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  <updated>2025-03-27T15:19:13-05:00</updated>

  <title>All content tagged "doctrine" on Milliron X</title>
  

<entry>
  <id>http://localhost:1313/posts/baptist-mafia/</id>
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  <title>On Baptist habits (or why Baptist churches feel like they&#39;re run by the Mafia)</title>
  <published>2024-03-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</published>
  <updated>2024-03-01T00:00:00&#43;00:00</updated>
  <author>
      <name>Thomas A. Christensen II</name>
      <uri>http://localhost:1313/people/thomas-a.-christensen-ii/</uri>
  </author>
  <category term="blog" />
  <category term="religion" />
  <category term="baptist" />
  <category term="christianity" />
  <category term="love" />
  <category term="doctrine" />
  <summary type="text">
       In the grand tapestry of American religiosity, there exists a peculiar breed of Christian denomination that stands out for its unique blend of fervent devotion and…let’s be honest, a hint of authoritarianism. I’m, of course, referring to Baptist churches. Yes, those churches that make you wonder if they’re being run by the Mafia.
Now, before I proceed, let me just clarify that this isn’t an attempt to disparage the good people who worship in these esteemed institutions. No, no, nothing like that. It’s merely a case of observational reporting, where I’m poking around the fringes of Baptist culture to get a better understanding of what makes them tick.

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    &lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In the grand tapestry of American religiosity, there exists a peculiar breed of&#xA;Christian denomination that stands out for its unique blend of fervent devotion&#xA;and&amp;hellip;let&amp;rsquo;s be honest, a hint of authoritarianism. I&amp;rsquo;m, of course, referring to&#xA;Baptist churches. Yes, those churches that make you wonder if they&amp;rsquo;re being run&#xA;by the Mafia.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Now, before I proceed, let me just clarify that this isn&amp;rsquo;t an attempt to&#xA;disparage the good people who worship in these esteemed institutions. No, no,&#xA;nothing like that. It&amp;rsquo;s merely a case of observational reporting, where I&amp;rsquo;m&#xA;poking around the fringes of Baptist culture to get a better understanding of&#xA;what makes them tick.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;As someone who&amp;rsquo;s spent considerable time within the fold (hello, 20+ years of&#xA;being born again), I&amp;rsquo;ve come to realize that there are certain habits,&#xA;practices, and attitudes that seem endemic to Baptist churches. Now, keep in&#xA;mind that this isn&amp;rsquo;t a generalization, but rather an observation born out of&#xA;personal experience.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;One of these habits is an extraordinary level of fervor and zealotry. Baptists&#xA;tend to be deeply invested in their faith, often to the point where it borders&#xA;on fanaticism. I&amp;rsquo;ve seen folks who will passionately argue for or against just&#xA;about anything that&amp;rsquo;s perceived as contrary to their interpretation of&#xA;scripture. Now, while this can be a laudable trait in moderation, excessive&#xA;fervor can quickly turn toxic.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Another peculiar habit of Baptist churches is an unsettling preoccupation with&#xA;hierarchy and authority. It&amp;rsquo;s not uncommon to see senior pastors wielding near&#xA;absolute power within the church, often based on factors such as age,&#xA;experience, or – heaven forbid – personal popularity. This can lead to a culture&#xA;where dissenting voices are stifled, and nonconformity is discouraged.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The worship services themselves often feel more like formal lectures or&#xA;performances than genuinely communal gatherings. Don&amp;rsquo;t get me wrong; I love a&#xA;good hymn or sermon as much as the next person, but sometimes it feels like&#xA;you&amp;rsquo;re trapped in a 90-minute lecture on theology. And if you&amp;rsquo;re sitting too far&#xA;forward, forget about trying to contribute to the conversation – your&#xA;participation will be met with stern disapproval.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In addition, there&amp;rsquo;s an omnipresent air of suspicion and mistrust that seems to&#xA;pervade every aspect of Baptist life. If someone doesn&amp;rsquo;t toe the party line,&#xA;they&amp;rsquo;re often met with swift reprimand or outright ostracism. This creates a&#xA;toxic environment where people feel pressured into conformity rather than being&#xA;encouraged to explore their own spirituality.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, just like in any other human&#xA;endeavor. I&amp;rsquo;ve encountered Baptist churches that embody the very opposite of&#xA;these described habits – places where worship is genuine, inclusive, and&#xA;welcoming, where individual freedom and creativity are cherished, and where the&#xA;emphasis is on community rather than control.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;So what drives this peculiar breed of authoritarianism within some Baptist&#xA;churches? Is it a genuine misunderstanding of scripture, or perhaps a result of&#xA;historical context? Or is there something deeper at play – perhaps an inherent&#xA;tension between the democratic values of American society and the hierarchical&#xA;structures of traditional Christianity?&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;These questions are central to my exploration of this topic. I&amp;rsquo;ll delve into the&#xA;complexities of Baptist history, the role of patriarchal ideology, and the ways&#xA;in which cultural and social factors have shaped the institution over time.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;In conclusion, while I&amp;rsquo;m not ready to declare war on all things Baptist just yet&#xA;(although, I must admit, it&amp;rsquo;s tempting), I do hope that this exploration will&#xA;shed some light on a fascinating aspect of American religiosity. Perhaps,&#xA;through a better understanding of these peculiar habits and practices, we can&#xA;foster a more inclusive and compassionate community – one where faith and&#xA;conviction are tempered by empathy and respect for differing viewpoints.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Ultimately, as someone who&amp;rsquo;s found their own spiritual home within the Baptist&#xA;fold, I believe it&amp;rsquo;s essential to approach this conversation with sensitivity,&#xA;curiosity, and an open mind. By embracing our shared humanity rather than&#xA;perpetuating artificial divisions, we can work towards creating a more vibrant&#xA;tapestry of faith in America – one that celebrates diversity while remaining&#xA;committed to core principles of love and service.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;But for now, I&amp;rsquo;ll leave you with these final thoughts on Baptist habits – habits&#xA;that may seem baffling or even disturbing at times, but are ultimately part of&#xA;what makes the Baptist experience so richly textured.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;
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