Professors urge recitation of creed at Baptist World Alliance meeting

(RNS) A group of Baptist professors wants the Baptist World Alliance to recite a creed describing the basics of the Christian faith at a centennial meeting in England next year.

Four professors recently crafted a short document, titled “Confessing the Faith,” to voice their support for repeating the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed that occurred at the global group’s first congress in 1905.

The request, endorsed by a total of 28 theologians and educators, comes at a time when the Southern Baptist Convention has voted to withdraw membership and funding from the alliance, which it has accused of having a “leftward drift.” The professors say such a recitation would “show the shrills on the extreme to be wrong” and “move us toward unity for which our Lord prayed and which we seek.”

The professors view recitation of the creed as an affirmation of faith that is appropriate for weekly worship as well as during the anniversary meeting.