptist and a great introduction to Baptist identity and beliefs for anyone interested in the subject.

Book Summary

Part One – Chapters 1-3

R. Stanton Norman argues that Baptist distinctives, and especially the literature on the subject, are a form of historical theology, particularly “a form of confessional theology within the broader stream of historical theology.”^[2] He does not argue that Baptists are confessional or creedal people in the sense that they adhere to a single confession (or a group of them) which are formal interpretive guides to Scripture. Baptists are distinct from historically grounded and theologically conservative Presbyterians at this very point. However, Norman does argue that Baptists are confessional people in the sense they have had a “cognizant awareness,” an “analytical endeavor,” and a “dialectic interaction” in their writings on Baptist distinctives.^[3] As such, Baptists have consciously aimed to formulate their theological claims, define their doctrinal foundations, and compare and contrast their own theological identity with that of other Christian groups. Norman says that this has not only produced “a body of doctrine” (such as confessions, creeds, and catechisms), but it is itself a distinctly Baptist “method of theology.”^[4] And Norman claims that the “‘Baptist distinctive theological method’ has produced a thread of doctrinal continuity found to some degree in all writings on Baptist distinctives.”^[5]

Having established (in chapters 1 and 2) definitions and methodology for identifying Baptist distinctive literature as a genre and a theological method, Norman turns (in chapter 3) to an explanation of what he believes are two distinct traditions within Baptist distinctives. These two traditions he calls the “Reformation tradition” and the “Enlightenment tradition.”^[6] He introduces these two distinct traditions near the end of chapter two, but his third chapter is devoted to describing the historical origin and the emphatic divergence of the Enlightenment tradition from the Reformation tradition. The Reformation tradition emphasizes and begins with the foundation of biblical authority, and the Enlightenment tradition emphasizes and begins with Christian experience. Norman argues that E. Y. Mullins, and especially Mullins’s book Axioms of Religion (published in 1908), was intentional in his effort to propose a “new standard for the distinctive genre” of Baptist literature and argumentation.^[7] Mullins’s book and platform as the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1899-1928) was a dominant influence among Baptists, and his epistemology continues to pervade Baptist theology and practice today.

Part Two – Chapters 4-9

The bulk of this book is a conscience summary of several Baptist distinctives under the heading of three “broad theological components.”^[8] Normal lists four components as “elements… present in all writings on Baptist distinctives… [which] are definitive for this genre.”^[9] These are the epistemological, the polemical, the ecclesiological, and the volitional. However, the polemical component is present even among the other three, since Baptists are seemingly always defining who they are and what they believe (at least in part) by contrasting themselves with others. Therefore, Norman has categorized his Baptist distinctives under the other three component headings, and he has also provided a summary of the ways in which the two distinct traditions both agree and disagree in their argumentation and application of them.

Epistemological. All theological methods appeal to at least one chief authority. For those Baptists in the Reformation tradition, their overt and highest appeal to the authority of the Bible. Sometimes differing a bit on whether or how much authority should be placed upon the Old Testament and also sometimes differing on their views of Sola Scriptura or Solo Scriptura, these Baptists argue that “their consistent and exclusive adherence to the Scriptures for matters of faith and practice distinguishes them from other Christians.”^[10]

Enlightenment tradition Baptists also typically articulate a high view of biblical authority, but they also place significant value on Christian experience. In some cases, these Baptists even subordinate biblical authority to that of Christian experience, either overtly or practically, by making biblical authority contingent upon Christian experience. Yet another epistemological feature among Baptists in the Enlightenment tradition is the concept of “religious experience expressed through the lordship of Christ.”^[11] These all argue that “some expression of Christians experience [is] essential for religious authority.”^[12]

Ecclesiological. Baptist doctrine has always centered on and found its chief expression in the form and function of local churches. Norman says, “In a sense, Baptist distinctive theology ‘lives’ in the Baptist church.”^[13] Three particular Baptist distinctives are notable among Baptist ecclesiology – “regenerate church membership, [believer’s] baptism, and congregational polity.”^[14] And, once again, Norman points out how those Baptists from each distinct tradition (i.e., the Reformation and the Enlightenment traditions) differ in their argumentation and expression of these shared distinctives.

On the whole, Reformation tradition Baptists perceive themselves as reconstructing “primitive” or New Testament churches. They believe that the biblical model of the New Testament church requires that only regenerate persons are members. Enlightenment tradition Baptists come to the same conclusion, but their argument arises from the necessity of personal religious experience. Norman summarizes, “True church membership and true church ministry are based upon… religious experience.”^[15] And it is this religious experience that “compels their voluntary association together in fellowships called churches.”^[16]

Similarly with baptism, Reformation tradition Baptists look first to the Bible to understand the meaning and practice of baptism contained therein. They conclude that only persons who believe the gospel ought to be baptized, that baptism is an act of submission and obedience to Christ, and that it is the point of entry into church membership. Baptists also contend that the proper biblical mode is immersion, and all of this they derive from biblical texts and argumentation. Enlightenment tradition Baptists also believe the Bible (especially the New Testament) teaches such things, but they center their applications on the personal experience of the believer. Norman points out, “this tradition tends to focus more intently upon the personal implications of baptism and ignores or overlooks its significance for the corporate body.”^[17]

