Religion: Baptist No

Much as they love and respect other Christians, Baptists love more the saving grace of baptism, the freedom of worship without the ministrations of a priesthood. Baptists may well be the most sizable group of Christians who will not march toward world church unity with the World Council of Churches (see col. 2). Last week in Richmond. Va., 5,000 “messengers” (delegates) to the Southern Baptist Convention representing 5,000,000 Baptists in 18 States, applauded two frank statements of the Baptist position on unity. A committee thumbed down “any federation, council or what not that would hinder us in the full and free preaching of the whole counsel of God.” In the opening sermon, to which Baptists annually look forward as representing the very best tradition of Southern preaching, Dr. John Richard Sampey, retiring president, said: “An intelligent and convinced Baptist, with the New Testament in his hand, finds little to draw him toward a church which denies the competence of the individual soul to do business with God through Christ Jesus as the sole mediator. We cannot get the consent of our minds to surrender the freedom with which Jesus Christ has set us free, in order to unite with [Catholics] or even evangelical pedobaptists [those practicing infant baptism].”