Dear Sir
Bill James encouraged us to adopt historic confessions of faith in our churches in April’s en. But he seems to conflate evangelical orthodoxy with doctrinal uniformity. He suggests that such confessions help us to ‘maximise what we stand for’. He correctly points out that a systematic statement of faith does not contradict the principle of Sola Scriptura, and helpfully explains why clarity is vital to guard against ‘downgrade’ and ecumenism.
But I think the historic confessions go much further than proper theological essentials. They address issues which have no part in authentic evangelical identity, e.g. the relationship between biblical covenants, the perpetuity of the Sabbath, baptism, the lawful administrators of ordinances, the duties of civil magistrates, pacifism, etc. Believers may legitimately differ over these areas. Their consciences should never be bound by this degree of ‘confessionalism’. Certainly, some areas require consensus on church practice, but this is entirely different to demanding common doctrinal convictions.
