On What Do We Agree?: The Idea of the Normative in British Baptist Life

This article seeks to explore what might be considered normative in British Baptist life. It seeks to explore behind the Declaration of Principle and argues that the foundation statement is the multi-dimensional confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ and examines the particular way that this has been understood by Baptists, discussing some implications of this for individuals, local churches, and a union of churches. It then suggests that the Declaration of Principle is one way that the confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ is further explicated but that as a contingent and contextual document, it could be developed in different ways, and the article ends by considering some of the current issues that have been addressed to the Declaration of Principle.