This is a major point of contention that I hold with the Baptist faith. I believe that local churches should have the ability to make their own decisions. I do, however, see great importance in having a hierarchical structure that provides accountability for the local churches. If a church aligns with a particular Baptist denomination, for instance the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, but does not practice the ideals of that denomination, the governing body of that denomination should have some influence over the local church in question. .
Shurden also discusses the idea of Religious freedom within the Baptist faith. Shurden suggests that the state should be separated from the church and has no power to enforce unbiblical statutes upon the church nor does it have the right to have a state-sponsored church.3 On this point, I wholly agree. The church and state should be separate. This should be the case across the board. We should have complete religious freedom. The final freedom discussed by Shurden is that of Soul freedom. Each believer has direct access to God, and is able to make their own biblical interpretations, and decisions about their faith.4 I also completely align on this theological standpoint. I believe that each individual should have the ability to make their own decisions and interpretations about their faith. Everyone should also have the ability to interpret the scripture, and from those interpretations, conclusions about their faith. This mixed with the Biblicism of the Baptist tradition can lead, Bill Leonard argues, to divisions within the church, when individuals and the church disagree on the interpretation and application of the biblical text.5 I have experienced such conflicts first hand in the Baptist church I grew up in. While I agree that all should have this freedom, I see where in this case, it is important to have an established denominational hierarchy to turn to for such interpretation issues.
