Dr. Steve Lemke, Provost at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and featured speaker at this week’s “John 3:16 Conference,” recently published an article in The Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry (vol. 5, no. 2, Fall 2008), entitled, “What Is a Baptist? Nine Marks that Separate Baptists from Presbyterians.” I read the article shortly after it came out and was greatly disappointed. Much of what he included in the article has appeared before and I have already interacted with it here, here, here and here. I resisted dealing with the new article for many reasons. Tim Brister has interacted extensively with the article.
Instead of writing about it, I emailed Dr. Lemke and asked if we could talk about what he has written. I am confident that Dr. Lemke has no desire to misrepresent anyone’s theological position nor any historical record. But he has. Due to his busy schedule we have not been able to talk, yet, but I genuinely look forward to the opportunity–not to try to “win” an argument. I quit caring about that long ago. My desire is to understand how he and I can read the same sources and come to such radically different understandings of what they actually say.
Justin Taylor has offered a critique of Lemke’s article that is both even-handed and cool-headed. He writes as an “outsider” to the particular SBC angst that exists in some sectors over the rise of reformed theology. He also writes as an accomplished and recognized scholar, whose recent editorial work on the ESV Study Bible will serve evangelicals for generations. Beyond that, Justin is a very well-informed, gracious Christian brother. He has no axe to grind.
His critique of Dr. Lemke’s article, though far from exhaustive, is revealing. Upon reading it I was reminded of J.I. Packer’s commendation of John Woodbridge’s book, Biblical Authority, which is a critique of the popular “Rogers/McKim proposal” on biblical inerrancy. Packer wrote that “exposing shoddy scholarship” is an “unpleasant task” but that Woodbridge’s book was “a nasty job nicely done.” Justin’s critique of Dr. Lemke’s article was no doubt an unpleasant task, but it has been carried out in an exemplary manner.
Read it. First read Dr. Lemke’s article. Then read Justin Taylor’s critique.