Church polity is, as Norman defines it, “the organization, or governing structure, implemented within a local church.”^[18] Baptists are distinct from other Protestants here as well, embracing Congregationalism (not Presbyterianism or an Episcopal form of church government). A congregational form of church government is one in which the collective members of a particular local church possess the authority to decide their own membership, leadership, and doctrine. It also requires the concept of local church autonomy, which asserts that “no church, group of churches, convention, or association has any authority over any other church.”^[19]

Yet again, Reformation Baptists and Enlightenment Baptists both argue for congregational polity, but they do so in two distinct ways. Reformation Baptists argue that congregational polity is the best application of New Testament instructions for forming and structuring a local church. Enlightenment Baptists believe the same, but they argue for congregational polity from the standpoint of personal responsibility and competency. Norman summarizes, “Within each local assembly, individual believers are ‘competent under Christ’ to share in the decisions and affairs of the church.”^[20]

Volitional. A key distinctive mark of Baptist doctrine and practice is the affirmation of human volition. Both religious liberty and the freedom (or liberty) of conscience are two categories under this larger heading, and there is much overlap between the two in Baptist discussions. Reformation tradition Baptists and Enlightenment tradition Baptists both affirm the liberty of conscience, but they have often differed in the meaning of it. Their agreement is found in the concept of personal duty and therefore personal answerability of every person before God. Their disagreement is found in the varying degrees of emphasis each of these traditions places on individual religious experience.

Norman says Baptists all seem to understand religious liberty as “the right of each person to be free and uncoerced in his or her pursuit, or lack of pursuit, of a personal relationship with God.”^[21] Again, both Reformation and Enlightenment Baptists agree on religious liberty. Norman even claims that any differences that do exist between them are “more a matter of emphasis than major doctrinal content.”^[22]

I want to contend that Norman is inaccurate in his assessment at this point. I believe that there are doctrinal (specifically definitional) differences between Reformation and Enlightenment Baptists on the subject of religious liberty. My research and assessment also argue against Norman’s claims that “soul competency” is a shared doctrinal distinctive among both Reformation and Enlightenment Baptists. Baptists have defined both liberty of conscience and religious liberty in notably distinct ways, and I believe Norman’s “two traditions” can be traced further back than he allows.

Part Three – Conclusion

In the last chapter of his book, Norman breaks his pattern of description and turns to make a positive argument for one tradition of Baptist distinctives over the other. He says, “I believe that the Reformation tradition best embodies what it means to be distinctively Baptist.”^[23] He argues that the Reformation tradition employs the Baptist theological method most consistently and comprehensively. Baptist distinctives must, he says, “begin with biblical authority,” then “build a doctrine of the church upon this foundation,” and then construct a “volitional component.”^[24] Though some Enlightenment Baptists have attempted to defend biblical authority as well, their arguments and emphases tend to turn this pattern upside down. Enlightenment Baptists tend to begin with individual experience and liberty, and then construct various social and communal distinctives from this foundation. In such a framework, says Norman, “a church exists to sustain and promote individual freedom and autonomy.”^[25] But the early Baptists, according to Norman, “pursued religious freedom in order to have a church based upon and submitted to biblical authority.”^[26] This is the way it was, and this is the way forward.

Conclusion

This book is well-written, wonderfully organized, and easy to understand. For those interested in taking a further step toward better understanding distinctive Baptist doctrines and how Baptists have articulated and argued for them, this book will certainly be a helpful resource. It does deal with some theoretical issues, but this is necessary to provide the category distinctions and structure that Norman does here. As a summary of Baptist distinctives from the early twentieth century forward, this book is one of a kind (as far as I know).

As a scholarly addition to my brief conclusion here, I’d like to offer my glad gratitude for R. Stanton Norman’s categories of “two traditions.” As I noted above in the last portion of my book summary, I do disagree with Norman about the existence of these traditions before E. Y. Mullins, and I intend to demonstrate that in a subsequent research article (and maybe also a dissertation). But I am deeply indebted to Dr. Norman for his proposal of a conceptual tradition stream through which to perceive Baptist distinctives.

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^[1] R. Stanton Norman, More Than Just a Name: Preserving Our Baptist Identity (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001). 11.

^[2] More Than Just a Name, 24.

^[3] More Than Just a Name, 26.

^[4] More Than Just a Name, 48.

^[5] More Than Just a Name, 48.

^[6] More Than Just a Name, 41.

^[7] More Than Just a Name, 51.

^[8] More Than Just a Name, 15.

^[9] More Than Just a Name, 15.

^[10] More Than Just a Name, 67.

^[11] More Than Just a Name, 79.

^[12] More Than Just a Name, 81.

^[13] More Than Just a Name, 19.

^[14] More Than Just a Name, 83.

^[15] More Than Just a Name, 93.

^[16] More Than Just a Name, 94.

^[17] More Than Just a Name, 117.

^[18] More Than Just a Name, 118.

^[19] More Than Just a Name, 119.

^[20] More Than Just a Name, 131.

^[21] More Than Just a Name, 148.

^[22] More Than Just a Name, 158.

^[23] More Than Just a Name, 163.

^[24] More Than Just a Name, 166-167.

^[25] More Than Just a Name, 166.

^[26] More Than Just a Name, 166.