BAPTISTS
DIVIDED
ontroversy is not readily apparent at Baylor, the
R * world’s largest and best-known Southern Baptist uni
m versity. Its lush campus on the banks of the Brazos
■ _ River in Waco, Texas, is home to a record 11,556
students this fall—despite efforts to contain enroll
ment—and applications continue to pour in. But Baylor is a
school under siege by a faith divided. Fundamentalists who
have dominated the Southern Baptist Convention since
1979 have accused Baylor, along with several Southern
Baptist seminaries, of becoming dangerously "liberal.”
Few outside the SBC view "Jerusalem on the Brazos" as
a liberal place. Though only 60 percent of the students and
half the faculty are Baptists, all students are expected to
conform to rules so strict that students sometimes refer to
yr/
RAYLOK I'MVERSITY
Firm: Remolds
baylor as tne scnooi oi mou-snan-noi
have-fun” Students may not drink or
dance on campus; they may not display
pictures of beer or pinups in the dorms.
"Indecent or immoral conduct, lewd or las
civious action, sexual promiscuity or illicit
cohabitation" on or off campus is grounds
for expulsion. Of course, some Baylor stu
dents have been known to imbibe alcohol
and use drugs, dance and even engage in
premarital sex. But the source of conflict at
Baylor is neither dance nor drugs nor sex;
it is the Bible.
Fundamentalist lenders like the Rev.
W. A. Criswell of Dallas insist the Bible is
without error Moderate Baptists agree that
the Bible was inspired by God, but are freer
in interpretation; some even declare a belief
that God may have used evolution to create the universe
Both views have traditionally been acceptable in this non
creedal denomination.
But fundamentalists argue that the religion’s teaching
should reflect their views as a majority. Otherwise, they say,
its schools could lose their religious identities, as North west
ern and others with church affiliations eventually did In
1979 one fundamentalist criticized a religion-department
text that suggested the first five books of the Bible might not
have been written by Moses. In 1984 another demanded that
a tenured Spanish professor at Baylor be removed because
he was a Mormon. The removal of a religion professor who
accepted evolution was also sought letter that year two
fundamentalist students presented Baylor president Her
bert Reynolds with a "manifesto" demanding that faculty
members whocould not provethey were born-again Baptists
be dismissed. This fall, like-minded students, outraged by a
Doonesbury cartoon critical
ofTV evangelist Pat Robert
son, insisted that the stu
dent newspaper censor such
material.
Reynolds has consistent
ly defied fundamentalist ef
That old-time religion:
The Baptist Student
Union at Baylor, a
Southern Baptist
stronghold, holds an
on-campus revival
forts to control the universi
ty and declares himselfcom
rnitted to the principle of
academic freedom. For 140
years, he notes, Baylor’s
mission has been to provide
Pint. HI'BEN HI-At'K *TAH
Fundamental things apply:
The Her. W. A. Cnsu ell.
fxistor of the world s
largest Southern Baptist
church and believer in
Biblical infallibility
a strong acaaem ic education mai nnstianenvironmem. 11s
schools of law, nursing, education and business have earned
enviable reputations. Most students, says history freshman
Reich Chandler, "like Baylor just the way it is." Vows
Reynolds, "We are not going to deny our students the right
to use their God-given minds in order to better understand
God’s creation.”
In accordance with Baylor’s rules,st udentson both sideaof
this debate have confined their protests to petitions and
letters. A few enjoy the attention the conflict has brought
Baylor. Others object Fundamentalist efforts tochange the
school "scare me," says journalism senior Jay Eubank
"They make Baptists look like a bunch of fools " Fortunately
for Baylor's moderates, the university is operated not by the
SBC but by the more moderate Baptist General Convention
of Texas, which—at least for now—agrees with biology Frol
Frederick Gehlbuch Says he "It is Baylor's place toeducate
itsstudents, not indoctrinate them "
Barbara Bi rhowrh uif/> Mark STOcstm HV»r«
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