The Baptist Church

• Baptists are evangelical christians, but not are not fundamentalists
• baptists combine the sola scriptura approach (special revelation) with the use by the individual of reason and conscience (general revelation)
• special revelation

  refers to the way in which god makes himself known in specific ways/times. the bible and religious experiences are two forms of special revelation
• general revelation

  refers to the way in which god makes himself known to people through nature, reason and conscience, for instance. the knowledge of god that may be obtained in this way is available to all people at all times
• for baptists, the New Testament takes priority over the Old Testament and as the inspired word of god, it provides the standard by which all other teachings should be assessed
• baptists reject the authority of the church as an institution, i.e. of religious tradition, creeds etc