The "Baptist Manifesto" and why there is so much atheism

I came upon a series of videos by His Eminence Archbishop Vladika Lazar of Canada discussing a "Baptist Manifesto" that was written and circulated in 2001 through the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author is Dr. Matt Spann, and this document was part of his doctoral project. I can't link the document here but I found it under namb.net.


I read this document a few months ago. It targets the evangelization of Orthodox Christians in Russia and proceeds to explain how we have it all wrong about having a relationship with God. I found it interesting in some places but before I even saw His Eminence's video analysis of it, I was very skeptical of some of the case studies being used. It read like typical Protestant propaganda and just shows me that it's more of the same, "we know more than everyone else does about salvation of the human race and it's our duty to put out our multi level marketing scheme to everyone we meet."

Here is an example of a case study from the document:

"Ivan was frustrated. The more he tried to know God, the farther
away God seemed. He wanted to read and learn more about him, but
where should he turn? Should he look in his daily prayer book, talk to
his priest, buy a Bible and read it? Which one would
be the best source for showing him the way? He
decided the best option would be to talk to the priest,
Father Dmitri. At least you could trust the Church. It
had been in his country for over a thousand years.
The priest frustrated him even more. Dmitri told him
not to worry about knowing God—he was a mystery and could not be
known. But the missionaries who led a Bible Study where Ivan went
to college seemed to personally know him. They think they do, Dmitri
said, but what they really know is merely a system they have created
to explain him who is without explanation."

I've never known an Orthodox who has ever experienced this. When I went to Russia in 1991, the people there were EAGER to talk about God and the Bible, and to share their faith. In many ways, I think Russians are more spiritual than many Americans are. We here take our religious freedoms for granted, whereas they have had theirs trampled on for decades by just about every form of opposition imaginable. I think it's appalling and ridiculous to make these kinds of statements about Orthodoxy.

But you have to understand the evangelical Protestant mind. You see, the way it works is this: You go to a Baptist church and you might be new. Some deacons get ahold of you or some of the laypeople in the congregation. They ask you if you've been saved and if you were to die RIGHT NOW do you know in your heart whether or not you would go to heaven? The pressure is enormous to please these people and not turn them away because, they're looking out for your salvation. You fill out comment cards with your address and phone number and they might call you out in the service to recognize you as a "special guest." I've been in this situation many MANY times. After a day or so, they start calling to "invite you back because they really enjoyed meeting you." You might go or you might not. Then you might get a knock on your door from them, asking if they could just have "a minute of your time" to explain the plan of salvation. They leave bible tracts and all kinds of literature. But instead of feeling like you've made a new friend, you feel a sort of obligation. Why? Well the truth is this: They've been sent out by their pastor to "win souls for God" and they have to tell him how many they won.

If you're not one of them they will continue to call you and show up at your house until you either 1) agree to become a member of their church, 2) get baptized at their church, or 3) just get nasty and say horrible things to them so they won't want to come back. I've never done that because it's not in my nature to be mean and nasty who are trying to have good intentions with their behavior.

So maybe after a while you join. Then you are called out to do the same, which means over time, you get a larger congregation=more money for the church=more money for crazy things like the Big Butter Jesus in Cincinnati or skyscraper size crosses outside on the freeway. This also means more recognition for your pastor in the pulpit, nicer suits for him, and a nicer car for him to drive. Maybe even a fancier toupee. Now I'm probably being cliche here. But I've seen it in a lot of churches. More than I care to list. Once you are a member, and even though you're saved, you have to continue going to your pastor for "counseling" and additional spiritual guidance outside of the services. It's just part of being a Baptist, or maybe just a Protestant altogether. But that's not the bad part. You then have to endure messages of condemnation, guilt, finger pointing, being told how to vote, how to raise your kids, who to be friends with, what music to listen to, who to date, who to marry, what schools to go to, the list is endless. And your walk with God is always questioned no matter what, even though you are "saved" according to the doctrine. You might even have your life planned out for you because some "divine revelation" was given to someone close to you in your congregation that's been praying for you and it's time to "step up and be who God called you to be." If that isn't the definition of a controlling church I don't know what is!!

It's not enough to say that you "pray quietly at home." Telling that to a Baptist is like telling a cop to stick a ticket you know where. You just don't DO that because it removes you from their public scrutiny and places you in the sanctuary of your home, which is supposed to be a "mini church."

But I digress. The whole series of youtube videos is out now, and it's at least 10 sessions. I'm going to link #10 because he says something very interesting about atheism in this country, but I'm not going to cheat and put in the timestamp. You have to watch the whole thing.