2006 - Baptists and Tradition
July 24-28, 2006
Regents Park College, Oxford, UK
Protestants of various stripes including Baptists are turning regularly to the roots of their faith traditions for a richer understanding of worship and witness. The work of theologians such as Thomas Oden, Robert Webber, and Daniel Williams, the appearance of biblical commentary series such as the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (IVP) and the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Brazos Press), the dialogues between Baptists and Roman Catholics in contexts such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together, and the development of university curricula that give attention to Christian traditions indicate the extent to which Baptists have joined other Christians in affirming and appropriating that which has been “handed over” to them, in the etymological sense of traditio.
Young
Scholars in the Baptist Academy will convene a select group of
participants across academic disciplines to explore the recovery of
Christian tradition within Baptist life, with special attention to
the ways in which Baptist higher education should critically and
constructively engage these developments. Seminar participants might
explore such questions as: What can Baptists learn from the larger
Christian tradition within which they are located, and in what ways
does this tradition bear upon the life of the university? What do
Baptists have to contribute to the breadth of the Christian
tradition, and how can the Baptist academy provide an effective
voice both within and beyond the tradition? What practices and
virtues generally discernible as a part of the Christian tradition
are worthy of cultivation within the Baptist academy? While
biblical, historical, and theological resources for approaching
these questions are needed, the seminar organizers intend to include
scholars from wide-ranging academic areas in these discussions.