The famous and popular account of Martin Luther's defense of his writings at the Diet of Worms in 1521 has him saying, "...my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me. Amen." Scholars disagree over whether or not Luther actually said, "Here I stand. I can do no other." Even if Luther did not say those words, the point is that he did, in fact, take a stand.
Part of growing in the truth is standing on and living by the convictions about the truth you have gained. There is an historic charge spoken to those who have just been ordained when they are presented with the gift of a Bible that says, "Believe what you read here. Preach what you believe. Practice what you preach." Living one's faith is the means by which the truth is tested and a deeper understanding of it is acheived.
What I will be doing in future entries is letting you know where I stand on the many subjects that challenge us today. The title of this entry may convey that I am uncertain about where I stand or that I hold my views lightly or that my views change frequently. This is not the case. I have come to my positions through study, prayer, reflection, and conversation. Especially on those positions I consider to be most important for my faith in the Trinity revealed most fully in Jesus Christ, I cannot imagine something happening that would ever alter my beliefs. However, because I take the lessons from my Baptist heritage and my own experience seriously that I am a sinful and limited person, while I feel secure and confident in my beliefs, I, nevertheless, hold them open. There may be new wisdom or wisdom I have not yet learned that can deepen, alter, or change my understanding.
To paraphrase the second point made in the introduction to The Baptist Faith and Message, I do not regard my postions as complete statements of my faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility (most definitely not that!!). As in the past so in the future I hold myself free to revise my positions as may seem to me wise and expedient at any time. In this regard, I find myself in great emphathy with and imitating the efforts of Brian D. McLaren in his book, a Generous Orthodoxy.
I hope you will join me. Let's study, pray, reflect, talk, and grow in the truth together.
