The Axioms of Religion

by Edgar Young Mullins, R. Albert Mohler Jr. (Compiler), Timothy George (Editor)

This collection of essays by E.Y. Mullins, containing some of the most important documents in the Baptist theological heritage, is a valuable learning tool for young Baptists and a useful reference for those mature in the faith.

Genres: Theology

297 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1908

About the author

Edgar Young Mullins (January 5, 1860, Franklin County, Mississippi – November 23, 1928, Louisville, Kentucky) was a Baptist minister and educator, who from 1899 until his death was the fourth president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition to serving as president, Mullins taught theology at the seminary. Out of his classroom experiences a pivotal textbook, The Christian Religion in Its Doctrinal Expression, was published in 1917, in addition to nine other books—notably, The Axioms of Religion, Why is Christianity True?, and Christianity at the Crossroads. Through his books, sermons and denominational articles, Mullins became one of the most influential Baptists of the twentieth century. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Rick Shrader]

Edgar Young Mullins (1860-1928), was an influential Baptist educator , author, and preacher. He became the fourth president of Southern Theological Seminary from 1899 to 1928. He also served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1921 to 1924. In the introduction Mohler writes of him, “As the Southern Baptist Convention entered the twentieth century, E.Y. Mullins emerged as one of the denomination’s most formative influences. Mullins sought and fulfilled his role as denominational statesman and as the convention’s most articulate theologian. . . Mullins was also the primary architect of the convention’s first official confession of faith, The Baptist Faith and Message, adopted in 1925.” However, Mullins was also a controversial figure and not always appreciated by SBC leaders. In fact, Mohler takes much time to explain how he feels Mullins took the convention and the seminary in compromising directions. Most of all, Mullins was not a Calvinist caused much division over his views on the freedom of the will.
However, in the actual writing called “The Axioms of Religion,” Mullins champions the soul liberty of the individual before God and applies that historic Baptist principle in various ways, primarily against the infant Baptist that was so prevalent in his day. In fact, his critique of infant baptism is one of the best things I’ve read on the subject. For this reason alone the Axioms are worth reading. The second section of the book is a list of eleven selected writings from Mullins on various subjects. The Axioms are worth the price of the book.

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[Alan Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been attracted to the work of E. Y. Mullins ever since my seminary days. Mullins was a major Southern Baptist statesman in the early 20th century, and is widely considered one of the most influential theologians that Southern Baptists have ever produced. Active during the days of the Modernist-Fundamentalist controversy (same era as the Scopes trial), Mullins sought to remain loyal to biblical orthodoxy while being unafraid to engage with controversial modern ideas. He was heavily influenced by psychologist William James, so occasionally Mullin’s thought creeps right up to the line of Subjectivism in ways some modern Southern Baptists might not be comfortable with. However, Mullins was without peer in distilling what it really means to be a Baptist down to its essence in ways that ordinary people can understand. Sadly, today even a lot of Baptists don’t truly understand what it means to be a Baptist.

In _The Axioms of Religion _, Mullins spelled out his theory of Baptist identity in clear terms. Being a Baptist is more than believing the proper mode of baptism is immersion, or that churches should be organized democratically rather than hierarchically. Behind those and other important Baptist characteristics is the idea of Soul Competency, the belief that each individual can respond to God directly without the need for any other mediator than Christ. From that principle , Mullins derived a set of “axioms” (self evident truths) that capture what it means to be a Baptist. Those axioms form that basis for how Baptists organize themselves, how they distinguish themselves from other Christian groups, and how they relate to the outside world. Anyone who cares seriously about what it means to be a Baptist owes it to themselves to become familiar with Mullin’s Axioms, and this book is a great place to start.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I am a graduate of the seminary where E. Y. Mullins was president, and because he is an important figure in 20th century Baptist history. The book, published in 1908, is a ringing affirmation of the little-known role of Baptists in establishing and maintaining freedom in America. His advocacy of the competence of the individual soul before God is a classic contribution to Baptist thinking which has been shamefully abandoned by many contemporary Baptist leaders. One interesting detail in the book is Mullins' assertion that Baptists in 1908 were generally opposed to Bible reading in public schools because it infringed on the religious freedom of others. On the negative side, readers will pick up a number of attitudes common to the author's time that thinking people have moved beyond today. Furthermore, he is guilty of exaggerating some claims of Baptist greatness (e.g., Baptists are the primary progenitors of the idea of freedom). This is not a book in which the average reader will be interested, but for those of us who have spent our lives in ministry in the Baptist fold, this is a noteworthy book.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

E. Y. Mullins was the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for several decades, and he was the leading theological voice of his day. This book is his principle classic.

The book goes through the nature of the kingdom of God and shows that Baptists attempted to live these principles through several axioms of freedom: (1) The freedom of God as loving and holy, (2) the freedom of all souls to have equal access to God, (3) equal privilege and opportunity in the church, (4) the freedom required for moral responsibility, (5) the freedom of church and state from each other, (6) the love of neighbor.

The book then shows how the principles of the baptist church contribute to an over all political vision of a free country. (1) All people have equal access to God means a country will all are created equal. (2) All believers having equal privilege in the church means a government of the people, for the people, by the people. (3) The freedom to be morally responsible is the bedrock of a legal system. (4) A free church separate form a free state means liberties of free speech and conscience. (5) Love of neighbor means a society where all are equal and none are privileged.

A few things stand out for me in this book. (1) This book shows the vision of liberty and democracy that America was built on. Reading this book, it is clear how the Baptists contributed to a global vision of the morally responsible individual. (2) Many accuse Mullins of individualism, but the book actually combats individualism, especially any form that would divorce faith from a religious community. (3) Mullins was a moderate that tried his best to push away the extremes of the Social Gospel and fundamentalism. His critiques of both in the book demonstrate why he was the leading statesmen of his day. (4) Nevertheless, the book has given me a lot to think about in terms of what separation of church and state looks like. Mullins would be disgusted with the actions of the religious right of imposing faith into politics, but at the same time, he assumes a modern notion of morality where ethics is common to all rational individuals. I have to think more about what does separation of church and state mean in a postmodern day, where there is no common ethical rationality. (5) The book is highly polemical against catholics, seeing episcopal hierarchy and equality as on principle incompatible, and baptism by immersion as the fundamental watershed issue. Mullins offers his vision of Christian cooperation by voluntary federation, but his inability to see any good in catholicism seems obviously counter-productive. The book has an obvious triumphalism that today one cannot be so confident about. He points out that Baptist never fight about doctrine! After the fundamentalist takeover, that seems like that is all Baptists do. So, there seems to be weakness in the Baptist vision today that needs revising.

Overall, the book, despite some of its convictions being out of date or in need of rethinking, is still a classic.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

The axioms of religion a new interpretation of the Baptist faith. This book, "The axioms of religion", by Edgar Young Mullins, is a replication of a book originally published before 1908. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible.

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Publisher: Philadelphia, New York [etc.] American Baptist publication society Publication date: 1908 Subjects: Baptists Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.