Written by Don Byrd
If you care about religious liberty, do yourself a favor and set aside 13 minutes to watch Bill Moyers and James Dunn in a 1996 discussion about the relationship between church and state, and what it means to be Baptist. The Baptist Joint Committee is re-releasing the video, entitled “The Intersection,” in honor of Dr. Dunn, the former Executive Director of the BJC who passed away on July 4.
You can watch the video here, as well as download it for use in a Bible study or Sunday School class. The BJC has also provided a discussion guide to accompany the video.
“The Intersection” is a fantastic reminder of Dunn’s passion, beliefs, and wit. Most clear here is his emphasis on authentic, “vital” religion, as opposed to mere religiosity, which Dunn saw as a central danger of weakening the wall of separation. He also spoke proudly of the foundational place of religious freedom in Baptist heritage.
Here is my transcript of a brief excerpt.
MOYERS: Why do Baptists have such a special interest in this whole area of this intersection of church and state, the separation of church and state?
DUNN: Real Baptists have from the outset on their theological basis been insistent on soul freedom. Now soul freedom means for the Baptists the recognition that they are made in the image of God, and that any religion that’s worth anything has to be intimate and individual and personal and if it’s not, it’s not worth anything. Now, theologically, that’s the rootage: made in the image of God and therefore able to respond to God, response-able, responsible, and if responsible, free. And that’s the heart of it.
MOYERS: Freedom to say yes.
DUNN: Or no. Because if you can’t say no, yes is meaningless.
Like I said, do yourself a favor. Watch the whole thing.
This was a joint project of the Baptist Joint Committee and American Baptist Home Mission Societies, which was then known as “National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA.”
