"Southern Baptists have historically held firmly to
a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible."
-From a Southern
Baptists of Texas brochure promoting a statewide rally.
The facts are that Southern Baptists have always believed the Bible to be trustworthy and the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. They have never adhered to a literal interpretation of all Scripture or the modern definition of inerrancy. Below are the exact statements on the Scripture made by Southern Baptists.
"The scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by the
inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative
rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience."
Abstract of Principles, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1858.
"We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely
inspired and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has
God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture
of err, for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will
judge us; and therefore is and will remain to the end of the world, the
true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all
human conduct, creeds and religious opinions should be tried."
Baptist Faith and Message statement, adopted, 1925.
"The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is
the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure
of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end,
and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the
principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to
the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme
standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should
be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus
Christ."
Baptist Faith and Message statement, adopted, 1963.
"The history of what Baptists have professed to believe, and especially Southern Baptists, has been surveyed from the earliest Anabaptist origins in Europe to the present Southern Baptist confession of faith. This includes twenty-six confessions of faith containing over seven hundred articles.
"Hubmaier's 1524 Eighteen Dissertations, the 1611 English Declaration at Amsterdam, the 1646 London Confession, the 1660 Standard Confession, the 1677 and 1689 Second London Confession, the 1678 Orthodox Creed, the 1697 Keach Confession, the 1742 Philadelphia Confession of Faith, the 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith, the 1845 founding documents of the Southern Baptist Convention, "the 1858 Abstract of Principles for Southern Seminary, and the 1925 and 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, representing the major body of confessions of faith to which Southern Baptist relate -
"All have one common link, not one mentions inerrancy."
Inerrancy and the Southern Baptist Convention: A Historical and Theological
Survey and Analysis, Gordon J. James, Southern Baptist Heritage Press,
Dallas, 1986, p. 49.