On SBC Bibliolatry

Southeastern Seminary President Danny Akin is denying charges of bibliolatry. Simple denials, however, lack credibility. Akin and others in the SBC would have to repudiate the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message to successfully avert the charge of bibliolatry.

There is ample evidence of bibliolatry at the Mainstream Baptists website. I've made the charge and documented the reasons several times. I am not alone in this assessment. My own theology professor, Dr. William Hendricks, made the same charge after reviewing the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. He said:

The shift of emphasis from a Christological principle of interpretation to an assertion that Christ is the focus of the Bible is seismic. Behind the 1963 statement is the reformation principle, long affirmed by Baptists, "Christ is King and Lord of Scripture. Jesus Christ is the definitive revelation of God, is One with the Father, and is the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

To remove the living Christ as the touchstone for interpreting the Scripture is to downgrade Christ and promote bibliolatry.