Such a posture does not mean nor has it ever meant that a person can be a Baptist and believe anything he or she wants. There are distinctive biblical and doctrinal beliefs that make a Baptist a Baptist. Southern Baptists believe each human soul is competent to go directly to God without the aid or assistance of any human go-between. We affirm that through faith in our Lord Jesus we are a community of priests, responsible to and for one another. This priesthood of believers operates in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and under the authority of Holy Scripture.
Soul competency is a doctrine of privilege, which all persons rightly enjoy.
The priesthood of the believers is a doctrine of responsibility, which each child of God rightly bears. Too often this difference has been confused or ignored, and at some loss of theological integrity. As Timothy George has written, Soul competency pertains universally to all persons, not merely to Christians. I can believe anything I want to. Article I, The Scriptures Southern Baptists believe the Bible.